Recipies I love: Turkey Meatloaf

It all started with Giada De Laurentiis.  Let me be clear. I HATE meatloaf. Ick. That yucky brown sugar/ketchup topping makes me gag. But one day, a few months ago, I was watching Giada make a turkey meatloaf that actually looked appetizing. Find it here.  I made it and Low and Behold- Yummy!  But, sun dried tomatoes are expensive, it contained too many ingredients that I always forget to buy and I felt it was missing something, so I tweaked and tweaked and finally came up with something we think is pretty darn good.  And it's all things I almost always have on hand.

Amy's Turkey Meatloaf (Copywrite 2010. Please don't duplicate, copy or publish without my consent.)

• Olive Oil cooking spray
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 package Frozen Spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 large sweet white onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 package crumbled feta cheese or substitute 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesean
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Dash poultry seasoning
• 1 pound ground turkey

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Spray a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.  I use this one. Place on an old cookie sheet to catch any overflow.

In a large bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, onion, spinach, eggs, milk, cheese, salt, and spices. Add the turkey and gently stir to combine, being careful not to overwork the meat.

Carefully pack the meat mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.  It is supposed to take about 45 minutes but mine almost always takes an hour or more. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. 

We like it served with roasted veggies and rice pilaf in the winter. Caprese Salad (Tomato, Fresh Mozz. and Fresh Basil with olive oil, salt and pepper) in the summer.