Smokey Mesquite BBQ Meatloaves

I'm all for making things easier for myself when it comes to getting dinner on the table. Sometimes that means getting meals prepped in advance so it only requires heating up in the oven/stovetop, other times it means utilizing my crockpot to have dishes slow cooking throughout the day while I'm out, and another way is to take advantage of ingredients that combine key items to use in a recipe. Take for example these Smokey Mesquite BBQ Meatloaves where cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, and a blend of ground beef and pork were formed into savory loaves and topped with a smokey BBQ sauce. It's comfort food in a small package, made easy with Kraft Fresh Take...

I've recently teamed up with Kraft to participate in their Kraft Fresh Take Program. KRAFT Fresh Take understands that it can be difficult to create a quick and delicious meal for our families, so we've partnered together to help folks make something amazing and keep meal planning interesting. So what exactly is Kraft Fresh Take? 

Well, Kraft Fresh Take combines fresh natural cheeses and expertly seasoned breadcrumbs to use with your favorite proteins and ingredients creating fast and delicious entrée, appetizer, and side dish combinations. With three new flavors including Smokey Mesquite BBQ, Spicy Chipotle Cheddar and Classic Four Cheese, you’ll never run out of flavorful options. Find these flavors and the original Fresh Take varieties including Italian Parmesan, Cheddar Jack and Bacon, Savory Four Cheese, Southwest Three Cheese, Rosemary and Roasted Garlic, and Chili Lime and Panko in the dairy aisle and make something amazing tonight.

I was provided with the new Smokey Mesquite BBQ variety and as my recipe challenge, I needed to come up with something that uses a protein other than chicken.... and could be a dish that's perfect for an appetizer or lunch sandwich. Lastly, I needed to utilize my broiler to add a little crispness to the dish. With all that in mind, I created these Smokey Mesquite BBQ Meatloaves.

These were wonderful as an entree and leftovers make for a great sandwich filling! If you wanted to serve these up as an appetizer, form these into little meatballs and serve with BBQ sauce. Joel and The Baron were fans and we barely had any leftovers... so you know these were good! Stay tuned... I'll have another Kraft Fresh Take recipe I'm developing which I'll share next week and there will be an exciting giveaway coming up as well! 

Smokey Mesquite BBQ Meatloaves

1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 package Smokey Mesquite BBQ Kraft Fresh Take
1 onion, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water, to thin sauce if necessary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine together the beef, pork, Fresh Take, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce.

Form this mixture into mini individual loaves (or meatballs) and place it in a shallow pan.

Combine the remaining tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire and the water (if too thick) to create the BBQ. Pour this sauce over the meatloaves. Bake for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with the pan juices.

Just before serving, place the loaves under the broiler for the BBQ sauce to caramelize just a bit.

*Kraft provided me with compensation to participate in creating a recipe. #KraftFreshTake