When I find a good recipe, I love to share it! Meatloaf is a traditional and easy Sunday meal for us, but I always hated all the extras. With this recipe, you can hide all sorts of veggies (check it out, over 3 cups!) in it and no one, I mean NO ONE, complains. In fact, they all ask for seconds. Now that is a good recipe! Enjoy!

What You Need: 

• 2 lbs. extra-lean ground beef
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pepper, chopped (yellow or red add color but not necessary)
• 1 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 c. fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 T. oil (I use olive)
• Blender (optional)
• Large bowl or Mixer (I prefer the mixer)
• 1 large baking dish (9×13) or two smaller pans (8×8).

Directions: 

Step 1: Gather supplies and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2: Chop all ingredients needed. I like to chop the onions into fourths and cut the tops off the peppers. Then I toss everything into a blender. I have friends who say they mix everything, meat included, in their blender (the strong ones), which makes it super easy.

Step 3:  Add all ingredients into a mixer OR you can mix it in a large bowl, which I find is easiest with your bare hands. This also makes a great sensory activity if you are letting your children help.

Step 4: Add meatloaf mixture to a pre-greased pan. I like to divide it into two 8×8 pans because whatever is in the pan will get eaten no matter what the size of the pan is!

Step 5: Bake for 45 minutes or until well done. I’ll be honest, I have used a meat thermometer to check the inside temperature the first few times because it’s hard to tell when the ground turkey is cooked all the way. The meat still looks moist when it is done, so it is a little tricky, but the top will be slightly brown.

Step 6: This is a sauce free meatloaf, which is still hard for my hubby to get used to. It’s super yummy and even though this meatloaf is packed full of veggies already, it just looks bare on the plate by itself. So, if you need more, add some yummy sweet potatoes to the side.

This recipe is supposed to serve 8, so slices are large and go quickly. Even my picky eaters ask for more! I like to take the 2nd pan (if I make 2) and save it for my husband’s meals for work the coming week.

Cooking With Kids Adaptations:

Kiddos love to help in the kitchen and this recipe is an easy one to let them help out with since you don’t have to use a knife for a lot of the chopping. If you have a child who is super picky, letting them help in the making of the food can help change their perspective. Here are a few of the variations you can make to let the kiddos help more:

• Wash veggies
• Measure veggies
• Mix meat – if the texture bothers them, let them use plastic sandwich bags on their hands to mix. It will help give those fingers a workout.
• Let them add the meat to the pan using the above technique – not as messy as mixing, but still get to get to participate in the squish factor

As always, when working with children, taking a deep breath and checking your stress/volume level are always needed. They will remember these moments later in life and really appreciate them.

ENJOY!!!

This recipe was adapted from The Paleo Diet

Linked to: I Heart Nap Time, Lil’ Luna, Somewhat Simple, Tatertots & Jello & Today’s Creative Blog, Strawberry Mommycakes, Craftaholics Anonymous