Sausage-stuffed Italian-style Meat Loaf

Recipe courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ lbs lean ground beef
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp pesto
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • ¼ cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ lb mild, medium or hot Italian sausages
  • 2 cups tomato basil pasta sauce

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the beef, eggs, pesto, milk, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper in a bowl, and gently mix to combine. Moisten your hands with cold water. Transfer the meat to the baking sheet. Press the meat into a square that's about 10 inches long and 8 inches wide. Remove the sausage from its casing. Press and shape the sausage meat into an oblong that's about 8 inches long and 2 inches wide. Set the sausage meat in the centre of the beef mixture. Now shape the beef into a meat loaf, ensuring the sausage mixture is completely encased by the beef mixture.
  2. Brush the top of the meat loaf with ¼ cup of the pasta sauce. Bake the meat loaf for 1 hour, or until the temperature in the centre of the meat loaf reaches 160F on a meat thermometer. Let the meat loaf rest for 5 minutes. While it rests heat the remaining pasta sauce. Slice the meat loaf and serve it with the hot pasta sauce.

Makes 6 servings, count each serving as 3 protein.

Recipe courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen, March 2011

Photo Courtesy of DEBRA BRASH, TIMES COLONIST for the Ottawa Citizen.