MEATLOAF w/ SHIITAKE

In this post I'll have a low sodium recipe for a meatloaf with shiitake mushrooms. It will be healthier, as the gravy will be made with vegetable stock instead of the drippings from the ground beef. If you are diabetic, this will be safe to eat as well. However anyone can enjoy this dish. Mealoaf is the comfort food of all comfort foods. Fairly inexpensive, the ingredients can be minimal. If you are blessed to get free range beef, all natural and organic beef purchase those. It's OK to get at least an 80/20 lean to fat ratio. Having some fat gives it flavor even without the salt. However you may sprinkle a little over the portion on your plate to give you that sense of salt, don't get too nuts and start pouring it. Just do a dash or a light sprinkle.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. of ground beef
1 large egg beaten
1 tbsp. low fat yogurt
3 tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. low sodium tamari soy sauce
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. apple juice
2 tbsp. minced onion
2 tbsp. minced green onion
2 pieces of brown bread broken up and soaked in a cup of milk, then added to the mixture.
8 oz. of chopped shiitake mushrooms. If dried, rehydrate in warm water for a few minutes to soften.

GRAVY

16 fl. oz organic vegetable stock
2 tbsp. of safflower oil
3 tbsp. of all-purspos flour
dash of salt
dash of white pepper

DIRECTIONS

Turn on your oven to pre-heat to 375 deg. F.

In a mixing bowl, add in all of the ingredients for the ground beef. Mix it well, but do not over mix. Place it in a bakind dish, or loaf pan that supports 2 lbs. of ground beef. You can form it into a football and lay it on a baking dish it will work, the form or shape doesn't matter too much. In fact I like the football look. Bake it for about 45-50 minutes. Check occasionally. If it starts to get really brown, take it out.

Make the gravy. In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the safflower oil, when hot, add in the all-purspose flour. Cook the flour to thicken, continue to cook and turn the flour brown. The darker but don't burn it, will look nice like real gravy. Add in the stock, and whisk until a nice texture is formed. Voila! Gravy. Lean gravy.

To serve, slice the meatloaf, have your sides ready, and top it with the healthy vegetable stock gravy.

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