A dear friend of mine and I agree - we never make meatloaf in quite the same way twice. The last time I made it, I added one cup Brocco-Slaw per pound of meat, along with all the other ingredients, plus oats instead of some of the bread crumbs. It turned out to be very flavorful and sliced really well.
The Brocco-slaw was unnoticeable, except for a few tiny shreds of carrot here and there, so this is a good way to add vegetables for your kids. They might pick out a little carrot, but they'll eat the broccoli and red cabbage without knowing it.
Just make your meatloaf as usual, adjusting the amount of bread crumbs/oats and eggs to account for the extra liquid when the veggies cook. For 3 lbs. of ground meat, I used 1 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs, 1 1/2 cups oats (the kind that cook for 5 minutes), 2 eggs, and 3 cups slaw, and all my usual ingredients (herbs, onions, Worcestershire sauce, etc).
In addition to adding more veggies, this really stretches your meal. It made 3 nice meatloaves, 1 to eat and 2 to freeze for a lazy-day meal. It's healthier, and it tasted great!
Another good way to stretch meat loaf is to drain a can or two of beans (depends on the size of the meat loaf), mash them thoroughly, and mix them into the meat. I prefer kidney beans for the color and taste.
Brocco-slaw is sold here in the States in the produce section. It is shredded broccoli stems with a little carrot and red cabbage for color and flavor. It makes a delicious alternative to cabbage in your slaw.
By Free2B from North Royalton, OH
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