Space Girl Organics is a very special company. Not only do they provide us all with great organic produce, but they sponsor organizations that are in need. I'm so happy to be able to help them and the kids.
In my box there was a large squash, eggplants, sweet potatoes, green beans, rainbow carrots, zucchini and plums. Plus veggies and fruits that I knew the kids would really enjoy eating raw.
Everything was great, but how could I make them into a dinner that toddlers would like? Especially, when they told me that their favorite dinner was chicken nuggets!
I peeled and chopped like crazy. I threw squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic in a 400 degree oven to roast with a little olive oil. Do you roast your veggies? It's so easy and really brings out the flavors.
The plums were cooking down with honey to make plum sauce and eventually flavor the Plum and Coconut Ice Cream. I also made the green beans into our favorite side dish. Then I made the zucchini into gluten free Orange Zucchini bread. Whew, I'm getting tired!
Earlier I had put a whole chicken on to boil, so that's how I came up with this dish. If you don't have cooked chicken, you can use more ground turkey, and you can saute just what veggies you need for the meatloaf in your large fry pan instead of roasting them.
I'm happy to report back that the "judges" really liked all of my dishes and didn't chop me!
Kid's Fav Chicken Apple & Veggie Meatloaf, gluten free
Makes 3 medium 9 x4 inch meatloafs Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- 1 pound raw ground organic turkey or chicken
- 3 pieces of cooked organic chicken, chopped (I used a thigh, leg and a breast) or use 2 pounds of ground chicken total
- 1 carrot, peeled, chopped (see recipe for roasting veggies below)
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped (leave whole while roasting)
- Sweet potato, peeled, chopped
- Squash, peeled, chopped
- 1 large apple, cored, peeled and finely grated
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 slices of day old gluten free (or regular) bread, processed to crumbs
- fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning salt
- 1 large apple, cored, peeled and quartered (set aside and use between the loaves)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 tablespoons local honey
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- Wash, peel and chop vegetables into uniform chunks.
- I roast extra veggies and use them for several meals. I cut up a whole squash, several sweet potatoes, some of carrots, celery, two onions and whole garlic cloves. As much as I can fit in a single layer on my largest sheet. Toss vegetables with olive oil, season with salt and pepper
- Roast on a large baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for one hour or until tender. Then I add a few chunks of each vegetable to my big meatloaf bowl.
- Or for a smaller batch, saute just the veggies needed for meatloaf recipe in a large fry pan until tender.
- Reduce oven to 375 degrees
- Combine the ground turkey or chicken, chopped cooked chicken if using, a few chunks of each roasted vegetable, the grated apple, beaten eggs, bread crumbs, and seasonings in a large bowl. Wearing plastic gloves and using your hands works best. Form into three loafs and set in a large baking dish with apple quarters in between.
- Spread the topping/sauce divided evenly over each meatloaf.
- Bake for one hour or until meat thermometer reads 180 degrees. Serve with mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans.