Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze

Another one of my quests lately is to find yummy meatloaf recipes. I never really liked meatloaf much until I tried this recipe. It made me realize that it can be pretty good with the right ingredients and flavors. This is a recipe I found from Bobby Flay and it was so worth the time I spent reading recipes and looking for the right one. It calls for the traditional mixture of ground beef, pork, and veal. First of all, our store never has ground veal and ground pork is pretty hard to find. I substituted a pound of pork sausage for the pork and veal. It worked perfectly. I think the key to good meatloaf is having vegetables in it to give it moisture. The kids scarfed this one up and, even though mine aren't too picky about their veggies, it's a good way to sneak them in there. Also, I don't think you can ever go wrong with a little balsamic. We had this with mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli. Definitely satisfying!



Recipe (Serves 6-8 - It's 2 whole pounds of meat!)

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large zucchini, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t red pepper flakes, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 T fresh thyme or 1 t dried
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the zucchini, peppers, garlic paste, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until almost soft, 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl. Add the meat, bread crumbs, cheese, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, and the cooled vegetables and mix until just combined.
Mold the meatloaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Whisk together the remaining ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the entire loaf. Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.