Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Sliders

These little sliders are some of the best things I've had lately. Ever fix yourself a sandwich with leftover meatloaf? These are even better, because you get the baked-on sauce in every bite, not just on the top. Plus, they bake faster than a regular-size meatloaf does, so there's not as much waiting, and there's a great balance of meatloaf and cheeseburger flavors.

Besides, meatloaf sliders are just fun. :)

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Sliders

Ingredients:

* 1 pound lean ground beef (I used 96%)
* 1/3 cup real bacon bits 
* 4 oz. shredded cheese (I used 2% fat Mexican blend)
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used slices of day-old french bread, toasted, then crumbled to about pea size, then measured. If you use commercial bread crumbs, which are very fine, you might want to use less)
* 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 (3-ounce) can French fried onions (divided use- half in the burger mixture and half on top)
* 1/2 cup ketchup
* 1 tablespoon prepared mustard 

* Slider buns or small rolls
* Optional: I also added 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the ketchup mixture before dividing it- I like a sweeter meatloaf topping. If you like a more savory topping, just leave this out.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a half-sheet size cookie pan with sides in heavy duty foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the bacon bits, and the next 7 ingredients through the black pepper, mixing well. Stir in a little less than half of the french fried onions, breaking up the larger pieces. Crumble the ground beef into this mixture and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard (and brown sugar, if using). Stir 2 tablespoons ketchup mixture into meat mixture. Reserve remaining ketchup mixture for topping.

Combine the meat mixture thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into small patties, just slightly larger in diameter than the buns you will be using. I made indentations in the center of each burger so that they would bake evenly and not puff up in the middle. I ended up with 9 sliders.

Ready for the topping

Place the burgers on the prepared pan, and brush them liberally with the reserved ketchup mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until done (at least 160 degrees, or until no longer pink inside), about 35 to 40 minutes. About 5 minutes before the burgers are done, sprinkle them with the remaining french fried onions, breaking up the larger pieces. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until onions are nicely browned. Remove from oven, and let burgers sit in the pan for 2 or 3 minutes before serving.

Lightened up and adapted from Paula Deen's Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf Sliders may have been taken to some of these fun parties!