Week 2- Meal#5 Best Meatloaf Everrrrrr

Image courtesy of bittenword.com

Good Eats Meatloaf with Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans

For the meatloaf:

1/2 cup  bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup frozen onion and pepper blend
  1 tsp minced garlic
2 lbs ground chuck

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg

For the glaze:
1/2 cup catsup
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon honey

Directions

1) Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

2)  In a food processor bowl, combine the onion and pepper blend, bread crumbs, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture but not pureed. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Work in the ground chuck. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.

3) Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan and bake for about 40 min or until nice and bubbly.

4) Pop your sweet potatoes into the oven at the same time and cook them 45-50 min.

5) Combine the catsup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 20 minutes.

 6) Finish making the sweet potatoes using the recipe below.

7) While your sweet potatoes are twice baking go ahead and make your sauteed green beans.

Meatloaf recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

image courtesy of Food network

Healthier Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 4 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons honey (you can use brown sugar if you really want to)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (If you're already cooking meat leave it at the lower temp).

2) Rinse and scrub potatoes to remove any dirt and pat dry with a towel. Using a fork, poke holes in potatoes. Place in the oven directly on the top rack and place a sheet pan or sheet of foil on the rack below to catch any drippings. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until potatoes are soft to touch with a fork. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Keep oven on.

3) Cut a slit along top of potatoes from top to bottom. Using a spoon, gently scoop out flesh and set aside in a small bowl. (Sweet potatoes skins aren’t quite as tough as traditional russet potatoes, so be careful not to rip the skin while removing flesh. It’s okay to leave a little potato behind in the skins too—aim to scoop out about 75 percent of flesh.)

4) Add yogurt, butter, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg to potatoes, and mash to combine. Taste mixture and season with salt to taste.

5) Gently spoon mixture back into shells. (If desired, you can wrap up potatoes in plastic and store in the refrigerator for up to one day to cook later.) Place potatoes on a sheet pan and squeeze to reclose as much as possible.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until warm.