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This
is a healthier version of an old family favorite. The meat mixture from this
recipe will make enough for a loaf pan sized meatloaf (for tonight) and about
20 meatballs (for the freezer) that can be cooked in broth later and added to
hot tomato sauce for a quick pasta dinner later.
Materials:
breakfast knife
large steel mixing bowl
steel potato masher
large steel spoon
measuring cups and spoons
food-safe disposable gloves
baking pan (cooking time based on loaf pan. larger pan will take longer)
baking sheet
meat thermometer
Zip-Loc bag (gallon size)
Ingredients (add to large mixing bowl):
1 egg (slightly beaten)
2 T. salsa (to stir in now) and reserve 1 c. salsa for later
(I like Pace brand salsa. There’s
no sugar added and the medium has plenty of kick)
½ large yellow onion (grated)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 t. sea salt
1 t. Chachere’s seasoning blend
¼ t. fresh ground pepper
1 t. dried parsley (plus other savory herbs if desired.)
2 ½ lbs. ground meat (combination of ground turkey and extra lean
ground beef)
½ c. Quick Oats
Method:-Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
-Mix all ingredients, except for reserved 1 c. of salsa, in large
(steel) mixing bowl using steel potato masher until well incorporated.
-Use large metal spoon to transfer meat mixture to baking dish and
press down firmly (whole recipe will fill square pan or ½ recipe will fill loaf
pan with some mixture left over to make meatballs).
-Top entire meatloaf generously with reserved salsa
-Bake for one hour at 350 F.
-Once the meatloaf is in the oven
put on dispoasable food-safe gloves and form the remaining meat mixture into
meatballs. I usually aim for smaller than egg-sized. Too large will not be as
tasty as they will not soak up the flavor from the sauce.
-Place the meat balls on a baking
sheet and place the sheet in the freezer
-discard gloves, wash hands and
clean dishes and surfaces thoroughly
-After one hour check that meat thermometer shows a minimum temperature
of 165 F. in the center of the meatloaf (avoid touching the bottom of the pan
with the probe when testing temperature). Leave meatloaf in the oven until a
safe interior temperature is achieved.(checking every 5-10 minutes).
-Serve with a green salad.
-After dinner remove frozen
meatballs from freezer, place them in a Zip-Loc bag and return them to the
freezer until needed.
-Frozen meat balls can be cooked
by placing in boiling broth until interior temp of 165 F. is achieved, then
placed into pot of hot tomato sauce to simmer for 15-30 minutes and served over
pasta.
Shopping List:
food-safe disposable gloves,
Zip-Loc bag (gallon size)
Pace brand salsa (medium)
yellow onion
garlic bulb
sea salt
Tony Chachere’s seasoning blend
pepper
dried parsley
other savory herbs (if desired.)
2 ½ lbs. ground meat (combination of ground turkey and extra lean
ground beef)
Quick Oats
A Note on Meat Safety: Whenever
I work with raw meat I start by opening my dishwasher (or freeing up my sink)
and readying my trash can (lined with a bag) so that all utensils and wrappers
can go directly from use to washing or discarding without touching counters,
etc. I use a breakfast knife to open the package and drop the meat right into
my large steel mixing bowl (for this recipe -or onto the grill, or pan for
others). That way I don’t have raw meat touching other surfaces unnecessarily.
I use a steel potato masher to mix the ingredients in the bowl (instead of my
hands), and food-safe disposable gloves at the end to form the meatballs from
the extra meat mixture. Once the meatloaf is in the oven, and the meatballs are
in the freezer, I bag and remove the trash, wash my hands thoroughly, turn on
the dishwasher using the hottest water possible, and clean everything else
(surfaces etc.) with hot soapy water just to be sure a droplet of raw meat
juice didn’t contaminate something. Then I put the wash-cloths into the washer
with hot water too. The FDA recommended minimum interior temperatures for
safely cooked meats are as follows:
Ground Meat: Ground Beef,
Veal, Lamb, and Pork 160F & Ground Poultry 165 F.
Since our recipe is a Beef/Turkey combination we follow the higher
temperature (165 F.)
Meat Cuts: Beef, Veal, Lamb,
Pork 145 F. and Poultry 165 F.
Fish: 145 F.
More information about safely cooking with meat can be found at:
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