I am constantly searching for a way to increase my vegetable intake. It's not hard for me to eat the recommended amount of vegetables in a day because I love them, but every now and then I look for a way to make a classic dish healthier and ways to get my boyfriend to eat more veggies. So here we go.
(Sort of) Hidden Veggie Meatloaf
1 1/2 lbs ground meat (turkey, chicken or beef is fine)
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup baby carrots
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium yellow squash
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg (or 1/4 cup Egg Beaters)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Tabasco chipotle sauce to taste
BBQ sauce to taste
Salt/pepper or other seasoning blend to taste (I use Tony Chachere's)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place spinach in chopper and chop until very fine. Do the same with the carrots, onion and squash. In a large bowl combine the vegetables, meat, breadcrumbs, egg, milk, a few shots of chipotle Tabasco (as desired) and seasonings. Make sure the ingredients are well combined. The mixture will be wet, but if you are using ground turkey or chicken the mixture could be really wet and may require additional breadcrumbs.
Place the mixture in a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Top with a light coating of BBQ sauce, or for something a little spicier, combine the BBQ sauce with the Tabasco. Bake for 1 hour or until the internal temperature reads 160 degrees F. Drain fat from pan and let the meatloaf cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Note: Even my picky boyfriend said that he liked it. This is huge considering that he hates it when I substitute ground turkey for beef in things like dirty rice and sloppy joes.
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