All-American Meat Loaf

Growing up, I feel like my family ate pretty ‘traditional American.’ Meat and potatoes, pizza, and meat loaf. It’s not that people in my family aren’t adventurous eaters or don’t appreciate diverse foods, this was just our routine. This was our normal.

While I try to be a little more adventurous in the kitchen, a little more often, I find myself going back to what feels ‘normal’ a lot. (I know this blog is new, but just watch how many meat + veggie dishes I start to accumulate.) 

So every few months I crave meatloaf. My mom makes a pretty good meatloaf and someday I’ll make a ‘healthified’ version of her meatloaf, but until that day this recipe from Cooking Light satisfies my craving AND my desire to eat healthy.

It doesn’t taste light. It doesn’t taste skimpy. It tastes like meatloaf, like meatloaf should taste, but for only 248 calories a serving. 

Thanks Cooking Light. I really appreciate being able to satisfy my homey, comfort food cravings without breaking the calorie bank. As you can see in the photo, we had salad with this, but you could have mashed potatoes, or another veggie/starch and still keep this meal within healthy boundaries.

Also, it has cheese in it. Any questions why I like this recipe have just been answered. =)

All-American Meat Loaf

From: Cooking Light

Time: about 1 hour, 15 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

-         - 1.5oz French bread, torn into pieces (I skipped making my own bread crumbs and subbed in 1 cup of plain store-bought bread crumbs)

-        -  ½ cup ketchup, divided

-         - 1 cup chopped onion

-         - 5 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, divided (I left this out, we’re not big parsley fans)

-         - ¼ cup nonfat buttermilk

-          -  Tbsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)

-         - 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

-         - ½ Tsp black pepper

-         - ¼ Tsp salt

-         - 2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, diced

-         - 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

-         - 1 pound ground sirloin

-         - Cooking spray (I used olive oil)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place bread in a food processor, pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup.  Arrange breadcrumbs in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 6 minutes or until lightly toasted, cool. (I skipped making my own bread crumbs and subbed in 1 cup of plain store-bought bread crumbs)

Combine breadcrumbs, ¼ cup ketchup, onion, 3 tablespoons parsley, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a bowl; gently mix until just combined.

Transfer the mixture to a 9x5 inch loaf pan that has been coated with cooking spray; do not pack. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Brush top of loaf with remaining ¼ cup of ketchup. Bake an additional 25 minutes or until thermometer registers 160 degrees. Let stand for 10 minutes and then cut into 6 slices. Sprinkle with remaining parsley.