Double Bacon, Spinach and Cheese Meatloaf

I came up with this recipe at the age of 16 (almost 20 years ago). I found my old high school cook book I created and here it is. This may sound a little labour intensive, but it isn't really. Once cooked, this looks very impressive. The first time I maded this, I was rather impressed with myself!

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 5
• Yields: 10 slices

Ingredients

• 10  bacon, rashers rinds removed
• 100  g spinach (about 20 large leaves)
• 2  garlic cloves, crushed
• 750  g  weight watchers style lean ground beef
• 1  medium zucchini, grated
• 1  onion, finely diced
• 2  eggs
• 2⁄3 cup  dried breadcrumbs
• 2  tablespoons  teriyaki sauce
• 2  cups cheese, grated (tasty or cheddar)

Directions

1. Chop 4 bacon rashers finely and cook in a pan. Once cooked, add the washed and trimmed spinach and the crushed garlic, cook until spinach is just wilted, about 45-60 seconds.
2. You can either leave the spinach mixture as is, or puree to a paste. Set aside mixture to cool slightly while you make the meatloaf base.
3. In a large bowl, add the meat, eggs, onion, zucchini, bread crumbs and sauce. I like to use hands to mix it well.
4. Lay out a large rectangular peice of foil. Place the remaining bacon along the foil side ways, not lengthways. You want the ends of the bacon to overlap touch while the meatloaf is cooking.
5. Gently place handfulls of the meat mix over the bacon. Cover the bacon and smooth out the meat with wet hands to create a 2cm (3/4 inch) thick meatloaf over the bacon.
6. Pour the spinach and bacon mix over the meatloaf. Spread evenly over, leaviing a gap of at least 4 cm (just over 1 inch) lengthways. This will help the mix not to squeeze out when you roll it up.
7. Over the spinach layer, sprinkle the cheese on top, not going past the spinach. The cheese will ooze out while cooking otherwise.
8. Using the foil as a guide, roll the meatloaf up lengthways. Discard the foil. Pinch the ends of the meatloaf closing them sealed.
9. Place meatloaf carefully seam side down on a lined baking tray (easier to clean later).
10. Bake at 180oC (375 F) for 1 full hour.
11. Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
12. * Please note that bacon in Australia, NZ and UK has an eye of meat and are twice as long as bacon in the US (our bacon is 30 cm long, about 10 inches). US cooks may need extra bacon for the top of the meatloaf. If someone makes it from the US, please post a note as to how much you used. Thank you.