Pesto Filled Spiral Meatloaf

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground chuck
• 1/2 lb hot italian sausage, removed from its casing and crumbled
• 1 cup coarse breadcrumbs, preferably from toasted rye bread
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 pinch fresh ground black pepper
• pesto sauce (recipe follows)
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp,drained,and crumbled
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• pesto sauce
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• 2 cover the inside of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with aluminum foil.
• 3 in a mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the ground chuck, sausage, bread crumbs, beaten eggs, salt, nutmeg, and pepper.
• 4 in a separate bowl, combine the pesto, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, the crumbled bacon,a nd the hard-cooked eggs.
• 5 place the meat mixture between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll into a rectangular shape about 1/3 inch thick.
• 6 remove the top sheet of waxed paper and spread the pesto mixture all over the top of the flattened meat.
• 7 roll up the meat like a jelly roll, peeling back the remaining waxed paper as you go.
• 8 shape the ends of the roll, as needed, with your hands to form a neat cylindrical shape, entirely enclosing the pesto.
• 9 place the meat loaf, seam side down, in the prepared baking pan.
• 10 sprinkle the meat loaf with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.
• 11 bake until cooked through and browned, 1 hour.
• 12 pesto: place the garlic and half of the olive oil in a food processor.
• 13 process until the garlic is pureed.
• 14 add the remaining oil, the basil, pine nuts, and parmesan.
• 15 process to a smooth paste.
• 16 the pesto should be fairly dry for the meat loaf.
• 17 if the puree is too wet, blot it with paper towels to remove excess oil.