12-Steps To The Perfect Meatloaf

 Ingredients: Ground beef (not lean), Open Pit BBQ sauce, apple, onion, egg, flake cereal (Wheaties or Special K), celery and parsley.

 Combine celery (a couple of stalks), parsley, onion and egg in a blender.

 Pulse for 30 seconds.  Just until is folds in on itself without any large lumps.

 Cut the apple into quarters and core each one.  Thin slice one quarter (9-10 slices).   Dice up two of the other quarters.  Eat the remaining quarter--making meatloaf is hard work, you have to keep up your stamina!

 Pour about this much of the cereal into a mixing bowl (above) and then mash it up a little (below).  Do not pulverize it.

 Add the ground meat on top of the crushed cereal and then some of the BBQ sauce.  Sorry, I don't do measure- ments on recipes that reside in my heart...

 Next, add the mixture from the blender (above) and finally the diced apple.

Mix the ingredients by hand folding them over and over until thoroughly combined.  Form into a loaf shape and place in an iron skillet for cooking.  You don't have to use an iron skillet, I just think it does a better job than other metals, ceramic or pyrex glass.

 Coat the surface of the loaf with more BBQ sauce and garn- ish the spine with the thin sliced apples.  You can also use a slice or two of bacon in lieu of the apples.

I first had diced apples in ground beef when visiting with friends in Zimbabwe.  It's a great way to extend ground beef, ground veal or ground pork.  I sometimes include them in burgers and more finely diced add apple to sausage patties for breakfast.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 300˚ for 60 minutes and prepare yourself for some taste of heaven!  Also makes the best sandwiches EVER.