Recipe - Mediterranean Meat Loaf (gluten free version, too!)

I wanted to share one of my family’s favorite ways to have meatloaf. It is a healthful way to prepare this traditional American meal using lots of fresh and tasty ingredients. And when this dish is cooking in the oven, be prepared for a stampede from the household as its amazing aromas filter around the house.

One time, we had it for dinner when one of my son’s friends was eating with us. As he was eating, he would slowly chew each bite and mumble, “MMmmthere’s cheese in it-mmm-there’s cheese.”

I am not kidding about the way this makes your home smell, too. We’ve had delivery guys at the door capture a whiff and begin to linger, asking more about what’s in the oven.

And the best part, you can easily double or triple this to freeze some for later meals.

The recipe does not originate from me, but came from my sister-in-law, Cindy, who found it somewhere else. I would love to know the original source so I could give appropriate credit (leave a comment if you know), but as with most recipes, my sister-in-law changed a few things and then I changed a few things, so it may not resemble the original recipe much at all!

Well, here it is! Enjoy!

2 lbs. ground beef ¼ cup minced fresh parsley 1 cup bread crumbs (gluten free, use 1 cup almond flour) 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled 4 garlic cloves, minced (don’t worry, everyone else will have garlic breath, too, so it’s all good) 2 large eggs 1 cup minced fresh green onions 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar ½ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Add all ingredients to pan.

Mix with your hands until everything is just combined. You may want to remove your rings for this; you can see that I forgot.

I usually keep my rings in this adorable tiny tagine given to me by my friend, Maggie. It is a safe place to keep them while I’m cooking (If I remember to do it).

Mold into two loaves in a 13 x 5 inch loaf pan. Don't press them into the pan. The juices will run out more freely this way, and you will be able to remove the cooked loaves more easily onto a serving platter.

Bake at 375˚F for 1 hour. Note that baking times may vary depending on your oven. We had an old dinosaur of an oven until recently, and I had to bake this recipe for 1 hour and 15 minutes in it. Just keep a close watch after 1 hour.

Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes (it will continue to cook inside) before slicing. Enjoy!

NOTE: If you double this recipe, mold the two extra loaves and place them onto a cookie sheet that has parchment or wax paper on it. Cover them in foil or plastic wrap and put them in the freezer for a few hours. Then you can remove them from the cookie sheet and put them into a freezer bag for later use. I like to take the frozen loaves and put them directly in a crock pot (before it is turned on). Then I let them cook on low for the day – you can even throw some carrots and potatoes into the pot, and dinner is DONE!