My mom made meatloaf when I was young and living at home, yet I was never a fan of it. Once out on my own, I steered clear of this dish. It wasn’t until I had my daughter that I really started to appreciate the possibilities of meatloaf. I’ve made it the traditional way and honestly, that’s not for me, too much sugar and refined carbs. However, meatloaf can be good and very healthy. I just recently made this and my daughter said it was “the best meatloaf ever”. I was telling Joan about it during a phone call and we agreed I needed to share the recipe.

1 lb ground beef

4 slices of thick cut bacon cut into small squares *

1/2 sweet onion chopped

2 large white mushrooms chopped (baby bellas, oyster, & shiitakes work great too)**

1 large egg

3 gloves garlic minced

smoked sea salt (sub regular sea salt if you don’t have smoked)

pepper

rosemary

oregano

1 cup tomato sauce

1. Begin cooking bacon in large pan
2.  When bacon is cooked about 1/4 of the way, add onion and mushrooms.  Cook all 3 until bacon is 1/2 to 2/3 of the way cooked.
3.  In a large bowl mix bacon/onion/mushroom mixture with ground beef
4.  Add 1 egg garlic and mix
5.  Add 2 tsp. rosemary, 2 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper and mix thoroughly.
6.  Place mixture in a loaf pan coated with ghee, butter or lard.  Pat down on the top to make it smooth
7.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350
8.  Remove from oven and spread thin coating of tomato sauce on top.  (Can sub low sugar ketchup or tomato paste)
9.  Bake for 40 more minutes at 350

* If omitting bacon, saute onions and mushrooms in some butter or lard (not crisco) until onions start becoming translucent.

** If you want some healthy carbs in your meatloaf, you can also substitute ¾ cup cooked quinoa for mushrooms or split it half and half.

Take it up a notch too by adding some chopped spinach or kale in the mixture before baking. It’s a great way for kids and some adults to get their green leafy veggies without realizing it.

Deb