Meatloaf

Time for Carnival of Recipes! Jennifer at Mellow-Drama is hosting it this week. Here is my entry from "The Perfect Recipe" cookbook by P. Anderson. I usually double it, mix the meatloaf ingredients, divide it up into loaves and freeze it. All I have to do is thaw, make the topping and cook!

Ingredients:
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs
1 tsp dried thyme leaves (or Italian seasoning)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp hot red pepper sauce
½ cup milk, buttermilk or low-fat plain yogurt (I use whole milk)
2 lbs meat-loaf mix (50% ground beef, 25% ground veal, 25% ground pork)
2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 16 crackers) or quick oatmeal or 1 1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs (I use bread crumbs)
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Optional: 6 oz thin-sliced bacon (8-9 slices)

Directions:
1. Make glaze first and set aside (see below for Glaze)
2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire, pepper sauce and milk. Add egg mixture to meat in a large bowl, along with bread crumbs, parsley and cooked onions and garlic; mix with a fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture does stick, add additional milk, a couple of tablespoons at a time, and continue stirring until mixture stops sticking.)
4. Turn meat mixture onto a work surface. With we hands, pat mixture into a loaf approximately 9 x 5 inches.
5. Cover a wire rack with foil; prick foil in several places with a fork. Place rack on a shallow roasting pan lined with foil for easy cleanup. Set formed loaf on rack. Brush loaf with all of glaze, then if using optional bacon; arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping them slightly and tucking them under loaf to prevent curling.
6. Back loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 F, about 1 hour. Cool for at least 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

Glaze
Ingredients:
¼ cup ketchup or chili sauce
2 tbl light or dark brown sugar
2 tsp cider or white vinegar

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.