Italian Meatloaf

It's funny, I wasn't a big fan of meatloaf when I was a kid. Now I like it. You could say that about a lot of things, I guess. Working full time makes having a meatloaf for dinner on a weeknight impossible unless I want dinner at 8pm. Then a friend of mine said she did meatloaf in her crockpot. I tried it with a couple of different meatloaf recipes and it worked out really well. 6-8 hours in the crock and then 20-30 minutes in a 375 degree oven to give it a little crust. I haven't been able to sell meatloaf to the kids though. Maybe this summer...

3/4lb. ground beef, 93% lean
3/4lb. ground pork
1/2 C. pesto
1 C. fine fresh bread crumbs
2/3 C. oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1 egg
Salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready an 11X7 inch shallow baking dish. In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, pesto, bread crumbs, sun dried tomatoes, egg and 1/2 tsp. salt. Mix gently but thoroughly with your hands. Form the mixture into a rough 9 by 5 inch loaf in the dish then smooth the top.

bake until the loaf is firm, the top is richly browned and in instant read thermometer inserted in the center reads 160 degrees. Let the loaf stand in the pan for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.