It has occurred to me that for the last few months I have mostly been posting recipes for things like desserts or party snacks. While I like the idea that people might think I spend all my time throwing parties and eat only finger food, that isn’t really the case. I like variety in the food that I cook, but there are some things that we tend to live on. Tacos, quesadillas, spaghetti, and meatloaf. Recipes for these things aren’t generally very exciting though and so I focus on fun little recipes. But, it is good to talk basics sometimes too.

So let’s talk meatloaf. When it comes to meatloaf, I like to keep things simple. I have two other recipes on the site already, one for a basic meatloaf and one that I pulled from the Pioneer Woman. But this is where my meatloaf has evolved over the last year. This recipe is a little spicy and comforting. And who doesn’t like BBQ? It is hard to make meatloaf look sexy, but this certainly does look tasty.

Meatloaf is just such a great staple. It is good on its own, good on a sandwich. It is easy to put together and then you can just put it in the oven and walk away.

You’ll notice this recipe has less breadcrumbs in it than previous meatloaves and no milk. It makes this meatloaf meatier and more like a giant burger that you slice. Also, you can choose to skip the step of sautéing the onion and jalapeño if you want. I do it so that I don’t have to worry about the onion still being a little crunchy in the completed meatloaf. I like a more even consistency.

BBQ Meatloaf

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 Tbs jalapeño, chopped
• 1/2 c onion, chopped
• drizzle of olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 c panko, or other breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 TBs Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 c BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small skillet, sauté the onion and jalapeño until soft and the onion starts to caramelize.  In a large bowl, combine the onion/jalapeño mixture, garlic, panko, egg, Worcestershire, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Then gently mix the ground beef into the mixture. Be careful not to over mix, so that it does not become a brick. Move mixture to a loaf pan and top with the bbq sauce. Cook for one hour in the oven and let sit 10 min before cutting.

Enjoy!