Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Coat a skillet with oil and place over medium heat. Sauté the onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the salt, black pepper, Worcestershire, ketchup, and parsley. Simmer for 10 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove from the heat.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef with eggs, tomato relish, milk, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, the eggs, thyme, mustard, and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer the meat mixture to a loaf pan. Add another ½ cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise. Bake the meatloaf for 1½ hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it’s baking every now and then to ensure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side. Enjoy!
