cheesy meat loaf

​The meat loaf grill pan has a removable perforated sleeve that fits into loaf pan form with no bottom. When you cook the meat loaf, you place a drip pan beneath the grilling rack. However, since I have a gas grill, I merely placed the loaf pan on a foil pan grill pan.

A recipe for cheesy meat loaf with bacon and herbs came with the pan; it sounded yummy. To enhance the beef and make it moist and juicy, the meat loaf had carrots, celery, onions and garlic, sautéed until lightly caramelized. The meat loaf also had the traditional breadcrumbs plus parsley, mozzarella and thyme. The prep time for the meat loaf is 30 minutes, and it will be that plus a bit more. ​

---

I omitted the bacon and we found the meat loaf so flavorful and delicious from the veggies and herbs. I must admit by the time I added all the ingredients to the 2 pounds of ground beef, it was more than the loaf pan could fit. Therefore, I held back some of the mixture and cooked it separately the next day. While meat loaf doesn’t sound like a summertime meal, since this was done on the grill, my kitchen stayed comfortably cool. I grow parsley and thyme in my garden, so this meat loaf was a nice summer time dish.
 
You could probably make the meat loaf in a foil loaf pan, but I recommend punching holes in the bottom.  Place the loaf pan on a foil grill pan to catch the excess fat. The second time I made the meat loaf, I wrapped the bottom of the meat loaf grill with foil, which made clean up time a bit longer. Don’t want to go to that much trouble, then bake it in the oven.
Meat loaf in the summer may not be your thing, so try it in the fall, but use fresh herbs.  The herbs along with the sautéed vegetables is what gives this meat loaf a big punch of flavor.