Pork rinds are mostly 0 carbs whereas the almond and TVP both have 'em so beware!

I like the hot -n- spicy ones myself and haven't found them to give the meatloaf a weird texture at all - maybe I'm just not using as much?

I also just read a meatball recipe posted on the Recipes sections here that uses ricotta and says it gives a nice soft texture - hmmmm - may try THAT in my meatloaf next time!

Char

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Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.

Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!

I use beef and pork, mixed with cream, eggs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, almond flour and pork rinds. I place all the dry ingredients in a food processor and grind it to flour before putting it in the meat.

When I make a meat loaf I like to form it into a loaf and put it in the middle of a roaster then pile a lot of different kinds of veggies around it and cover it with foil and let the veggies cook in the juice that comes off the meat loaf.

I put in some potatoes for the rest of the family then also throw in some yellow squash, zucchini squash, carrots, whole mushrooms, pearl onions, and large cauliflower chunks or broccoli if I have any.

It's so good all baked together and I have my entire meal in one pan.

I'm drooling on my keyboard!!!

Char, that does sound good. I can see how it would lend a nice texture.

Betty, that sounds delish!

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It is always necessary to leave some part
of cooking to improvisation. - Paul Bocuse
Member since 2001

Yup, the ricotta gives a very nice texture ... that's why I mentioned it about 10 posts ago.

But it really does a nice job. I've been using it in my meatloaf for years.

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LOL!!!!!!

Well gang, I'm taking the plunge today - keeping my fingers crossed, all your advice close to my heart and Sharron's and Julia Child's books under my nose!!!

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when life hands you lemons, order lobster!

I didn't do anything special - which may in and of itself have been the key to
SUCCESS!!!

used beef, pork, onion, some cream, lots of seasoning, eggs, lc bread crumbs - but learned a trick from Julia - take a bit of the mix and fry it up for a taste. These way you can see if you need more of any seasoning before you cook up the loaf.

Thank you EVERYONE - you've given me so many ideas and I will try them all in my future loaves!!!

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when life hands you lemons, order lobster!

Ok, I tried the ricotta and it worked quite well.

I used...

2 lbs ground beef
1 lb chub of Farmer John sausage (the breakfast type)
1/2 onion, diced and sauted for 5 minutes
15 oz. container of whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 egg
salt
pepper

Mixed lightly with fingers and baked until a digit therm read 170.

I tried not to use too many seasonings and such because I just wanted to have a "basic" recipe to build on. The texture was quite nice but I think next time I am going to try adding 2-3 slices worth of lc bread crumbs and see if that softens it further.

I was looking up my meatball recipe and for that I use equal parts lamb, pork and veal...that always somes out really nice but of course, those meats ground up at NOT the cheapest!

The addition of sausage was rather nice and I think the pork fat helped keep it moister than it would have been.

I'll definately be doing some more experimenting with meatloaf!

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It is always necessary to leave some part
of cooking to improvisation. - Paul Bocuse
Member since 2001

Betty, I love your idea of putting veggies around the meatloaf. We love roasted veggies, I hadn't thought of that.

Marcie, I can't believe you've never had/used pork rinds.

Great ideas in this thread. I have always used regular ground beef instead of round, chuck or any of the leaner ones. I have never used ground pork, which I think would be good. We really like lots of green pepper and onions in meatloaf.

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I've only eaten them plain out of the bag, that's it! Or dipped them in egg salad.

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It is always necessary to leave some part
of cooking to improvisation. - Paul Bocuse
Member since 2001

BettyR, I made meatloaf today and placed it in roaster and put veggies around it. They roasted in the juices as the meatloaf cooked. That was THE BEST meatloaf I've ever made! Guys, give this a try it's awesome. Thanks, BettyR, for a great idea.

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I'm a little late on this thread, but what I add to mine besides some of the above mentioned stuff is WORCESTERSHIRE sauce!!!! And a PINCH of ground cinnamon and/or cloves. My family LOVES my meatloaf. (I'm not real fond of it myself, but I do like it cold.)

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This is an old post, but I thought I would rezz it, lol!

I have not had the best of luck with lc meatloaf either. I did make one and stuffed it with a Prosciutto & Mozzarella roll. It was something different. Probably would be better with a meat blend.

Maggie... I would love to try your meatloaf recipe with ricotta cheese.

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I love me some meatloaf! One of my all time favorite comfort foods so thanks for the post.

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Linda