I love sneaking veggies in meals, my family never notices and I feel like a superhero. I keep a bag of chopped frozen spinach on hand and sneak it into recipes as often as possible. This is a twist on my mother's recipe that my family can't get enough of! We love this recipe because it is...
Delicious
Moist
Flavorful
Ingredients
Makes about 8 baby loaves
3 lbs lean ground beef*
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs
1 large onion, grated or put in a blender
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, break down big chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 28oz can of tomato sauce (or see my tomato sauce recipe here)**
2 bay leaves
salt
pepper
*I use lean ground beef in this recipe because then the dish becomes too heavy
**You can use a ready sauce (like Rao's marinara) if you are short on time, still works beautifully
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine all the ingredients with salt and pepper, EXCEPT the tomato sauce and bay leaves
3. Squish the meat through your fingers until all ingredients evenly distributed
4. Using a measuring cup, grab 1 cup of meat, form a loaf, and place in a baking dish
5. Add sauce to a pot with bay leaves, salt, pepper and simmer on low for 20-30 minutes
6. Place loaves on top rack of oven for 20-30 minutes until browned (while the sauce is cooking!)
7. Pour sauce over loaves, let bake for 1 hour
8. Remove from oven and cover with aluminum foil to rest for 10-15 minutes*, slice, and serve
*An essential step! Locks in the moisture and brings out the best flavor
Notes
-This recipe makes about 8 baby loaves of meatloaf, you can cut the recipe in half if you need to, I it as is and freeze half.
-You can sub dried herbs for fresh, I don't always have fresh on hand.
-Slice only what you will eat, then store. If you slice the whole thing and then store it, the loaf will become dry when you reheat it.
-To freeze: form the loaves, place them on parchment/wax paper on a baking sheet in the freezer for 6-8 hours and then transfer to freezer bags. To cook, thaw properly to room temperature and continue cooking.