For the following recipe, I found all the ingredients at my local grocer.  It is not solely my own creation; it was adapted from a recipe I found on Pinterest.

Equipment Needed:

• 8×8 or 9×13 inch Baking Pan (Glass is my preference)
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Microwave
• A pair of rubber gloves (optional)
• Paring Knife

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs of Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
• 3 Medium Sized Sweet Potatoes/Yams Mashed
• 1/4 Cup of Melted Butter
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 Cup of Oyster Sauce or Barbeque Sauce
• 1/3 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
• 1 Minced Onion
• 2 Minced Garlic Cloves
• Your favorite seasonings (i.e. Italian Seasoning, Lawry’s Seasoning Salt, or Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning)
• 1/4 Cup of Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 2/3 of Unsweetened Almond Milk (or Evaporated Milk)
• 1 Cup of Crumbled and Cooked Bacon (My personal preference is Turkey Bacon)
• Cooking Spray

Preparation:

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees.  Take your cooking spray and coat the bottom of your baking pan.  Once done, set it aside.  With the skin still them, wash your sweet potatoes.  Prick them all over with a fork and place in a microwave safe dish.  Cook them until they are soft; this may take 12-15 minutes.  Once done, peel the sweet potatoes and mash them until there are no lumps. Lightly season with garlic or your favorite seasonings (optional); set aside.

 Seasoning the Meat:

Dust the raw meat with your favorite seasonings, the minced onion, bread crumbs, sauce, egg, and garlic in the large bowl and mix well.

Cookin’ Time:

Gently press the meat mixture into the bottom of your coated pan and bake uncovered for 20 – 30 minutes, or until cooked through.  You can test your meatloaf by sticking a fork in several areas; a clear juice should escape from the puncture marks.

Carefully take the pan out of the oven, and pour off any excess fat.  Switch the oven settings to broil.

Take the milk, butter, bacon, and any excess onion and garlic and combine with the mashed sweet potatoes you had set aside earlier.  Spread this mixture evenly over the meatloaf and then top with the shredded cheese.

Place the pan back in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes to broil or until the cheese is lightly browned and the sweet potatoes are heated through.

Serve hot by itself or with additional sauce.

This recipe should feed a small army or in my case a staff of 5-6 Football coaches with nice size slices.

© 2013 – 2014, Lela Jefferson Fagan. All rights reserved.

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