Possibly the Best Meatloaf

My old favorite meatloaf is Holly Hobbie's Meatloaf.  I'm not kidding, I have loved it since I was a kid and cooking from the Holly Hobbie Cookbook!  I also love that it has carrots in it and a secret ingredient that I use instead of bread crumbs:  oats!

Last year, this Swedish Meatloaf became a pretty close second to Holly Hobbie's.  Today, I planned on making a meatloaf for dinner.  For some reason, I thought about combining elements of the two recipes:  the vegetables in Holly Hobbie's with the spices of the Swedish meatloaf.  I decided to use enough meat to make two meatloaves, one for the freezer, and made note of the ingredients I wanted to use.

Everyone in the family loved the results!  My youngest son, Sawed Off, even said that this meatloaf knocked hamburgers down to third place on his favorite foods list! Number One is looking forward to meatloaf sandwiches.  H-Bomb cleaned his plate!

Sorry I didn't take a picture, but without further ado, here we have:

Possibly the Best Meatloaf
makes two loaves, each loaf serves 4-5 hungry people

2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
3 carrots, peeled and grated
2 eggs
1 cup regular, "old-fashioned" oats
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients gently in a big bowl.  (I use my hands to mix it)  Mix until combined, but don't be too rough with it or overwork it.

Divide mixture in half, and put each half in a loaf pan, smoothing the tops.  I wrap one loaf pan with plastic wrap AND tin foil, label it and freeze it for later use.

The other loaf pan into the oven.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.  Let cool slightly, then slice and serve.