Beef, Sausage and Spinach Loaf

By á-4202

Yum-o! Served with Tomato-Olive Sauce

Ingredients

• this recipe is for the meat loaf only - see Tomato-Olive Sauce recipe.
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil, crumbled
• 1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
• 1 tsp dried thyme, crumbled
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 packages (10 oz each) chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 1 lb Italian-style sweet sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
• 3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• Tomato-Olive Sauce

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 140mins

Preparation

Step 1

1) In a large non-reactive skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme and hot pepper, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, for 10 mins. Uncover, stir in the spinach and cook, stirring to break up the clumps, for 3 mins. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

2) Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, sausage, spinach mixture, bread crumbs, eggs, Parmesan cheese and salt and mix thoroughly. In a shallow baking dish, form the meat into a flat loaf about 2 1/2" thick; smooth the top with the back of a spoon.

3) Bake the meat loaf for about 1 1/2 hrs or until 160 degrees F. Let rest on a rack for 10 mins before slicing. Serve with Tomato-Olive Sauce on the side.