Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf with Mustard Balsamic White Asparagus

My friend Justine is an adventurous cook like myself. Not only do we work together, do yoga together and have husbands that went to high school together, we love to share delectable recipes and bring some in for each other to try.  Bobby Flay's Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf  was one of her finds so I will give her all the credit.

Last week she sacrificed a delectable serving and brought me in a taste. Something only a true friend would do as this recipe is plate licking good. The next day I brought it for lunch with a side of roasted acorn squash and immediately decided to make it the following week.

We both lightened it up some. I used 1 lb ground bison (she used lean ground beef) and 1 lb extra lean ground turkey. We both broke the recipe in half and froze one and cooked the other. Each meatloaf is four LARGE servings and if you are on a time crunch, like us working mothers, it’s nice to have another meal in the freezer all ready to go!

I found some white asparagus at Fresh Market and simply baked it along with the meatloaf and then topped it with a mustard balsamic dressing to mirror the balsamic glaze on the meatloaf.
 

Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf with Mustard Balsamic White Asparagus
Printable Recipe


Ingredients

1 tsp Extra Virgin olive oil
1 large zucchini, finely diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
3 tsp minced garlic smashed to paste with sea salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb ground bison
1 lb extra lean ground turkey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly shredded whole milk mozzarella
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar


Directions

1. Heat a large, straight sided skillet over medium high heat and add the 1 tsp EVOO. Sauté the veggies, garlic and half the red pepper flakes for five minutes and set that aside to cool.

2. Once cool, mix everything through the mozzarella GENTLY along with half the ketchup and 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar.

*** At this point I broke the meat mixture in half and froze one half and put the other in the refrigerator for the next night.

3. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

4. Top the meatloaf with 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/8 cup balsamic and 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour.

*** Reserve the remaining ketchup, balsamic and red pepper flakes for the other meatloaf.


White Asparagus

Ingredients


1 lb white asparagus spears
EVOO spray
Garlic sea salt and pepper, to taste


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay each spear on a cutting board. Use a peeler to gently peel outside layer then trim about an inch from the thick ends.

2. Spray a baking pan with EVOO spray and lay the asparagus across, spray those with EVOO as well and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

3. Roast for 15-20 minutes.

4. Top with Mustard Balsamic Dressing (recipe follows).


Mustard Balsamic Dressing


Ingredients


1 Tbsp Grey Poupon
1 tsp EVOO
1 packet Splenda Fiber or 1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
Pepper, to taste
1 tsp minced garlic


Directions


1. Whisk all ingredients in a small dish and pour over warm asparagus.