Southwest Meatloaf

Believe me when I tell you, this is a great southwest meatloaf. I get it, you doubt me. I don’t blame you. I mean…meatloaf. Bleh. I feel the same way but one day the wife and I were kicking around some food ideas while having some wine. That’s usually how it starts, yeah? We’re talking about some burgers we make with Doritos and such, and BOOM!, the idea hits me. Let’s make a loaf similar to that burger…a southwest meatloaf!

We knew it had to entail beef and pork, after all, that’s the key to a moist meatloaf. It also had to have this enchilada sauce on top. Then we went back to the burger recipe and birthed this beauty.

I was pretty unsure how we would like it, because like I said, it’s meatloaf. Meatloaf usually tastes like a brick. We loved it though and I’ll share with you how much we loved it. We loved it that night for supper sliced up with mashed potatoes. We showed it some more love in the morning for breakfast when we crumbled it up and made hash topped off with a fried egg. Then we were shameless and loved it even more that night. We cubed it up and topped a veggie pizza with it with the enchilada sauce drizzled on top. What a love fest! I’m getting worked up thinking about it.

Before we get right into what’s in this, you really should go check out the food blog Skinnytaste. She has the most amazing food. The food doesn’t just sound good. It is good. I’ve made tons of recipes off of her site and have never had anything turn out not great. And, her enchilada sauce has changed the course of my life forever.

SOUTHWEST MEATLOAF

MEATLOAF INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1/2 bell pepper chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon dried jalapeño & cilantro seasoning
(substitute any southwest seasoning, Mrs. Dash has a great one)
1 cup crushed Doritos
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeños if you want some heat

ENCHILADA SAUCE INGREDIENTS

2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tablespoon chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 cup chicken broth
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°.

For the sauce, in a medium saucepan, add a little oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle

chiles, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine all meatloaf ingredients. Form into one large loaf or smaller loaves or muffins. I made an indention on top by pressing my hand to form a gully. Cooking times may vary so just make sure your loaf gets to 160° in the center. For the one large loaf I cooked it for one hour at 350°, covered with foil.

After an hour remove the foil and check your loaf is cooked to 160°, remove the loaf from the pan and pour off the liquid. Replace the loaf and pour the enchilada sauce on top and bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. I didn’t use all the sauce but you certainly can if you want to. After 15 minutes remove and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!