Clean Eating :: Mini Italian Meatloaves

When I went shopping for this week's (okay, last week's...I'm consistently at least a week behind) meals, Kroger absolutely smacked me in the face. No baby bok choy! No chives! NEVER ANY BASIL (wtf is up with that, anyway?). So when I looked at tonight's menu (and knew I would probably not make it to Fresh Market to look for my missing ingredients) my options were salmon or mini meatloaves.

And since I needed the sauce for a meal later this week...mini meatloaves it is!

Step one :: Buy the right tomatoes. When they said San Marzano whole tomatoes, I was all like, "Is that a brand?" The end of the story is, no. That's actually a kind of tomato. I should have tried the Italian section of the store but I suspect these work close enough. Lesson learned - google it if you're not sure.

Step two :: cut the tomatoes in the can. Erm, what? I've never done that before. Why didn't I just buy diced tomatoes? Whatever, this ended with me reaching into the can and snipping them by hand. This looks chunky and watery. Seriously longing for some Ragu right about now. I added tomato paste because I didn't trust that it would work.

Step three :: slice baby bella mushrooms and saute in olive oil and garlic. Okay, I can handle that.

Step four :: smash all of the meatloaf ingredients together and make some little loaves. Always the grossest part. My husband wasn't home yet, so at this point I put the mixture in the fridge. Hey! Let's check on that dang sauce.

Okay, looking a little more saucy. But dang, it's pretty chunky. Whatever. This is the point when I remember I have an immersion blender. PERFECT!

Now we're cooking with grease. Or sauce. Or whatever. I taste the sauce at this point and while it's OKAY, it's kind of lacking something. I added a dash of italian seasoning and probably about a tablespoon of crushed red pepper to spice it up. That's better!

Mmm. Is there anything more appetizing than raw meat? The answer is...everything. But there are my little beauties ready to go! 35 minutes on the clock. Time to make some potatoes.

I eyeballed a half pound and chopped these puppies up. Mmm mmm mmm. Potatoes swimming in their own filth, how delightful. Bring that to a boil and tell my girl Siri to set the timer.

That's right. Do that thing. At this point, I discover they ALSO want me to make green beans. Are you crazy? Who is going to eat all of this food? I decide to skip the veggies and sit down to watch the Bachelorette instead.

Ding! Potatoes are done! I realize at this point I don't have a potato masher, so I decide to make do with my muddler. The good news is, it totally worked. For my first time mashing potatoes, this wasn't so bad! I added a little parm to give it some pop and we're ready to plate!

Okay, not exactly the prettiest meal I've made, but it was pretty delicious. The meatloaf basically tasted like a giant meatball, which is my favorite part of spaghetti anyway, so I cleaned that half of the plate. The potatoes were fine. They tasted like potatoes. I'd like to try adding butter or sour cream to make them a little more savory.


Up tomorrow...erm, I think I better get my booty to the store and get that bok choy before my shrimp turns.