Rio Grande Meat Loaf

RIO GRANDE MEAT LOAF

Matt asked for Southwest meat loaf for dinner last night.  I ended up finding this recipe on Cooking Light and it was perfect.  The meat loaf was so moist and full of flavor!  We'll definitely be making this again!

RIO GRANDE MEAT LOAF
(Cooking Light)

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 2 slices)
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 taco shells, finely crushed (about 1 1/2 ounces)
2 egg whites
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 pounds ground round
Vegetable cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375°. Combine first 12 ingredients in a large bowl, and stir well. Crumble beef over vegetable mixture, and stir just until blended.

Pack mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until meat loaf registers 160°. Let meat loaf stand in pan 10 minutes.

Remove meat loaf from pan; cut loaf into 16 slices. Serve with commercial salsa, if desired.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 234 (29% from fat), Fat: 7.5g (sat 2.3g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.9g) , Protein: 28.9g, Carbohydrate: 11.6g, Fiber: 1.9g, Cholesterol: 66mg, Iron: 4.1mg, Sodium: 483mg, Calcium: 31mg

Cooking Light, MARCH 1996