Usually when I ask the mini-chefs what they would like to make over the course of a semester, I get answers like cupcakes, chocolate, cookies, etc., but when I asked my mixed ages class, one student piped up with another answer entirely: meatloaf.
He not only requested it then; he kept asking for it each week. You see, A is a manwich sort of a man. So, while I hardly ever, ever cook beef, what could I do but comply?
While a lot of meat loaf is made with ground pork and ground veal, I gave this a healthy spruce up. For ethical reasons, we do not ever have veal in our home, and ground turkey is more healthful than ground pork.
This recipe is only missing the ketchup topping, something that our class will be working on in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. For now, here is our meat loaf recipe sans ketchup but loaded up with plenty of great veggies that make the loaf moist, flavorful, and very healthful.
Note: We used gluten-free bread crumbs here because of Yummy allergies, and no one missed the gluten one little bit.
A’s Special Meatloaf with Veggies Galore
*1 lb. ground turkey (preferably dark meat)
*2 lbs. ground beef
*2 carrots, shredded
*1 rib of celery, shredded
*1 medium red onion, shredded or finely chopped
*2 c. swiss chard, shredded or finely chopped
*2 scallions, light green and white parts only, finely choppped
*1/2 bulb of fennel, shredded or finely chopped (optional)
*3 cloves garlic, minced
*3/4 c. bread crumbs
*1/4 c. olive oil
*1 T. worchestershire sauce
*one tiny slosh of hot sauce (optional)
*1 t. salt
*black pepper, to taste
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Together: With your mini-chef, take out a either 2 loaf pans or 24 muffin cups to fill with the meatloaf mixture. Oil the pans that you are using with a little vegetable oil.
In a very large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, worchestershire sauce, the hot sauce and the salt and pepper. Add all of the veggies and stir them so that they are evenly coated with the saucy mixture. Then, add the meat. If you are working with a very mini-chef (2 years or 3), then you will probably want to add the ground turkey for them. You can either mix everything together with your hands at this point, or, if you are worried about getting your hands ooky, then use a wooden spoon and some elbow grease to mix the meat in with the rest.
Wash your hands.
Now, using an ice cream scoop, begin filling the muffin cups or the loaf pans.
Big Person: Place the meat loaves in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes (muffin loaves) or 1 1/2 hours for the bread pan-sized loaves.
Take out of the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. This recipe freezes very well.
