Meatloaf and Sweet Potatoes (Two Ways!)

Meat and potatoes can be delicious, comforting foods, especially during cooler fall month. I did some web searching to find a healthy recipe for meatloaf that includes bulgur and plenty of veggies, plus organic grass-fed ground beef. Since the recipe made so much meatloaf, I froze half of the raw meat mixture to cook a week later. This saves a lot of time and money, and it's great to have leftover meatloaf since even half of the recipe makes so much. Additionally, I made sweet potatoes two different ways (one recipe each of the two weeks), and both of them were delicious!

Healthy Meatloaf

Makes 10 Servings

• 1 cup dried mushrooms, such as shiitake, porcini or chanterelle
• 1 cup bulgur, (see Ingredient Note)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup nonfat evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 pounds 90%-lean ground beef
• 1 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Here's the 100% grass-fed organic beef I get at the farmers' market:

• Place mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with warm water; let stand for 30 minutes. Combine bulgur with the boiling water in another small bowl and let soak until the bulgur is tender and the water has been absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the liquid; trim stems and coarsely chop caps.
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• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
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• Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat and add onion, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add Worcestershire and cook for 3 minutes, scraping the pan well as the mixture becomes sticky. Add tomatoes, evaporated milk and ketchup; stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture is very thick, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
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• Whisk egg and egg whites in a large bowl. Add beef, breadcrumbs, the soaked bulgur, the mushrooms and the tomato mixture.

Here's the mix with the beef, breadcrumbs, and bulgur:

• Stir in parsley, thyme and salt. Mix gently but thoroughly with your hands.
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• Mound the meatloaf mixture into a free-form loaf on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the internal temperature reaches 165°F, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Sweet Potato Recipe #1: Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I make these sweet potatoes using my own recipe. It's great because you can make it to taste using the ingredients you have on hand. Here's what I used:

3-4 pounds organic sweet potatoes (from the North Scottsdale Farmers' Market)

Raw extra virgin coconut oil (2-3 tablespoons)

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Ground ginger

Vanilla extract

Sea salt

Walnut pieces

Look how big this sweet potato is!

I could do some serious lifting with this sucker!

Peel the sweet potatoes (or one very large sweet potato), chop into small pieces, and place in a large pot until soft.

Using an immersion blender, electric mixer, or blender, blend the cooked sweet potatoes pieces until smooth.

Stir in the raw coconut oil and spices to taste.

Add the walnuts. Optional: Spread the sweet potato mixture on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

You can continue to bake the sweet potatoes as the meatloaf finishes, which is great because the potatoes brown really well and stay hot.

Serve with a green salad. Doesn't this look yummy?

Sweet Potato Recipe #2: Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Serves 12

• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Instructions
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Arrange sweet potatoes in an even layer in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish.
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• Combine maple syrup, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper in small bowl. I ran out of maple syrup so used what I had left plus some stevia.
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• Pour the mixture over the sweet potatoes; toss to coat.
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• Cover and bake the sweet potatoes for 15 minutes. Uncover, stir and cook, stirring every 15 minutes, until tender and starting to brown, 45 to 50 minutes more.
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Straight out of the oven. Don't these look awesome?

And here's the whole meal, plus steamed veggies:

This is healthy, wonderful comfort food! Freezing the second half of the raw meatloaf to cook later helps cut down on time and money and makes for a happy belly!

*M*