garlic – Page 2 – Sweet Heat Chefs

I am entering a contest in the The Mr. Food Test Kitchen for the ultimate weeknight meal…Since I hated meatloaf for so long, I thought I’d share my newly found love with everyone. Hope it wins!!

I am not a meatloaf fan, I am not sure my kids are either. I don’t make it that often to really know. I decided to try a new way of approaching how I made it. In previous attempts I changed different additives to the meatloaf, bread crumbs here and Worcestershire there, ketchup this time, tomato sauce the next. Nothing ever resonated enough for me to sit up and say HEY this is good…UNTIL…I decided to stuff a meatloaf. Yes you heard me, STUFF it, not in my mouth, but stuff the inside with goodies I knew my kids would eat and with some veggies that I am always trying to stuff down their throats! So anyway, this was the best meatloaf in the entire world, maybe I should have named it that? There were no leftovers and you won’t believe how easy it is to make. You could even have change-out ingredients to your own liking! Change out the cheeses, omit the spinach and use arugula, the possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did, this was a real accomplishment for me. although I wouldn’t say I HEART MEATLOAF, I would say, I HEART my stuffed turkey meatloaf! This is the only meatloaf that will ever be made in this household 😀

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lb ground turkey 80% lean
1 lb cooked bacon, chopped + reserve 1 handful
2 cloves crushed minced garlic
2 tbsp oregano or Italian spice blend
1 egg
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 C bread crumbs
1 c. grated Romano cheese + 1/4 cup reserved
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese + 1/4 cup reserved
2 c. loosely packed fresh spinach leaves
Salt/pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350°F.
Cook off bacon and drain fat on paper towel. When cool crumble into bite sized pieces.
In large bowl, mix ground turkey, egg, 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce, bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper.
Spray foil covering a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place turkey mixture onto baking sheet and form a rectangular shape.
Sprinkle the bacon evenly over the meat mixture, pressing firmly into meat.
Sprinkle cheeses evenly on top of bacon.
Place the spinach leaves on top of cheese evenly.
Starting at short end, start rolling up tightly, using foil to start the rolling process. You may need to tuck in spinach leaves as you roll. Seal ends when rolling is complete.
Spread remaining pizza sauce over top, add the remainder of the cheese and any left over bacon. Bake for around 1 hour or until juices are clear or until thermometer inserted in meat loaf reads 160°F. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.