Pizza Meatloaf...a throwback to my childhood

I have been in a bit of a cooking rut lately. It didn't help that I thought I was on death's door for two weeks. But, I have made a few "new" recipes in the kitchen in the past few weeks....new as in...I found some recipes  my mom used to make and I thought I would put my own "spin" on things...

The first one was one I used to LOVE back in the day, but she didn't make it very often. Most times it was just meatloaf. I guess whenever cheese is involved, that is a dish I will remember forever.

As for the ground beef, I used the 90/10 package. I thought about using the 93/3, but I figured I needed a little bit of fat. And, I'm sure you could use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Also, for future reference I may play with different types of toppings...but for this one, I stuck with cheese (and red pepper flakes, of course!)

Total time to make this is around an hour, but most of that is the baking portion.

Pizza Meatloaf
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef (90/10)
1 cup tomato paste (6oz.)
1 cup water
1/2 t. oregano
2 garlic, minced
1/2 c. Italian breadcrumbs
1/2 c. diced onion
1 T. fresh parsley, diced
1 beaten egg
1/4 t. fennel seeds
1/2 t. onion salt
1/2 t. - 1T. red pepper flakes
1 c. mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper

Step by Step
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine tomato paste, water, oregano, fennel seeds, onion salt, parsley, half of the red pepper flakes and minced garlic in a bowl.

3. Combine 1/2 of the above mixture with the bread crumbs, diced onion, egg, and salt/pepper.
4. Mix together (I used my hands) with the beef. Shape into a loaf and place into a shallow baking dish.

5. Bake 45 minutes without sauce.
6. Remove from oven. Top with rest of the sauce mixture. Then, top with cheese and remaining red pepper flakes. Bake until cheese has melted (about 5 minutes)

Serve with a green veggie and mashed potatoes.