Philly: Turkey Meatloaf

I admit, meatloaf is not necessarily the most creative of meals, and often it gets a bad rap. But for me, it can be one of the most satisfying comfort meals, with limited effort.

I really didn’t fall in love with meatloaf until high school, when believe it or not, my mother made meatloaf for us for the first time. She might deny this, but I honestly I do not remember ever having meatloaf before. A few tries and soon together we had perfected our recipe and made our now infamous, turkey meatloaf.

A few years ago my mother had a “meat ball lesson” from her friend’s very Italian mother. Her secret for keeping it moist was to soak pieces of bread in water, strain, and add it to the meat mixture. This might sound strange but it is honestly the only way to make meatloaf. With that being said, this time I cheated. It was late and I was tired so instead I took the advice of the stuffing box in my pantry and added some stuffing bread crumbs instead. It wasn’t bad, but honestly, it was in no comparison to our usual version. Still, it does not make this recipe void. I will simply warn you ahead of time to try the “traditional” method, which I will replace in my recipe below.

The best part of meatloaf is that you can get at least two meals out of it when two people are eating. I love meatloaf sandwiches, which I eat for the next three days (or one day if Aaron gets there first.) If you normally think of meatloaf and heavy and greasy, this is nothing like that, expecially with the ground turkey.

Even though when I made this it was 85 degrees and sunny, right now in Philadelphia it is cold and rainy, so this definitely applies.

Homemade Turkey Meatloaf: many servings

Ingredients:

1 lb. of Ground Turkey

1 small onion, very finely chopped

1 egg

3 cloves of Garlic

1 Onion soup packet

½ packet of brown gravy

1 tsp. Ground pepper

¼ cup grated parmesan

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

2 pieces of white bread (Italian works)

1 tbsp. Olive Oil

Dash of Half-n-half (if you have it, this makes up for the lack of fat from the turkey and makes it a little richer)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Soak two pieces of bread in a small bowl of salted water. Squeeze all of the water out of the bread and put the bread into a large bowl. (It will be pretty mushy)

In the large bowl, add chopped onions, egg, and minced garlic, mix well.

Mix the ground turkey and Worcestershire sauce into the bowl.

Add onion soup mix and gravy mix in with the turkey.

Add pepper, olive oil, and half-n-half, and then mix together.

Finally add grated parmesan.

Mix all together.

Scoop the turkey mixture into a loaf pan.

Evenly spread out the meat and smooth out the top with a fork, drizzle lightly with a little more olive oil.

Put the loaf into the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until brown on top and cooked inside. Cut a slice to make sure it is completely cooked through.

I served mine with steamed green beans and baked potatoes with my own herbed cream cheese.

Makes great sandwiches the day after with a little mayonnaise and sliced tomato!

Enjoy, and stay warm!

Love,

The College Cuisiner