Not only, but doesn't it fall apart?  Cook a chicken in a crockpot and you
get soup by the end of the day.

I'll post the recipe I use, once I figure out if it's any good.  I don't  
want anyone to make something that turns out nasty, and this will be the  
first time I've tried this recipe.

I'll post the recipe I use, once I figure out if it's any good.  I don't  
want anyone to make something that turns out nasty, and this will be the  
first time I've tried this recipe.

The recipe I'm starting from calls for onion soup mix, but this has  
partially hydrogenated oils and lots of starch.  I'm still undecided as to  
what to use as a filler, but I'll likely add some very whole grain bread  
as a filler, but minimize the use of it.  I'm going to be cooking a loaf  
with 4 pounds of meat, so even two slices of the bread I have would give  
about 10 grams carbs/pound of meat.  Assumining a 1/4 pound serving size,  
that would be 2.5 grams/serving (not including the other carbs from cheese  
and spinach).  That might be an acceptable amount of carbs.  I'll also see  
about adding dehydrated onion flakes.  That's a good idea.

I chop my onion up with a knife then I cook it in a small skillet or a bowl
in the microwave in a little olive oil until it gets mushy.  I do this with
all onion in all recipes because it has always given me a stomach ache if I
don't.
I'll have to try the zucchini and/or mushroom in my meatloaf.

Why were you not impressed? Not intense enough flavor? Something not
quite right with texture?

For flavor, try some beef base or good quality bouillon cubes as a
booster. Mash it together with some of the other ingredients,
particularly liquid ones and incorporate that into the whole loaf. Cut
back on salt if you do this. Some finely minced cooked bacon helps if
you don't want to use the beef base.

Try this. Cut the onion in half from top to bottom and slice it thin.
In a skillet over low-medium heat with a couple tablespoons butter,
sauté the onion, stirring reasonably often until it's all well-browned
and heading towards crisp. Coarsely chop the cooked onion if you feel
the need. Incorporate that in the meatloaf and it'll bring an extra
layer of flavor and texture to it. The onions will be tender and
flavorful.

There's a tedious technique that's simply wonderful for making a paste
of onion. Chop is as fine as you can with knife or processor and dump
it out onto a cutting board. Sprinkle some salt on it and, with the
flat side of a wide-bladed knife, smear it back and forth on the
cutting board. Put some muscle into it. After a short time of
smearing, it'll begin to be more like a puree. Keep doing it until
you've had enough of that exhausting foolishness and throw it all in
the processor and let it run. It also works with garlic - a few cloves
of garlic is pretty easy and turns out wonderful. The onions will,
too, but it's work.

Dehydrated onion (flaked or chopped) will rehydrate with some of the
juices of the rest of the ingredients thus retaining some flavor while
contributing its own.

If you have a juicer, run the onion through that along with a pepper
or two, some celery and a few carrots. Simmer that juice to reduce it
to about half. Mix that into the meatloaf along with the pulp that you
briefly sauté to tenderize.

Pastorio