How do you feel about meatloaf? Do you loathe it? Or it is a sweet comfort for you?

Meatloaf was never a staple in my house as a kid, even though it is apparently one of my dad’s favorites. My mom will swear that she made it a few times throughout my childhood, but I must have blocked it out because I don’t remember eating meatloaf until sophomore year of college at the sorority house.

I remember sitting around the dinner table with a few of my friends and being very hesitant to try a loaf of meat. I mean, what was it really? It was a mystery to me. I don’t know why I was so afraid of it, because it was delightful.

In the years since that fateful meatloaf night, I have made a few different versions of the yummy comfort; some with Bison, Beef, and Pork. This go around I thought I’d make it with Turkey and I loved the way it turned out.

If you are scared to give meatloaf a try, I highly recommend starting here! Who knows, maybe it will become your new favorite comfort food?

 

Ingredients: makes 1 loaf

1 carrot, peeled and smal diced

1 celery stalk, small diced

1 small onion, diced

1/4 red bell pepper, small diced

2 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 pound lean ground turkey

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp tomato sauce

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1 egg, beaten

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup chopped parsley

S&P

For the glaze:

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

 

Recipe:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Heat the grapeseed oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the diced onion, bell pepper, celery and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Then let the mixture cool.

In a mixing bowl add the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, tomato sauce, garlic and onion powder, worcestershire sauce, egg, parsley and the veggie mixture with some salt and pepper. On a baking sheet form mixture into a loaf. Whisk together the topping ingredients and spread 1/3 of the glaze over the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 10 minutes on 450 degrees. Remove the loaf from the oven, and lower the temperature to 350 degrees, add another 1/3 of the glaze. Put back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Add the remainder of the glaze and bake another 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with parsley and serve alongside a big salad and/or mashed potatoes and devour!