Caroline’s Meatloaf

This recipe is from my friend Terri, who modified it from Kitchen Playdates by Lauren Bank Deen.

Ingredients
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion peeled
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely grated
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, drained, finely chopped v2/3 cup bread crumbs (I use a combination of whole wheat bread crumbs, panko, and wheat germ, and eyeball it based on how moist the vegetables are)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1.5 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 tbsp salt

Directions
1. preheat oven to 375*
2. shred the onion, carrots, and garlic in a food processer or grate by hand
3. heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat, and add the onion, carrot, garlic, and spinach and saute until the vegetables are softened, about 4 minutes. transfer to a large bowl and set aside until slightly cool
4. add the bread crumbs,meat, eggs, parsley, pepper, salt, and ketchup. using your hands, gently combine, distributing the seasonings evenly
5. put the mixture into a laof pan or mini loaf pan (and save the rest for later)
6. bake the meat loaf until juices run clear when the loaf is pierced, about 50 minutes (less for a mini loaf, use the meat thermometer). a meat thermometer inserted in the middle should read 155 degrees F. let cool 10 minutes before slicing.