Mozzarella Meatloaf

If you're sick of making the regular ketchup or barbecue style meatloaf, mozzarella meatloaf may be a great alternative for you. The picture of the finished product might not look like the most appetizing dish, but it truly is one of the greatest meatloaves I have ever had. This Italian style dish makes enough for a family of five very hearty eaters and takes little to no previous cooking experience.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
• 1 1/2 cup (6 oz) of shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup of dry bread crumbs (seasoned or regular)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp of minced onion
• 3/4 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of oregano (leaf or ground)

Supplies:

• Jelly roll pan or loaf pan
• Rolling pin
• Wax paper
• Large bowl (not shown)

In this step, the egg will be prepared so that it can be added to the meat mixture in the next step.

1. Crack the egg into any size container

2. Beat the egg by mixing it quickly with a fork to break up the yolk

The finished product should be an even yellow color with little to no white or clear chunks.

The first step in the preparation of this dish is to mix some of the ingredients into the ground beef.

1. Mix the following ingredients in a the large bowl:

• Ground beef
• Breadcrumbs
• Beaten egg
• Onion flakes
• Salt
• Oregano

2. Once these ingredients are completely mixed together as seen in the third picture, pour 3/4 of a cup of the spaghetti sauce into the mixture.

3. Thoroughly mix in the spaghetti sauce and set the bowl aside.

What you have now is the mixture of meat that will be used as the outer area of the meatloaf.

1. Cut two 15 inch long sheets of wax paper.

2. Scoop the meat mixture onto one of the sheets of wax paper.

3. Place the second piece of wax paper on top of the meat mixture and lined up with the bottom sheet of wax paper.

4. Using the rolling pin, roll out the meat mixture so that it is in a 9 by 13 inch rectangle.

Tip: As you can see in the 4th and 5th picture, the measurements don't have to be exactly 9 by 13 inches.

Once the flattened piece of meat mixture is complete, you are now at the point where you need to add the mozzarella and spaghetti sauce stuffing.

1. Peel the top sheet of wax paper off of the flattened piece of meat mixture and throw it away.

2. Spread the 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese evenly on the flattened meat mixture.

Tip: Keep the cheese an inch away from the edge of the flattened meat mixture so that when you roll it in the next step there is not a lot of spillage.

3. Lightly spread the remaining 3/4 cup of spaghetti sauce on top of the shredded mozzarella cheese.

In this step, we will be turning the flattened piece of meat mixture into a proper meatloaf.

1. Grabbing under the wax paper, lift one of the the 9 inch sides of the flattened meat mixture.

2. Fold over the lifted piece of flattened meat mixture as shown in the first picture.

3. Using the lip of flattened meat mixture that you just created, start to roll the flattened meat mixture into a loaf as shown in the second and third picture.

4. Pinch the ends of the loaf to prevent the mozzarella cheese and spaghetti sauce from spilling out while cooking as shown in the fourth picture.

5. Pick up the loaf using the wax paper.

6. Gently slide the loaf off of the wax paper and onto the jelly roll pan.

Now it is time to do the actual cooking of the meatloaf.

1. Place the meatloaf into the oven that should be heated to 375 degrees since it was preheated in step one.

2. After 30 minutes, take the meatloaf out of the oven using oven mitts.

CAUTION: Do not touch the pan or any part of the inside of the oven as it can result in burns.

3. Tip the pan to drain the grease into your desired container or sink.

TIP: Drain grease into an used spaghetti sauce jar instead of a sink so the sink doesn't get plugged.

4. After a majority of the grease is drained, put the meatloaf back into the oven.

5. After 30 more minutes, take the meatloaf out of the oven.

Now it's time to eat your mozzarella meatloaf! Since it is considered an Italian dish, I recommend serving it with a salad and some garlic bread. This may not be the most beautiful looking dish you've ever made, but the taste of it makes up for it's unappealing appearance. Enjoy!