Sausage and tangy sauce jazz up meatloaf

A tangy, sweet sauce glazes this meatloaf made with ground sirloin and turkey sausage.

My secret for quick meatloaf is to bake it on a sheet pan, which allows hot air to circulate all around the meat for quick cooking. The side dish of sweet potatoes and green beans takes only minutes to make in the microwave.

This meal contains 601 calories with 27 percent of calories from fat.

HELPFUL HINTS

• To quickly defrost frozen onion and bell pepper, place in a colander in the sink and rinse with hot water. Press out the water before proceeding.

• Low-salt or no-salt-added ketchup is available in most supermarkets.

Glazed Meatloaf

Makes 2 servings

1/4 pound low-fat, Italian-style turkey sausage

1/2 pound 95 percent-lean ground beef

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup chopped/diced frozen green bell pepper, defrosted

1 cup chopped/diced frozen onion, defrosted

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup low-salt ketchup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking tray with foil and place in oven while it heats.

Remove sausage from its casing and mix with the ground beef. Add the garlic, green bell pepper, onion and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Shape meat into 2 loaves, about 3 inches wide and 6 inches long.

Remove baking tray from oven and place loaves on the tray. Bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix ketchup with brown sugar and mustard. Remove meatloaves from oven and spread the ketchup mixture over them. Return meatloaves to the oven and bake 5 minutes.

Per serving: 359 calories (28 percent from fat), 11.1 g fat (3.8 g saturated, 4.4 g monounsaturated), 114 mg cholesterol, 37.0 g protein, 28.4 g carbohydrates, 2.0 g fiber, 800 mg sodium.

Sweet Potatoes And Green Beans

Makes 2 servings

3/4 pound sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 pound green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces (about 2 cups)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Peel potatoes and cut into strips about the same size as the green beans. Mix oil and cayenne in a medium-size bowl. Add potatoes and green beans, and toss, coating well. Cover bowl with a plate or plastic wrap and microwave on high 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Per serving: 242 calories (26 percent from fat), 7.1 g fat (1 g saturated, 4.9 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 4.8 g protein, 42.4 g carbohydrates, 8.3 g fiber, 101 mg sodium.