Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Thank You Paula Dean!  This recipe was easy, but it does have a ton of ingredients.  It really did have a neat cheeseburger taste.  My husband, who isn't a typical meatloaf lover, said this was definitely a "keeper" recipe!  I changed it up slightly and have added my recipe instead of hers...

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 (8-ounce) package sharp Cheddar, grated (or a 2 cup pre-grated bag)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup bread crumbs, toasted
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup ketchup (plus more to squirt on top...)
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 (3-ounce) can French fried onions

Directions:
*First cook your bacon.  I do mine in the microwave for this recipe because it takes more of the grease out and the bacon is super crispy.  Put 4 paper towels on the bottom of a microwave safe plate, line the bacon strips up next to one another, cover with another paper towel.  Cook in your microwave for 8-10 mins until cooked.  Cool for a minute or two, then crumble them in a bowl.  SO EASY!

*In a large bowl, mix top 9 ingredients (ground beef, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, mayo, Worcestershire, salt, pepper).  I ran out of bread crumbs so I toasted two slices of bread to make them toast, then used my cheese grater to make crumbs.  Worked perfect if you don't usually have something like bread crumbs in your pantry.

*In a small bowl stir the ketchup and mustard (I used dijon).  Pour about 1/4 cup of it into the meat mixture.  Mix well.

*Spray a meatloaf pan with cooking spray.  Pour the meat mixture into pan and press it down.

*Add more ketchup to the small remaining mixture (add as much as you like because this is what goes on top of your meatloaf.  I you want a lot of it make a larger amount).  I think I put about 1/2 a cup on top of mine.  I wanted to tone down the mustard flavor.

*Pre-heat your oven to 350*F and then cook meatloaf for 45 minutes.

*Take meatloaf out of oven, top with french's fried onions, then put it back into the oven to bake another 10 minutes.