Jalapeno spices up healthful meatloaf

Chris Ross

New Jersey blogger Rachel Mansfield says she struggled with yo-yo dieting for years until she gave up counting calories and eating fat-free foods, instead choosing to focus on eating “real” foods that were both nourishing and delicious. Since she loved to cook, she began to create her own healthier versions of comfort foods, sharing the recipes on her blog, rachLmansfield.

Now you can find many of her healthy recipes in her first cookbook, “Just the Good Stuff,” including a Paleo Everything Bagel Bread and Cracker-Crusted Oven-Baked “Fried” Chicken.

She says this simple recipe spices up traditional meatloaf and will provide leftovers for other meals.

ZESTY JALAPEÑO MEATLOAF

2 tablespoons avocado oil, plus more for greasing the loaf pan

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds ground grass-fed beef

2 large pasture-raised eggs

1/3 cup blanched almond flour

1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons jalapeño ketchup or regular ketchup (paleo, if preferred)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup chopped jalapeños

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with avocado oil.

Add the avocado oil to a small skillet set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Transfer the garlic and onion to a large bowl and add the ground beef, eggs, almond flour and 3 tablespoons of ketchup. Sprinkle with the Italian seasoning, pepper and salt. Mix with your hands or with a fork until well combined.

Gently fold in the chopped jalapeños.

Transfer the meat mixture to the prepared loaf pan and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, spread the remaining 1/3 cup ketchup over the top, and bake until the meatloaf is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes more.

Let the meatloaf cool in the pan for a few minutes. Slice and serve. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months

Reprinted from “Just the Good Stuff” by Rachel Mansfield. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.