Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Patties with Pan Gravy and Sour Cream Tomato Smashed Potatoes

First of all, let me wish all the Mom's a belated Happy Mother's Day. I hope you all had a wonderful day dedicated just to you. Mine was very nice. Kevin made breakfast. We had mimosas and we watched a couple of movies with the kids. Very quiet, relaxing day. 


But now I need to catch up with you on the latest recipe. It was recipe #332. When I went through the book looking to plan the next weeks meals I was still feeling a bit sick. Normally a process that leaves me feeling starved and ready to cook 5 meals at once was actually a chore. I kept reading recipe after recipe and nothing was sounding good. I finally ran across the last recipe and this one and felt they sounded fairly good. I am glad now that I picked them. I guess when you feel sick and aren't enthused about a recipe it has no where to go but up right? Seriously, these were both great recipes and everyone else agrees as well so it is not just me.


The pan gravy in this recipe is extra yummy. I would probably cook the onions a bit before adding them to the meatloaf mix, or just grate them to get the flavor but no "chunks". I like onion, but biting into a piece of raw onion is not tasty to me. I also used grape tomatoes, like I always do when it calls for raw tomatoes to be added to anything, and I cut them in half and sauted them in a small pan for a bit so they could get a bit of carmelization going.

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Patties with Pan Gravy and Sour Cream Tomato Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients

2 pounds small red skinned potatoes, quartered

1 1/3 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

1/2 cup milk, plus a splash

1 egg

2 teaspoons McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning, or coarse salt and black pepper combined

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 rounded teaspoon tomato paste

1 medium onion, finely chopped (reserve one fourth)

8 slices bacon

2 tablespoons EVOO

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 rounded tablespoons sour cream

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I used a carton of grape tomatoes cut in half)

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 rounded teaspoon spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup fresh flat leave parsley leaves, chopped

Cover the potatoes in water in a medium sauce pan. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes for 10 minutes, or until fork tender.

Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and create a well in the center. Fill the well with the bread crumbs and dampen them with a splash of milk. Add the egg, grill seasoning, allspice, tomato paste, and three quarters of the onions to the bowl. Combine the mixture and for into 4 large oval patties (about 3/4 inch thick). Arrange 2 slices of bacon in an X on a cutting board, repeat with the other 6 slices of bacon so that you have a total of 4 X's. Place a meatloaf patty on the center of each X. Fold the bacon around each patty. Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat with the EVOO. Transfer the bacon wrapped patties, bacon seam side down, to the hot skillet. Fry the meatloaf patties for 7 minutes on each side under a loose aluminum foil tent. The tent will reflect heat and allow steam to escape the pan.

Check on the potatoes. When they are tender, turn the heat off, drain the potatoes and return the to the hot pot and warm stove top to dry them out. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter, sour cream, and the 1/2 cup of milk and smash to desired consistency. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, then fold in the chopped tomatoes. Cover the potatoes to keep warm until ready to serve.

Remove the meatloaf patties to a platter and return the pan to heat. reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the remaining onions to the skillet. Cook the onions for 2 minutes and sprinkle the pan with the flour. Cook the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in 1 cup of chicken stock. Bring the broth to a bubble. If the gravy is too thick, thin with additional stock. Stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and parsley and taste to see if the sauce needs salt and pepper.

Drizzle the bacon wrapped meatloaf patties with the gravy. Pile smashed potatoes alongside and make a well in the center for extra sour cream or gravy.

Serves 4

Meatloaf



Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf