Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods.  The great thing about meatloaf is that you can throw whatever you want in there, and usually it turns out pretty good.  Leftovers can be made into sandwiches, or if you're like me, you just continue to eat the regular meatloaf.

My husband and I have debated over what is supposed to be used in meatloaf.  He swears that crackers are a better binder, but I always use breadcrumbs.  I guess it is one of those things we'll probably debate forever.  But, what we didn't debate was that this meatloaf was great, and an awesome spin-off of the original.

Cheeseburger Meatloaf
slightly adapted from Rachel Ray
Ingredients 
1/2 red onion, finely chopped 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup ketchup 
1 tablespoon mustard
2/3 cup bread crumbs 
2 large eggs 
1/2 cup bread-and-butter pickle chips, chopped 
1-1/2 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey) 
8 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/3-inch cubes, plus extra for the top

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 400°. Lightly oil bread pan.
2) In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
3) In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, mustard, bread crumbs, eggs and pickles; mix in the onion.
4) Crumble in the beef, add the cheese and mix together. Transfer to bread pan. Put some shredded cheese on top of the meatloaf.  Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 160°, about 35 minutes.

I loved this meatloaf.  I'm not a huge fan of bread and butter pickles, so I may swap those out for regular pickles next time, but I love how the onion and pickle are spread out throughout the meatloaf so you get a lot of flavors.  It was nice and cheesy throughout, plus the addition of a little extra cheese on the top just made it perfect.  Cover with a little more ketchup and this makes a great meal.