CHEESY SALSA MEAT LOAF
Meat Loaves are a staple. Look at this wonderful, flavorful meat loaf full of salsa, garlic and Cheddar cheese. Yum! Sometimes we get stuck making the same one over and over again. Meat Loaf can actually be an exciting entrée with some imagination. This meat loaf is very easy and quick to assemble. We can all appreciate quick suppers from time to time. The only thing that is not quick is the time it takes to bake in the oven, but while that is happening, you can make some tasty sides to go along with this Salsa Cheddar meat loaf.
Admittedly, this is not my prettiest looking meat loaf, but do we really care when it is the taste that ultimately counts much more? You could also bake this in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. I like free form as it is so much easier and easier to see when the meat loaf is done, too.
To keep meat loaves juicy, use some combination of wet ingredients, such as salsa in this case, or tomato paste, egg, Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, etc. I have never done this before but I read that adding a little baking soda to the meat loaf keeps it moist by stopping the proteins from binding too quickly which dries out the meat loaf.
The binding in this meat loaf (to keep it together) is the egg and the bake mix or almond flour. The garlic and seasonings are what gives this meat loaf extra flavor besides the salsa.
The shredded Cheddar cheese compliments this salsa meat loaf so well. I didn't use onions in the meat loaf, but you can, if you like. You can use a chunky salsa or a smoother one. It doesn't matter. The heat of the salsa is up to you. I used medium heat salsa, as I don't like overly spicy food. This was not spicy at all.
Meat loaves are typically made with ground beef or a mix of ground beef and ground pork or sausage meat, ground chicken or ground turkey.
To change this up a bit you could make this into more of a Taco-flavored meat loaf and add taco seasoning for a wonderful variation or twist on this meat loaf.
As for knowing when the meat loaf is cooked, you could use a meat thermometer, but I usually cut it open and can tell right away if the meat loaf is ready or not.
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef (0.9 kg)
1/2
cup medium heat salsa (125 mL)
1/2 cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, OR almond flour (125 mL)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese, divided (250 mL)
1 egg
1 tbsp minced garlic (15 mL)
1 tbsp dried parsley (15 mL)
2 tsp salt (10 mL)
1/2
tsp black pepper (2 mL)
Sprinkle of paprika for ganish
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Line a greased baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, combine ground beef, salsa, Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, OR almond flour, 1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Cheddar cheese, egg, minced garlic, parsley, salt and black pepper. Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 45 minutes. Top with remaining Cheddar cheese and place in the oven another 5 to 10 minutes until the cheese has melted. If the meat loaf is clearly done, you could broil the meat loaf to melt the cheese. Sprinkle with paprika.
Yield: 8 servings
1
serving
352.5
calories
27.4
g protein
24.9
g fat
0.5 g fiber
3.1
g net carbs
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