Meal Deals: Meat Loaf

Cooking on a budget.  It's no easy task, but I think I've found a tool that can help cook good-tasting food on a budget.

This isn't your mother's meat loaf. This recipe has some secret ingredients that make it tasty for the entire family while staying healthy and on budget. I am a big meat loaf lover and this recipe is not like any other that I've tasted. You make them in small loafs so any extras are easy to freeze. There's cheddar cheese on the inside. The rosemary and garlic combination also makes it appealing to those adult taste buds.

Here's the Meal Deal break down. I spent $9.95 on all of the ingredients. I quartered the recipe, which made enough to feed 6. That means one serving of my meat loaf is just $1.67.

It only has 257 calories per serving and 5.4 grams of fat.

Meat Loaf

Serves 24 (I only made 1/4 of it - so it serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 cup egg substitute

4 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

4 cups nonfat pasta sauce, divided

4 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp dried crushed rosemary

6 lbs extra-lean ground beef or ground turkey

6 cups shredded nonfat mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil and spray. Combine egg substitute, oatmeal, 2 cups pasta sauce, garlic and rosemary and mix well. Add beef or turkey and mix well. Divide mixture into 12 equal portions. Press 1/4 cup cheese into each loaf, shaping so meat covers cheese. Place loaves on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Spoon half the sauce over loaves and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes. To prepare, freeze, and bake later: Combine egg substitute, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, garlic, rosemary and ground beef or turkey; mix well and shape. Cover and freeze until firm; place in freezer bag. Place frozen loaf loaves in shallow baking pan; bake at 325 degrees covered loosely with foil for one hour. Uncover and bake and additional 10 minutes. Spoon remaining sauce over loaves; sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

(Source: "Make-Ahead Meals Cook in Bulk Now Divide and Save For Later")

If you have any Meal Deals to share, write to me at MealDeals@cbs12.com