Meatloaf and Marinated Green Bean Salad

This was Thursday's dinner. I'm not used to cheese on my meatloaf, but it was like eating a cheeseburger...sort of. It was tender and moist. The green bean dish is originally from Southern Living. I've been making it for years. Below is my modified version.

Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (~1/2 cup)
1 Tbs. butter
1/3 c. lower sugar ketchup
2 cloves garlic, chopped or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 eggs
1 Tbs. Worcestershire
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 and 1/2 c. shredded cheese

Saute onions in butter in a skillet until tender. Combine all ingredients in a big bowl. Spray a lipped baking pan with oil and shape the meatloaf into a 2" thick loaf- flat on top. It should look like a long rectangle. Bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes. Slice and serve.

The fat tends to drain onto the pan, so the edges tend to be the most flavorful and soft. I don't use an actual loaf pan because it would take far too long to cook. Shaping it with my hands on a pan works great.

Nutrition Info:
Per 1/8th loaf: 327 Calories; 23g Fat; 26g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

Marinated Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

2 15 oz cans green beans, drained

2 15 oz cans wax beans, drained

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

5-ish squirts of liquid Spenda/Stevia or 3 Tbs. granular Stevia/Splenda

1 small onion, diced finely (optional, you can add 1 tsp. onion powder instead if you don't have onions)

1/2 bell pepper, diced (optional)

2 pimientos, diced (optional)

2 cloves garlic, diced

salt and pepper to taste

Combine vinegar, oil, Stevia, and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until mostly combined. Mix onion, beans, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pour the hot mixture over beans. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Overnight is best. I recommend using at least one of the three choices for pepper/onion. Also, any onion will do: white, yellow, red, etc.

This recipe is really flexible. The original one had lima beans and kidney beans. You could even add some cheese cubes and some pepperoni slices to make this more of a small meal.