All American Decadent Meat Loaf - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground veal
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
8 ounces breadcrumbs (I used Fresh Gourmet organic croutons)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 large carrot
1 orange bell pepper
1 cup flat leaf parsley
8 -10 pieces bacon
3 eggs
A.1. Original Sauce
1 1/2 cups ketchup (honestly i might have used more)
texas pete
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
sea salt (I used iodized sea salt)
fresh ground pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a food processor, grind the croutons with the chili powder. Set aside. Process the onion, garlic, carrot, pepper, and parsley in the food processor until finely, finely diced.
Mix the meat, ground croutons, and vegetables until well mixed. Season liberally with sea salt and pepper. Add the 3 eggs, mix without squeezing the meat too much.
Mix the bottle of A1, ketchup, brown sugar, hot sauce, and dijon mustard in a bowl.
I made mine freehanded, which in my opinion is more fun.
When you form the loaf you want it to be pretty even to ensure its fully cooked when all is said and done. Mine was about 3 1/2 inches thick.
Place strips of bacon horizontally over the loaf until it is fully covered. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Take out of oven and add a heavy glaze of sauce. Bake for another 40 minutes. Add another layer of sauce. Cook until done, probably another 30-45 minutes. Using a meat thermometer, ensure that the thickest part of the loaf is 160 degrees. Add a final layer of sauce to the loaf and cover with foil until ready to serve. It stayed pretty hot for about an hour.