Granny's Great Meatloaf gets transformed.

Everyone has a staple meatloaf. Here is our family favorite - which I made last night, BUT revised a bit to a more natural and healthy meal! I'll give both versions.

Granny's Great Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef
1/2 pkg. dry stuffing mix
2 eggs
1 can onion soup
Topping:
1 cup catsup
1/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup brown sugar

Mix ground beef, stuffing mix, eggs and onion soup. Put in pan. Bake 350 degrees for 1 -1 1/2 hours, checking to see doneness. Combine catsup, vinegar, and brown sugar. Pour over top of meatloaf.
Now...........

Live Longer than Granny and her Great Meat Loaf!
1 lb. free range ground beef
2 organic eggs (or 3 egg whites if watching cholesterol)

to replace the prepackaged stuffing use:
2 cups baking oats
desired fresh herbs

to replace can of onion soup:
1 onion chopped fine
1/2 cup broccoli chopped fine (good time to use those frozen stalks!)
1/2 cup red pepper chopped fine (I grabbed a ziplock baggie of this from the freezer left from last summer's garden!)
*if mixture seems too dry when added to meat, add a little MSG free chicken broth, or an extra egg -whatever is handy

Topping:
1 cup catsup
1/2 cup organic apple vinegar
3/4 cups dark brown sugar

Mix all meat loaf ingredients together and topping ingredients together in separate bowls. Form 4 mini loaves. Pour half of topping over loaves and bake in microwave safe dish for 14-18 minutes! Whoa - la!

Still working on a more health friendly topping...this one is soooo good though. ;) Any ideas would be greatly taken!
Also to note: We have the Tupperware Oval Microwave Cooker which is PERFECT for this meal - It has a drain in the bottom so the meat's grease can run to the bottom of the container while your loaf sits above on a rack...I LOVE this feature, not to mention 15 minutes in the microwave beats the crap out of almost 2 hours in the oven.

We served this with some baked sweet potato chips and tossed leafy green salad - perfect!
(For sw. pot. chips: Clean and peal potatoes. Slice in 1/4" or smaller slices. Spread out on baking sheet. Lightly brush with olive oil, sprinkle with desired cracked peppercorn. Bake 20-30 minutes at 35o degrees)

Enjoy this hearty meal and feel good afterwards that your family ate hidden broccoli and peppers!
Tricky tricky, Jill