Wednesday, February 23, 2011

This Ain't Your Momma's Meatloaf

Posted by Chris Beason | Wednesday, February 23, 2011 | Category: |

I'm a big fan of casseroles because they're one dish meals that are easy and quick to throw together. However, this meatloaf, served with red potatoes and green beans, only took about 15 minutes to throw together. Anybody who is a meat and potatoes kind of person will love this for supper.

1/2 medium-sized Onion
1/2 large Bell Pepper
2 lbs. Ground Turkey
1 packet Meatloaf Seasoning

1 16 oz. can of Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
2 Eggs

Usually I use Jennie-O ground turkey. It costs about $1.50 a pound. Honeysuckle White runs about 35 cents more a pound.  Walmart was out of the Jennie-O.  I had one thawing in the refrigerator all ready and needed one more to make meatloaf so I went ahead and bought the Honeysuckle White.  I figured I could at least compare the difference, but there really wasn't any that I could see. As far as taste, I couldn't tell you if there's a difference since I mixed it so I'll continue to buy the Jennie-O for the price.  


First, you'll want to cut an onion in half and chop it into small pieces. If you need help with cutting an onion, see my tips in my post on Chicken Fajitas. Make sure you rinse your knife and the onion in cold water before you cut it and you will be less likely to cry!


Next, cut your bell pepper into small pieces.  In my post on Chicken Fajitas I suggested that you cut off the top and bottom of the bell pepper and pulling out the insides.  I was watching a cooking show today and she used half of a bell pepper and showed to cut it in half and then pull out the seed pod. It actually works better this way.


You can just pull the insides out with your hand, rinse to remove any seeds that might be hanging around and then continue to chop up the bell pepper.


I put the other half of the onion and bell pepper in one of my handy, dandy Ziplock vacuum bags to use later!


Put the onion, bell pepper, ground turkey, seasoning packet, half of the tomato sauce (or one 8 oz. can if you're using two 8 oz. cans instead of a 16 oz. can), bread crumbs and eggs in a mixing bowl.


You can purchase a can of bread crumbs from the baking aisle of your grocery store. I used Italian style bread crumbs. You can also use crushed up crackers or a couple of pieces of torn up bread. The heels of bread are really good for this! I usually freeze my heels so I can pull them out and use them as needed. Since they're frozen, they're really easy to crumble. Also, I used the tomato sauce seasoned with basil, oregano and garlic. Turn your oven on 375 degrees.

Use your hand to mix everything up. Once everything is thoroughly combined, pour it in a baking pan and shape it into a loaf. Open the other 8 oz. can (or use the other half of the 16 oz. can) of tomato sauce and pour it over the top of the meatloaf.


Put the meatloaf in the oven for an hour. Carefully take the meatloaf out of the oven and pour the drippings out of the pan. Let it cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before you slice it.  This will give it time to set and will be less likely to fall apart while you're putting the slices on a plate.


My meals yesterday:

8 a.m. Vanilla Yogurt with Granola
11 a.m. Turkey Sandwich on Wheat with Lettuce, Tomato and Light Mayo
2 p.m. Pear and String Cheese
6 p.m. Meatloaf, Red Potatoes, and Green Beans
9 p.m. Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola bar

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