This is a delicious Italian meatloaf recipe that can be recreated into other meals.  I make a very large meatloaf and the first night I’ll have it with some form of potato and a vegetable.  The rest I will cube an put in tomato sauce as my form of spaghetti and meatballs.  This freezes well if this is just too much meat loaf for you.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion minced fine
• 1 cup minced broccoli
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 pound 93% lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 cup fat free ricotta
• 1 cup low fat shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup uncooked oatmeal
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. rosemary
• 2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 3 tbsp. Worchester sauce
• 1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook onion and broccoli in canola oil until soft and set aside to cool for a few minutes.  Combine all other ingredients and then add the cooked vegetables.  Mix well using your hand for about 5 minutes until everything is evenly dispersed.   Place on foil lined cookie sheet (less clean up that way) and shape into a long 5″ diameter loaf.  Bake for 50-60 minutes and serve with your favorite tomato sauce recipe poured over the slice of meatloaf.  This makes about 12 servings.

For the sauce I usually start with a readymade sauce like Rao that has no added sugar and embellish it with a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, 1 small can of tomato paste and doctor it up with some unfiltered olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, fresh cracked pepper and let that simmer for a couple of hours ahead of making the meatloaf.  I make extra to have with the “meatballs”.