Southwestern Style Meatloaf

Since I had some ground bison loitering in the fridge I was thinking of new things to make with it when I came across a recipe on the back of Safeway brand plain bread crumbs for a Southwestern Meatloaf. It sounded good overall though I tweaked it a bit (it called for black beans which I left out as I shockingly was out of them….oops!)

I made it ahead of time, a couple hours before and stashed it in the fridge to mellow. Then I took it out cold and put in a cold oven to avoid breaking my glass baking pan. I served it with ranch flavored mashed potatoes and mexi-corn for an easy dinner.

Southwestern Style Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 lb ground bison or hamburger

1 cup plain dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup low fat milk

2 whole eggs

1/2 cup southwest style salsa (chunky style, preferably with corn, bell peppers, onions and black beans)

2 tsp chili powder

More salsa for topping

Directions:

Unless you are following my cold directions above, heat your oven to 350° while you mix up the meatloaf.

Mix everything in a large bowl well, then pack tightly in a glass loaf pan. Top with about 1/2 cup more salsa and bake for 50 minutes. Top with another 1/4 cup or so of salsa, spread thinly over the top and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes. I use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of the middle, striving for 160° at minimum for beef or bison. (Honestly I like well done so often my outer is at 170 to 175°)

Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing so it doesn’t crumble.

Makes 6 nice thick slices.

~Sarah