Low Carb Pepper Jack Stuffed Zucchini Meat Loaf

As is custom for January around here, we go Low Carb to try to shed some of the holiday "love" :). I'm hoping to try enough flavorful family recipes to keep this going year-round. Now that we are nearing our 40's, the "love" is getting harder to shed! 

This was a great meatloaf recipe. Tons of flavor with all of the spices, and the addition of the pepper jack cheese was perfect. Prep time was fairly short too (15 mins. or so), which is always a plus. The only modifications I made (or would suggest) is that we used our venison/beef mix instead of ground turkey that the recipe called for. And, since Lily doesn't care for spicy food much, I would suggest either omitting or cutting down the cayenne pepper. The rest of us loved it, but it does add quite a bit of heat to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground beef (or turkey, as the original recipe calls for)
• 1 cup finely diced white onion
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture with a paper towel
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup italian style panko breadcrumbs* (may use GF breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons organic ketchup
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you like heat)
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 oz sliced pepper jack cheese
• For the topping:
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• dash of soy sauce (gluten free, if desired)
• dash of hot sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine turkey, onion, zucchini, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, spices, mustard and salt and pepper. Use your hands or a large spoon to mix until well combined. I find that it's much easier to combine the ingredients if you use your hands.
3. Place half of meat mixture on foil-lined pan and shape into a 10x4 inch rectangle. Top with pepper jack evenly, leaving about an 1/2 inch of room on the sides. Top with the remaining meat mixture, enclosing the cheese completely and sealing the side together.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, soy sauce and hot sauce if desired. Spread half of the awesome sauce on top of the meat loaf, reserve other half for when meatloaf is finished baking.
5. Bake meatloaf for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Top with remaining sauce and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into 6 slices.

Recipe: http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 4 servings

• Serving size: 1/4th of recipe
• Calories: 262

• Fat: 13.2g
• Carbohydrates: 13g
• Sugar: 4.5g
• Fiber: 2.3g
• Protein: 22.9g