A few weeks ago I posted a blog about having themed weeknight meals to make meal planning a little easier.  Last night was Meatloaf Monday at the Jones house.  Meatloaf is the perfect beginning of the week choice because it makes great leftovers for lunch or some other night of the week.

Of course, it isn’t just plain old meatloaf around our house.  I found a recipe that packs in lots of nutrient dense veggies and oatmeal as the binder.  I changed it up and made them into mini meatloaves by portioning them into a muffin tin.  This helps with portion control and also allows for quicker weeknight cooking – these only take 20-30 minutes to cook, vs. the typical meatloaf that takes 45 minutes to an hour.  I use an ice cream scooper to portion them into the muffin tin.   Last night we had the mini meatloaves along with sweet potatoes, that cooked up quickly in the microwave, and some steamed broccoli.  Give it a try!  You don’t even have to wait for Monday.  I hope you and your family like it as much as we did!

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup shredded or chopped carrots

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 small can tomato sauce

1 egg

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, dash of pepper, onion, mushrooms, and carrots with olive oil in small bowl.  Sauté on stove top or cook in microwave.  Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt and rest of ingredients in large bowl, add vegetable mixture.  Mix thoroughly.   Bake for 30 minutes until brown and internal temperature of meat is 160 degrees.

Makes 18 mini loaves.

Serving size: 2 mini loaf

Nutrition Information

Calories:  170     Fat:  5.6 g     Saturated Fat:  2 g     Cholesterol:  66 mg     Sodium:  392 mg   Carbohydrate:  10 g   Fiber:  2 g    Sugars:  2 g    Protein:  18 g

Tip:  To drain your spinach well after thawing, put it into a kitchen towel and ring it out.

Looking for other new healthy recipes to try?  Check out my Recipe and Healthy Recipe Resources sections.