Ingredients

• 15 baby carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped (if desired)
• 1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup of mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• Glaze Ingredients:
• brown sugar
• ketchup
• hot pepper sauce to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  Place the minced vegetables into a large mixing bowl, and mix in ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, and egg. Add dried herbs, salt and black pepper. Mix to incorporate vegetables and egg into the meat. Pour in bread crumbs. Mix in the crumbs with your fingers just until combined.
3. Form the meatloaf into a ball. Shape the ball into a loaf, about 4 inches high by 6 inches long.
4. Bake in the preheated oven just until the meatloaf is hot, about 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, ketchup, Dijon mustard, and hot sauce. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.  Mix to suit your taste.
6. Remove the meatloaf from the oven. With the back of a spoon, smooth the glaze onto the top of the meatloaf, then pull a little bit of glaze down the sides of the meatloaf with the back of the spoon.
7. Return meatloaf to oven, and bake until the loaf is no longer pink inside and the glaze has baked onto the loaf, 50 to 55 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the loaf should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Tonight’s meal was a hit.  I served it with homemade macaroni and cheese as a side dish.  I wasn’t sure how the minced vegetables would taste in the meatloaf as I bulked it up a bit more than usual but 2/3 of the loaf was gone and the rest will be eaten at lunch today.

For my gluten-free son I made the exact same recipe right up until I added the bread crumbs.  I separated a small portion into a separate bowl for him and as I was out of gluten-free bread crumbs I substituted Maiza and he liked is just as well as usual.