CrockPot Bleu Cheese and Dried Cherry Meatloaf

Day 230.

Who says you can't have meatloaf in the middle of summer?

This is not your grandma's meatloaf. This is decadent. This is gourmet. This is super duper easy, yet you will get tons of praise and be granted tons of bragging rights.

I got this idea from reading the Gluten Free Gobsmacked blog, where she had made bleu cheese and cherry-topped burgers.

My friend Jennifer was with me when I mixed the meatloaf, and she is to thank for the added spices. I would have stuck to just the bleu cheese and the cherries, and it would have been bland. Thanks, Jen!

The Ingredients.

--1 pound of lean ground beef, or turkey
--1/2 cup dried cherries (I bought Rainer, because after yelling through Trader Joe's, "hey Jen, what's the difference between Rainer and Bing cherries?" the shelf-stocker lady came and asked if I needed help. She said Rainer were a bit sweeter and were more of the yellow-y red cherries. After I threw them in the cart, she followed me around for a bit. It was kind of weird.)
--1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles (if you are gluten free, please read this.)
--1 egg
--1 tsp seasoned salt
--1/2 t black pepper
--1 tsp onion powder
--1 T chopped fresh basil (I think this is optional. I couldn't taste it at all. But Jennifer made me put it in because it was about to go bad. We gave the rest to the guinea pigs.)
--1/2 cup bread crumbs (I have bread crumbs made from a loaf of brown rice bread)

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart round crockpot for this. I chose to make a glob of meatloaf and cook it directly in the crockpot, but you can use a loaf pan inside of a 6 quart if you'd like. I did that earlier in the year.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the meat, cherries, cheese, spices, bread crumbs, and the egg.

Spray the inside of your crock well with cooking spray. Put the meat into the pot and shape into a large round blob in the center.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 7-8. The meat is done when it is cooked thoroughly and has browned on top and darkened on the edges.

Using two spatulas, lift the meat out of the crock and let it stand on a cutting board for 15 minutes before cutting.

The Verdict.

Woah, mama. Awesome.

I couldn't bribe the kids to give it a try. I think got a mouthful out of each of them, but they spit it out. They had buttered pasta and leftover broccoli casserole for dinner. Adam and I couldn't get enough. My father-in-law was over, and he liked it, too.