Aloha Meatloaf - A Taste of Hawaii

Not all of us get to live on a tropical island(s) all year around. Here in the USA most of us are in the season of winter with cold days and even colder nights. We're actually having a freakishly warm winter so far, but we have had more cold days than I would like. We also still have 2 more months of winter to go so who knows how cold it will get in February.  I have never been to Hawaii, but this Aloha Meatloaf transported me there after one bite.  I love playing with the flavors of meatloaf and this time I think I'm playing for keeps.  I absolutely loved this meatloaf.  I made this as an experiment and I had no idea if I was heading for failure or success.  Well at first bite, I closed my eyes and said "Oh my goodness this is good."  If you have ever had pineapple on your pizza (which I never have) you will already love this dish.  I am a person that doesn't like to usually mix fruit with my savory food, but I am really trying to overcome that food "issue".  I've started small with fruit chutneys and now I'm putting a whole can of crushed pineapple into this meatloaf.  I really took a chance and I surprised myself how good it came out. Score one for the pineapple! So if you're one of those folks that are not a fan of winter like I am, this is a perfect meatloaf to bring some Hawaiian sunshine and tropical breezes to blow away those winter blues.

 
 Ingredients:

Meatloaf ingredients:
1lb lean ground pork
1lb lean ground chicken
1 (20oz) can of crushed pineapple drained well, reserve juice
seasoning salt to taste
3-4 slices of bread soaked in some milk to soften and crumbled
2-3 Tbs of ketchup
1/4 cup of diced onion
2 green chilies diced small
black pepper to taste
I clove of grated garlic
1 Tbs of honey or brown sugar
1 egg
red chili flakes (to taste)

Sauce/Glaze
Reserved pineapple juice from can
2 Tbs of brown sugar
1 Tbs of rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup of ketchup
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of sweet chili sauce (like mae ploy egg roll sauce)
2tsp of cornstarch

 Directions:

Drain your pineapple over a bowl. Squeeze out all the liquid from crushed pineapple. Reserve the pineapple juice for the sauce.  Then mix all meatloaf ingredients together and form a meatloaf. You can free form it here like I did or put it into a loaf pan.  I don't like to use a loaf pan because the meat tends to sit int the juices while cooking. Plus when you free form a loaf you get more surface area to glaze. If you free form a loaf on a baking sheet, first put down a sheet of tin foil so you have easy clean up.

 Mix all your sauce ingredients together.  Then put  into a small pan and simmer until thick and forms a glaze.

 Bake meatloaf in the a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour.  Baste with some of the glaze every 20 minutes.
When the meatloaf is done, allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy with your favorite meatloaf sides like mash potatoes and steamed vegetables. 

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