The Gluten-Free Italian: Winner, Winner, Meat-Lover's Dinner!

This post was originally shared on February 28, 2011 but I am recycling it as it's one of our favorites and was altered a bit for my husband's birthday dinner. Yes, I served my love a simple meatloaf on his special day - but he truly loves this dish & this version. As always - Bon Appetite!

Although I promised to share tips about the Vitamix, I've decided to save that for another day & share a surprising favorite in our home. A few summers ago, Tony & I were hooked on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives (Triple D with Guy Fieri on Food Network). As for me, I loved some of the quirky tricks & off-beat locations Guy would visit - as well as his selection of "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner;" which always cracks me up. On the other hand, Tony is extremely carnivorous & Triple D is all about the Meat Smorgasbord! Given my inclination to "play" in the kitchen, as well as the pleasure in watching Tony get excited about what's to eat...I decided to make my own version of one of his favorite dishes which I have never enjoyed - Meatloaf.

As previously mentioned, I was a vegetarian for many years & my daughter can definitely live without red meat. For that matter, neither of us are particularly fond of ground meat so this was going to strictly be a mission of love for the carnivorous man. Surprisingly, we all enjoyed the fruits of this labor, so when converting dishes to gluten-free versions, my Country Style Meatloaf was first in the trials/experiments. The gluten-free version is so delicious, it's referred to as Magical Meatloaf because everyone in the family eats it & I have never (I mean never) had a leftover piece that needed to be discarded...it's that yummy...you MUST give this a try & let me know what changes you would make (or any suggestions).
Country Style Gluten-Free Meatloaf Ingredients:

Set oven at 350 degrees
2 lbs. 85% ground meat (or whatever you prefer - I suggest not too lean)
1 lb. ground pork
red onion; minced
(2) tablespoons olive oil
(2) stalks celery minced (diced)
(2) carrots diced
(1) carrot shredded or finely chopped
(1) egg
(2) cups of leftover cooked rice
salt/pepper
tomato paste 4-6 oz.
ketchup/brown sugar (optional)
disposable gloves (optional)
meat thermometer
glass baking dish (large lasagna)

Updated version (01.07.2014) I decided to eliminate the ground pork and rather than dice the veggies, I "chunked" a bit larger for a bit more country style of this dish. In addition to the vegetables previous mentioned, I added fennel and zucchini to the sauté and completed the dish as I normally would. As mentioned, my daughter & I are not (or at least were not) fans of meatloaf or any ground meat dish - but this really is a winner, winner, meat-lovers dinner!

Directions:

Dice onion, carrot, & celery (mirapoix)
In small saute pan, heat 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Saute the finely chopped/diced Mirapoix until tender
In a food processor, add the (2) cups of cooked rice (cold) & add the Mirapoix
Finely chop or shred (1) carrot & add to the food processor as well - pulse the rice, mirapoix & carrot mixture a few times to blend (do not overdo this step or it will be mushy)
Place meats in a mixing bowl
Add the rice/mirapoix mixture to the meats as well as the tomato paste, egg, & salt/pepper (to taste)
For this part, I use disposable gloves in order to mix the meatloaf by hand - again, do not over-mix or you will actually toughen the meat
Using the baking dish (glass), shape meat into loaf style in the center (see picture) & create a vertical well along the top lengthwise
Mix ketchup & brown sugar (optional) in proportion to your liking & cover loaf with the mixture
Bake in oven at 350 degrees uncovered until thermometer reaches 160 degrees (~ 1 hour)
The last 15 minutes I like to put the oven up to 450 degrees for better browning results

Our favorite sides with this dish are Potatoes Au Gratin & Steamed Broccoli (recipes to come). Would love to hear from you if you try this dish - or even if you have questions!