Jackson Jambalaya

You probably already know I love my mom. Out of great love for her, I never cooked a Braciole for her. However, after thinking about it, I have decided she might like it especially if I included some cornbread, purple hull peas, and creamed sweet corn.

I'll start this post with a quote from the Good Book:

"Man cannot (always) live by plain old meatloaf alone. Sometimes he must roll it."

No, that's not from the Bible. This one comes from the fictional cookbook "The Bible of PolyBear Italian Cooking" by world-renowned, make-believe Chef ZeroBear PolyBear. 

Braciole - Stuffed Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
12 ounces Italian Sausage
20 slices (+-) Pepperoni 
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, minced
4 Tablespoons green bell pepper, diced
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 cup Mozzarella or Provolone cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 Jar Marinara Sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the ground beef, Italian Sausage, oatmeal, egg, garlic, onion, green bell pepper, carrot, salt, and pepper together in a suitable mixing bowl.

Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper. If you crumple the parchment paper, it will be easier to fit into the pan and trim to size.

Spread out the meatloaf mix on the sheet pan and flatten it to a 12 X 8 inch rectangle. This one was between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.

Layer the Mozzarella, Pepperoni, and Parmesan on top of the sauce covered meatloaf layer. Note - I intended to also place a layer of spinach but forgot it. The taste of the spinach is great. It adds a lot to the dish, and I would recommend using it in the roll. I should have layered it between the Mozzarella and Pepperoni.

Using the parchment to help. Roll the meat working across from the shorter side to form the roll. Remove the parchment paper as you roll. It is there only to help and should not be a part of the roll. 

Note: At one time the Tupperware Corp. showed a photo of a roasted turkey in a big Tupperware storage container they sold from their party catalogue. Someone attempted to roast their turkey in the plastic bin and sued Tupperware when it melted in their oven. Because of things like this, the bear has insisted I improve my directions to you guys, and I am trying to make them as clear as possible. Do not wrap the parchment paper into the roll!

Tuck the ends in a little, place the roll, seam side down on rack in the foil lined quarter size baking pan, and bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. This will take approximately 30-40 minutes and the internal temperature should be measured with a thermometer probe.

When the roll is to 150 or 155F temperature, coat the top with marinara sauce.

Cook another 15 minutes to set the sauce. By then, the internal should be at 160 F. When the internal temp is good, remove and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.

Slice into 1 inch thick pieces and top with heated marinara sauce.

Serve with a vegetable. We had enough in this roll for three nice meals (6 servings).