Mac’s Magnificent Meatloaf

Ingredients

• Loaf:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup diced yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg, well beaten
• 1/2 cup oats (optional)
• Sauce:
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 9×13-inch baking pan.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add green bell pepper to onion mixture and saute until bell pepper is softened, about 3 more minutes.

Mix sirloin, bread crumbs, salt, and black pepper together in a large bowl with your hands; add vegetable mixture and loosely mix. Mix egg into sirloin mixture; add oats if mixture is too wet. Transfer sirloin mixture to the prepared baking pan and form into a loaf.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Whisk ketchup, sugar, honey, and hot sauce together in a bowl; brush over meat loaf. Continue baking until no longer pink in the center, about 40 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.