Spicy Bacon Chili Meatloaf

Every week, I like to plan my meals. I pick one or two different types of protein and make enough of it to last the entire week. This week, while visiting home for Mother's Day and feeling a little uninspired in the kitchen, I asked my sister for what I could make with some of the items in my freezer. I had ground beef and chuck roast. Sister suggested chili. That's when a got that tingle in my toes and a light bulb went off, "what if I combined chili and meatloaf into one?!" And BAM! My Spicy Bacon Chili lost a little sauce, but made up for in looks! How yummy does this meatloaf look? So anyway, Thanks Sister! You The Best!

Spicy Bacon Chili Meatloaf

What you'll need:

• 1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
• 1/2 large onion (softball size), roughly chopped
• 1 small - medium green bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 6 oz white button mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1.5 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4-6 oz bacon, fried and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp gluten free Worcestershire (or coconut aminos)
• 1/3 cup salsa (I used 505 Southwestern hatch chili salsa, found at Costco!) 
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chunky pico de gallo (homemade or storebought)

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Add the ground beef/turkey to a large bowl. Add the chopped onions, bell pepper, and garlic cloves to a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Drain the juices using a fine mesh sieve, get out as much water from the onion mixture. Add to the large bowl with the ground meat.
2. Clean and remove the mushroom stems and add to the food processor. Pulse until it resembles ground meat. Add the ground mushrooms to the large bowl with the onion mixture. Add the spices, Worcestershire, 1/3 cup salsa, egg and bacon. Using clean hands or a spatula, mix the meatloaf mixture until just combined. 
3. Pour the meat mixture to a loaf pan and roughly shape into an even sized loaf. Pour the chunky pico de gallo over the top and bake the meatloaf at 350F for 60 minutes. 
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.