This fabulous meat loaf is moist, tender, and colorful. Keep the fat content low in this recipe by using lean ground beef and refrigerated egg product.

MAKES:
4 servings,  
CARB GRAMS PER SERVING: 8 


Nutrition Facts per Serving:

Calories: 256, Protein (gr): 36,
Carbohydrate (gr): 8,
Fat, total (gr): 8,
Cholesterol (mg): 94,
Saturated fat (gr): 3,
Dietary Fiber, total (gr): 2,
Sodium (mg): 449,

Diabetic Exchanges Starch (d.e):

1, Lean Meat (d.e):  5


Ingredients

40 gr ounce jar roasted red peppers drained,
1 1/2 cups soft whole wheat bread crumbs (about 2 slices),
1/2 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product thawed or 2 eggs lightly beaten,
1/3 cup purchased tomato sauce,
1/2 cup snipped fresh basil,
1/4 cup snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley,
1/2 teaspoon salt,
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper,
1 kg 95 percent-lean ground beef,
Snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley 


Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 170 Celsius degrees. Cut 1/4 cup of the roasted peppers into thin strips; reserve for the garnish. Finely chop the remaining roasted peppers. In a large bowl, combine the finely chopped roasted red peppers, the bread crumbs, egg product, tomato sauce, basil, the 1/4 cup parsley, the salt, and black pepper. Add ground beef*; mix well.

2. Lightly pat the ground beef mixture into a 20x12x8-cm loaf pan. Bake, uncovered, for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the meat loaf registers 70 degrees Celsius.* Let stand on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Drain off any fat from meat loaf; loosen meat loaf from sides of pan. Carefully remove meat loaf from pan.

3. Reserve and store** one-third of the meat loaf for the Spaghetti with Meat Loaf Sauce recipe. Garnish remaining meat loaf with the reserved 1/4 cup roasted red peppers and additional parsley. Slice to serve. Makes 4 servings, plus enough reserved meat loaf for Spaghetti with Meat Loaf Sauce 

Tip

*Test Kitchen Tip: The internal color of a meat loaf or meatball is not a reliable doneness indicator. A beef meat loaf or meatball cooked to 70 degrees Celsius is safe, regardless of color. To measure the doneness of a meat loaf or meatball, insert an instant-read thermometer into the center of the loaf or ball.

Storage

** Place the reserved cooked meat loaf or the meatballs in an airtight container. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Tip

* You can substitute lean ground bison (buffalo) in place of ground beef.

Bon appétit!