Italian Meatloaf with Spinach

To me, meatloaf is the epitome of comfort food. This meatloaf is based on the recipe that I grew up eating. For the recipe below I have decreased the amount of cheese and added spinach, but other than that this is the meatloaf that I remember my mom making for us. Even people who say they don't like meatloaf like this one. And little kids love it. Between bites, Naomi kept telling me it was "yummy," which is a rare complement from her when it comes to dinner food.

If you didn't want to use any cheese in this meatloaf, you might try placing thin slices of prosciutto on top of the spinach layer instead of the 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Italian Meatloaf with Spinach
serves 6 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Gillian's Foods bread crumbs (which contain white rice flour, water, yeast, salt, and raw cane sugar) or another brand of rice-based bread crumbs with similar ingredients.
• 1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce. Check to make sure it does not contain any corn syrup or soybean oil.
  
• 1 pound of meatloaf mix or ground beef
• 1 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Use either 4C Imported All Natural Grated Parmesan or a block of Parmesan that you grate yourself. Most other pre-grated Parmesan contains cellulose powder, which could come from corn.
  
• 3 or 4 thin slices of mozzarella purchased at the deli counter of your grocery store
  

Instructions:

I usually start making the meatloaf about 2 hours before I want to serve dinner, or I prepare it earlier in the day and don't put it in the oven until 1 hour before dinnertime.

Chop the onion. Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium frying pan and heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Transfer the onion to the pan and saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Set half of the sauteed onion on a separate plate, and keep the other half in the pan. Add the garlic to the pan and stir for 30 seconds. Add the basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, and stir. Then take the pan off the heat for the onion mixture to cool.

In a large mixing bowl combine the egg, bread crumbs, and 1 cup (8 ounces) of the tomato sauce. Reserve the rest of the tomato sauce for later. When the onion mixture in the pan has cooled slightly, add it to the bowl and stir. Then add the ground meat and stir with a spoon or mix with your hands until it is well combined. On a large piece of waxed paper, spread out the meat mixture until it is about 12 inches long and 8 or 9 inches wide (depending on the length of your loaf pan).

Defrost the chopped spinach in the microwave. When it is fully defrosted and not too cold to the touch, place all of the spinach in a cloth dish towel and, holding it over the sink, wring out as much water as possible. Place the spinach in a medium-size bowl and add to it the reserved onion mixture. Stir to combine and then scatter the spinach-onion mixture over the top of the rectangle of meat mixture. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan over the top of the spinach-onion mixture. Then use the waxed paper to carefully roll the entire rectangle of meat, spinach, and cheese width-wise and place it gently into your loaf pan.

Here is what the rectangle looks like before you roll it up.

Place the loaf pan in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and pour the remaining tomato sauce over the meatloaf so that it covers the meatloaf completely. Place the slices of mozzarella over the tomato sauce. Return the meatloaf to the oven for 15 more minutes.

I usually serve the meatloaf with rice pasta and marinara sauce (that is free of corn syrup and soybean oil).