Italian Meatloaf

This Italian meatloaf turned out even better than I imagined, which made me happy. It’s total comfort food and hits the spot when you’re wanting both meatloaf and spaghetti. It’s seriously the best of both worlds. We ate ours on a bed of sautéed kale with marinara on top and a sprinkle of raw Parmesan, since we both tolerate it. It was perfection.

Meanwhile, the holiday season was a lot of fun, but I’m ready for some normalcy again. The decorations and tree are down, and the house is back in order. I’m usually a little blue after the holiday season, but I’m doing just fine this year. There are so many things to look forward to that I’m not too sad. I’m excited about 2015 and know that it’s going to be wonderful. It will be a great year because I’m going to make it great! Remember, that you choose what you want to create in your life and you choose your attitude.

Enjoy and cheers to a New Year!

Italian Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp grass-fed butter
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
• 1 lb ground spicy Italian chicken sausage
• 1 egg, preferably pasture-raised
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp coconut flour
• 1.5 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
• Pepper to taste
• No sugar added marinara sauce, for serving (I like this one and this one)
• If tolerated, raw Parmesan for serving, optional

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Sauté a few minutes, or until onion is softened. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Once onion mixture is cool, place in a food processor or small prep blender like this one and pulse until big chunks are broken up into fine pieces.
4. Then, in a large bowl, mix together the onion mixture, ground beef, ground chicken sausage, egg, tomato paste, coconut flour, Italian seasoning, sea salt and pepper. Mix everything well with your hands.
5. Place meat mixture in a large loaf pan and spread out evenly with your hands. Bake for 60 minutes in the preheated oven.
6. When the meatloaf is nearly done, pour some marinara sauce in a saucepan and let warm over medium-low heat.
7. Serve meatloaf slices with warm marinara sauce and garnish with raw Parmesan, if tolerated and desired.