Chicken Meatloaf
Meatloaf is comfort food served with a big serving of Mashed Potatoes and of course the gravy!!! But, if you are battling the “bulge” you don’t the calories. How about a recipe that gives you all the comfort you need plus good nutrition and low low calories?
Also one that is easy to make with leftovers for other great menu ideas. The chicken meatloaf above is all that. Served over Mock Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli or vegetable of your choice. A Side salad is also great with this.
The meatloaf makes great leftovers. You can crumble it and make tacos, or chop it up and add to your salads, or even better, how about a great sandwich. To make the meatloaf you will need the following:
this makes 6 servings
1 medium onion, diced, small
2 celery stalks,diced, small
2 Golden Delicious apples, cored and finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground skinless lean chicken breast
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons honey mustard
The apples in this recipe add moisture and makes the meat slightly sweet and delicious. Be sure you use a fresh nutmeg (not one that you have had in your pantry for years). The fresh crumbs are best. I usually take a couple slices of whole wheat bread and whirl in my food processor. I have on other occasions used whole wheat dry breadcrumbs. This also works great. The dill and lemon zest is really great so don’t leave it out. You can always freeze the leftover dill if you want.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray and put over a medium heat. Saute the onion and celery, stirring frequently until slightly softened, which should take about 2 or 3 minutes. If your skillet seems too dry, you can add a couple of teaspoons of water to help soften the mixture.
Add the apples, lower the heat to low, cook stirring occasionally until the apples are quite soft, the onion is a little golden for about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. You don’t want to add the hot mixture to the ground chicken.
Spray a 5 x 9 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. You could also make meatloaf muffins. In which case the cooking time will be considerably shorter. If you use use a muffin tin you should bake them about 30 minutes (test with a meat thermometer). You want them to be 165 degrees and let them rest.
In a bowl, add the chicken, egg whites, bread crumbs, dill, lemon zest, salt, nutmeg and pepper to the onion mixture; mix until well combined. Spoon the mixture into your loaf pan and pack down. Spread the mustard on top.
Bake until the thermometer (inserted in the middle) registers 165 degrees, which should take about 1 hour and 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK!!
Be sure and let it rest about 5 minutes or so, then unmold and cut into slices.
Per servings: 203 calories; 4g fat; 351mg sodium; 13g carb; 2g fiber; 27g protein.
Chicken Meatloaf
Friday, January 12, 2007
