Success!

Well, my first recipe of 2012 was a success! After eating a ton of not-so-good-for-you food in Buffalo this Christmas break, I needed some home cooked comfort food.  A few different foods come to thought - turkey with all the trimmings, baked chicken, and my recent favorite - meatloaf!  Apparently meatloaf is one of the foods projected to be quite popular during 2012.  I didn't know this, but meatballs were the "it" food of 2011.  Thanks Today Show for giving me a new wrinkle on my brain! ;)

So, this afternoon after I put a few sweet potatoes in the oven for my brother and I and "white" potatoes for Shaun (my fiance) and Ava (my niece), I got started on my new meatloaf creation.  My secret ingredient tonight was carrots!  Who knew carrots even went with meatloaf! I came across some other suggestions too, (thanks Pinterest) but with some picky eaters in my house, I needed something subtle, but delicious!  

First things first, you need to gather your ingredients.

Don't you just love my pink cutting board!?! :)

The first thing I did was chop up some white onion and then shred some carrots.  We only had baby carrots, so as carefully as I could be, I used the big grater to shred the lil babies.  After a few close calls, I called it quits.  I shredded about 1/4 cup worth of carrots.  Next time I'll add a few more. 

 I'm such a slob while cooking! ha! :)

I then used my awesome garlic press to "press" 2 1/2 cloves of garlic.  There was a baby clove that had to be used! ha! :) When you're done throw it into a bowl and set aside.  

Yes, that's a paper bowl. Don't judge! :)

Next comes the gross part - putting the raw ground beef into a bowl. Eww! I love cooking, but there's just something absolutely repulsive about touching raw meat.  Usually I have Shaun open the container and do the dirty work, but I decided to suck it up and give it a shot! :)  You'll need to add the ground beef into a bowl, crack one egg (or you could use Egg Beaters, I've used it before and it turns out just fine), add 1/2 cup of the Multigrain Oats, your onion/carrot/garlic mixture, a ton of black pepper, a dash or two of red pepper flakes, and then it's time to mush it all together... You'll need to add some water - I usually add about 2-2 1/2 tablespoons of water!

Okay, so I lied. I made Shaun do the mixing.  He just does it so well! :)

Throw the mixture into a greased loaf pan, or if you're super smart like us, you'll line your loaf pan with aluminum foil... makes the clean up process so much better!  It's also one less pan to wash! :) Don't forget to spray it with Pam though!

Next time I'll take a picture when it's cooked not raw... Yuck! 

Throw it in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.  I usually cover it and when there's 10 minutes left, I take the cover off.  This time I forgot, oops!  

While that is cooking and the potatoes are baking, which by the way... take about 90 minutes, you'll need to get your vegetables ready!

On tonight's menu was asparagus and sugar snap peas! Delish! First wash the asparagus and cut off the bottom parts.  If you're fancy like me, cut the asparagus spears at an angle... each spear was cut into 4 pieces.  

Remember to cut your pieces evenly so they are cooked to perfection!

When I got done with that, I put the bowl into the refrigerator and did some relaxing.  The veggies only take 15 minutes, so you'll need to do that when the meatloaf has 15 minutes left! When it's time... throw some olive oil into a pan and heat it up baby! :) I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Yes, I measure... I'm so OCD! ha! When the oil is hot, add the asparagus and sugar snap peas.  Our grocery store here carries sugar snap peas in a steam bag in the produce section.... We're not steaming them here, but it works great and it's one less thing to wash!  I used the whole bag! After I stir the veggies around, I add some black pepper, kosher salt (a very small amount) and crushed red pepper flakes.  I added too much crushed red pepper tonight - our mouths were on FIRE!!! :) Then let them saute for about 15 minutes, occasionally stirring.  When the veggies are crisp, but slightly soft, they are done!

Looks delicious!

Once the veggies are done, take the meatloaf out of the oven (it should read 160 degrees!) and slice it into 8 pieces.  The meatloaf I made tonight was exactly enough for the four of us! Oh, and don't forget to get your potato ready!  I love sweet potatoes, but I don't find it necessary to add brown sugar or marshmellows!  I use about 5 sprays of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and a boatload of black pepper and that's just about it! 

Look at that... lean ground beef meatloaf with carrots, sweet potato, and asparagus/sugar snap peas! Delicious and nutritious!!!

Lean Ground Beef Meatloaf with Carrots

1lb of lean ground beef (I've tried ground turkey... it was an epic FAIL!!!)

1 egg

1/2 cup of chopped onion (I use white)

1/4 cup of shredded carrots

1/2 cup of Multigrain Oatmeal with Barley and Rye (Quaker makes it...You can use old-fashioned oats too, but why not make it even more nutritious!!!)

Black Pepper (just eye-ball it)

2 garlic cloves (minced or if you have a handy-dandy garlic presser)

3 tablespoons of water (don't add this until you're mixing everything)

Optional:

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (a few dashes)

Ground Nutmeg (a few dashes)

Salt (I don't add salt, but you could!)

I will say, tonight's dinner was absolutely scrumptious!  The boys loved it (Ava thought the meatloaf was too spicy - oops, Auntie Lauren added too much crushed red pepper flakes!). 

Enjoy making this yummy comfort food!  It's so simple and perfect for a work night dinner! :)

Now I'm off to watch Mr. Popper's Penguins with the family and maybe have some chocolate! :)

Sweet Hugs,

Lauren