When it comes to comfort food I’m a huge fan. Lucky for my waistline my hubby doesn’t share my love for comfort food so we don’t really indulge in it too often, however, the one thing I do require that we eat on occasion in order to satisfy my comfort food fix is meatloaf. I love a good meatloaf, partly because I love anything that you can put ketchup on (lol) but also because it’s kind of an all-in-one type meal (since I include lots of veggies in mine). That being said I have tried out a lot of recipes for “the loaf” (as my hubby refers to it, ha) trying to find one that would magically convert J to a meatloaf lover like me. While I am still yet to have him go ga-ga over a plate of meatloaf this recipe below is the one that I’ve had the most success with. I am a huge fan of this recipe because I was successfully able to use beef with a lower fat content and still achieve a nice moist meatloaf! Additionally I include lots of veggies and top it a special glaze (that is also great on chicken!) that yields a yummy caramelized crust. I am also happy to report that this recipe was baby P approved 🙂

Baby P enjoying some meatloaf for lunch! Did I mention it makes great leftovers? 🙂

INGREDIENTS

FOR MEATLOAF:

• 1.5 lbs. lean ground beef (I used 93% lean)
• 1/2 lb. ground pork
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow or white onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tbsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

FOR GLAZE:

• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp. oregano
• juice of half of a lemon
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Begin by dicing your veggies, then heat about 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a pan and add onion, garlic, peppers, zucchini, thyme and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook until just soft, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool.

Step 2: In  a bowl combine beef, pork, parsley, eggs, panko, parmesan cheese, ketchup, salt, pepper and cooked veggies. Mix by hand until just combined, don’t over mix.

Step 3: To make glaze combine all ingredients and mix together, set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a sheet pan covered with parchment paper form meatloaf into a log (mine was about 10″ long), baste with some of the glaze and bake for about 1 hour, basting again halfway through cook time. Once meatloaf has finished cooking, allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

I serve mine with mashed potatoes, yumm!!!

Adapted from Food Network