April 25, 2012

Menu:
Meat and Rice
Roasted green beans and asparagus
Bananas


The meat and rice on the menu is a meatloaf that I crumbled up and added to brown rice because I thought that the kids might like it better.  They seem to love rice dishes and rice is certainly a healthy grain.

The meatloaf and rice dish works well with anyone's meatloaf recipe.  I combined one meatloaf that I crumbled with two cups of brown basmati rice and two small chopped tomatoes. My version of this week's meatloaf is below.  I always use a green in meatloaf be it collards, kale or spinach...this one uses kale.  I also use ground flax seed in place of one egg to provide extra fiber and omega-3s.

The asparagus went over really well with the kids too.  I am so happy that they are enjoying the roasted veggies.  I plan to make sure that at least one day a week next year consists of seasonal veggies roasted and paired with a grain.

My Veggie Beef Meatloaf:
1 lb of lean ground beef (*we just bought a beef share from a local farm)
one small onion
2 garlic cloves
2-3 celery stalks
one sweet red pepper
one bunch kale
1/4 c ground flax seed
salt
pepper
handful of fresh parsley
tsp ground mustard
oregano (about 1-2 tsp)
egg, blended

Preheat oven to 375.  In a food processor combine the onion, garlic, celery, pepper, and kale.  Mix well until everything is in tiny pieces.  Combine that with all the ingredients in a bowl.  I always mix it by hand.  Form by hand and bake for an hour to an hour and half depending on the thickness of the meatloaf.  The outside will be pretty dark with a thin "crust".  If it isn't cooked well enough, it will fall apart when you place a spatula under it.  I prefer to place my meatloaf on a broiler pan so the excess fat drips into the bottom of the pan.

Roasted asparagus and green beans:
-Bunch of asparagus
-Green beans
-Olive Oil
-Salt (I use sea salt)

Preheat the oven to 400.  Prep the veggies.  For the asparagus, I bend each piece toward the bottom to remove any hard portions.  For the green beans, I just snap the ends off.  I put the veggies out on a cookie sheet.  Pour a TBSP or so of olive oil over the veggies and move them around to make sure that they are totally covered.  For smaller veggies, it is easy to just toss them with olive oil in a bowl; however, asparagus is easier to be tossed on the cookie sheet.  Make sure the veggies aren't crowded in the pan.  I often use two separate pans if I have a lot of veggies.  Sprinkle with salt.  Cook for 15-25 minutes.  I can't give an exact time on them because asparagus varies widely in size as it can be very skinny or super fat.  Just check them after 15 minutes.  When veggies are done, they will be brown on some of the edges which is what gives the vegetables the great caramelized sweet flavors.

I added some broccoli florets to one pan as well because I know that there are a few kiddos who really like it.

*Here is where I get the majority of my meat:
http://www.kookoolanfarms.com/Beef.html
If you are interested in this, I highly recommend it.