John's Italian Meatloaf

Submitted by Jellyqueen

"This is another recipe that I got out of a local fundraising cookbook, Southern Traditions. The pepperoni and cheese give it a little different twist. I have even used garlic bologna and it is still great."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1⁄2 cup green pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup breadcrumbs, plus, depending on how wet the mix becomes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste, use 1/2 with the meat mix, save the remaining for basting
• honey
• salt and pepper
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese

directions

1. Mix first 10 ingredients in a bowl.
2. Pat mixture into a rectangle about 1/2 inch think, on wax paper.
3. Cover the meat rectangle with sliced pepperoni, be sure they are touching each other.
4. Cover the pepperoni with a Mozzarella cheese.
5. Slowly roll the mix into a "jelly roll" form, peeling away the wax paper as you roll it together.
6. Seal the edge and ends with you fingers to hold in the cheese.
7. Place in a baking pan.
8. Mix the remaining paste with some honey and spread about 1/2 over the top of the loaf.
9. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.
10. During the last 10 minutes of baking, spread the remaining tomato paste/honey mixture on top.
11. Remove and let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Reviews

[bluemoon downunder]

I doubled the recipe and made this meatloaf with a splendid combined ground pork/veal which my butcher sells and I often use in place of ground beef. I doubled the recipe because I wanted to put some in the freezer. Proportionally, I probably used more onions and garlic than specified, and I added three grated carrots and some finely chopped celery. I used a red pepper instead of a green (I think they have heaps more flavour). So I had everything chopped and stirred so that all the ingredients were well-combined, when I returned to the recipe and read – and actually took in – the next instructions. I’d read and dithered between so many different recipes that I just hadn’t registered this fancy bit so, with apologies to the unknown John, I improvised. The hour was late (one portion was being made for a family luncheon the next day) and I simply transferred the meatloaf into three lightly greased loaf dishes. I realized at this point that I’d omitted the butter – though I did use some to grease the loaf dishes! Anyway, the last steps were omitted. I also by the way used 5 eggs – with some dried oregano and basil added to the egg mix – and I threw in some wheat germ (probably about 2 tablespoons). Anyway, Jellyqueen and the unknown, mystery John, departures from the recipe I hope excused, the end result was delicious, and was eagerly devoured at the family luncheon (for 8). One of the three meatloaves was served and there was none left at the end of the meal! Most went back for seconds and two for thirds! This was served with two other dishes, one being Jellyqueen’s Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes Recipe #7066, which provided an excellent complement to a meatloaf. At the end of the meal, EVERYTHING had been devoured. As I said in my review of Jellyqueen’s Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes dish, enough said, right! Thank you, Jellyqueen, for another fabulous recipe!

 

[cbw8915]

Yum! This was tasty and easy to throw together. I made a few changes to the recipe and those were to leave out the onions and green peppers and I baked in the crockpot on low for 8 hours. It was a little overdone (probably needed closer to 6-7 hours), but that was no fault of the recipes, that was my own! Hubby didn't care for the pepperoni, but I really liked the flavor it added. Thanks for a tasty recipe, JQ!