Caprese Style Stuffed Meatloaf

Looks tasty, doesn't it ?

I purchased this giant log of fresh mozzarella, because we make a lot of grilled pizza, now that warmer weather has arrived. I started thinking about what else I could do with it. We love meatloaf, especially stuffed with cheese. What could be better ? 

This seems like a lot of prep, but it really wasn't bad, especially because I started yesterday making some of the filling. I roasted the garlic yesterday when we were grilling steaks, and sauteed the extra carrots, celery and onions while prepping some for another dish. Piece of cake...or, in this case, meatloaf ! 

Caprese Style Stuffed Meatloaf 

1 tablespoon butter 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1/2 cup diced carrots 

1/2 cup diced celery 

1/2 cup diced onion 

1 tablespoon salt 

1 tablespoon pepper

1 1/2 pounds ground beef 

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs 

1/2 cup milk 

1 head roasted garlic

2 eggs 

1 large handful fresh basil leaves 

6 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced thickly

1 pint cherry tomatoes 

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

In a large saute pan, melt butter and add olive oil. Saute carrots, celery and onion together until soft, then set aside. In a large bowl, combine panko and milk, and let sit until milk is absorbed into bread crumbs. Mix together with ground beef, salt and pepper, vegetable mixture, roasted garlic and eggs. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread half of the meat mixture into a large loaf pan. Lay down half of the basil leaves on top of the meat, then layer the mozzarella on top of the basil. Gently place the remaining basil on top of the cheese. Spread remaining meat on top of the final layer of basil. Place tomatoes in a small baking dish and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Place meatloaf in oven, and bake for an hour or more until completely cooked through. Add the tomatoes to the oven the final 25  minutes, bake until they are bursting. Remove both of the items from the oven. Let the meatloaf rest 10 minutes before serving, and smash the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Slice meatloaf, and spoon tomatoes over the top to serve.