Turkey Meatloaf

Meatloaf Meatloaf Double Double Beetloaf

Anyone else love the movie A Christmas Story? My sister and I watch it 74 times every Christmas Eve and (annoyingly) recite every line. So it stands to reason that whenever I make meatloaf I’m enevitablly chanting

“meatloaf, meatloaf, double double beetloaf”

My kitchen chanting aside, I’m a HUGE fan of meatloaf (or really, any kind of loaf for that matter). But when I tell most people I’m making meatloaf for dinner it’s like I said I’m serving gruel. I think they imagine some dry, flavorless, brown monstrosity. But my meatloaf is delicious, healthy and a regular staple of our kitchen. Here’s what you’ll need:

1 Pkg of McCormick Meatloaf Seasoning - I usually don’t like to give you pre-made mixes as ingredients, but I’ve used McCormick since I was little, I know no other meatloaf seasoning!

2 Lbs of Ground Turkey Meat – beef tastes better but turkey is better for you, the choice is yours

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup of Tomato Sauce

3/4 Cup of Dry Oatmeal – weird I know, but it turns out more moist than if you use a breadcrumb or cracker

1 Small Can of Tomato Paste

1 Green Bell Pepper - chopped

1 Small White Onion – chopped

Mix it Up

Directions -

Set oven to 375. Put all ingredients (except tomato paste) into a bowl. Mix ingredients together (using your hands is easiest) but DONT over mix the meat! If you’ve ever had tough meatloaf, it’s because it was over-mixed. You want to get things combined but not overdone.

Get Your Hands Dirty

Ready to Bake

Put your mixture into a casserole dish or loaf pan (this helps retain the juices and keep the loaf moist). Bake for 50 minutes. At about 50 minutes in I remove the loaf (with turkey meat it’s usually got a lot of extra juices so at this point I’ll pour off the excess juice). Open tomato paste and spread over the top of the loaf. Put back into the oven and cook for the remaining minutes.

Spread too Thin

Remove after 10 more minutes or until meat is cooked through and tomato paste is slightly brown. I like to serve mine with garlic mashed potatoes and some sautéed veggies. Yum!