Stop loafing and eat your meat.

I realized yesterday as I was doing some prep work for today that I had completely thrown off all of the side-dishes that I had planned for the week. Due to my rotation, I was left with the ingredients for rice pilaf to accompany the meatloaf. Rice and meatloaf? I think not. So I opted for the quick cheat tonight and put some fake-mashed potatoes and green beans as the side. The rice pilaf will have to wait for tomorrow and the spiced beef and asparagus stir fry.

Tonight's meatloaf also came from the Atkins for Life recipe box. (I promise in the future I'll expand the recipe genre and cook other things!) It's called "Not your Mama's Meat Loaf", and I'd agree with that. I wasn't really feeling the flavor tonight, though Staci said that she thought it was great. I don't normally make my meatloaf with much more than regular hamburger, so the addition of pork and veal was nice for a change, but not really my cup of tea.



Not Your Mama's Meat Loaf
1 red bell pepper halved and seeded
1 plum tomato halved
1 cup bread crumbs
2 lbs meat loaf mix (beef, pork and veal)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 large egg
2 tablespoons coarse-grain mustard
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 large garlic clove
1 teaspoon salt

1. In oven, broil pepper and tomato, cut sides down on large foil covered pan for 8 to 10 minutes until skin is charred and vegetables are tender.
2. Wrap foil around vegetables and let stand to cool. Remove and discard skin.
3. Puree the pepper and tomato in processor till smooth.
4. In large bowl combine all remaining ingredients, reserving ahlf the pepper and tomato puree.
5. Form a 9X4 loaf on an open pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until done. Pour remaining puree on top of meatloaf and bake for an additional 10 minutes.


If I try this recipe again, I'll probably get a better mustard, and use less of the puree. I'm waiting to see if the meatloaf gets better as it cools; I'm hoping for a great meatloaf sandwich!

On a side note, I found an interesting article posted today by NPR about eating more whole grains. It's a pretty nice read with some great information on lesser-known grains that should be more frequently used. I've bookmarked the page, and am excited to try out some of the recipes that they've posted. As soon as I try some, I'll give a review here.

Try it! You might like it...or maybe you'll order pizza.