Category Archives: Turkey

Greek Style Turkey Meatloaf

May 22, 2012 By in Healthy Eating, Recipes, Turkey Tags: , , , 1 Comment

My body can’t handle two nights of weekend partying anymore.  So this past Friday night, I decided to stay in and experiment with meatloaf.  I know what your thinking, exhilarating!  Well. let. me. tell. you. It certainly was. This recipe test will now be a part of future ‘easy’ dinner nights! Give it a whirl.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1lb ground white meat turkey
  • 1/2 lb ground dark meat turkey
  • 1/3 c. chopped dill
  • 1 c. crumbled feta
  • 1/2 c. chopped onion, small dice
  • 1/2 c. chopped celery, small dice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 c. stuffing mix** optional,or add 2 slices of bread
  • 1 slice of sandwich bread, small cubed
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350*F

To start, sweat the onions and celery in 1 tbsp of olive oil until tender, but not browned. Add garlic for the last 60 seconds and stir around.  Remove the pan from the heat and reserve while you prep the meatloaf.  In a large bowl combine the turkey meat, dill, eggs, bread, stuffing mix, salt, pepper, and celery/onion/garlic mix.  Mix together with hands, once incorporated add the feta and mix again. Bake in a loaf pan for45-55 minutes.

OR do one extra step and make a roulade with spinach. Turning this into a roulade makes for an extra special presentation and also adds some extra nutrients! Not to mention, color! Spread a large piece of plastic wrap on your counter, add the meatloaf and pat down to about 3/4″. Once you have a flat surface that’s roughly in the shape of a rectangle, start sprinkling a layer of drained, chopped spinach over the meat (buy a block of frozen spinach, drain, ring out the water and use).

Using the leverage of the plastic wrap, begin to tug the plastic on one side and roll up the meat end to end.  DO NOT Roll up with the plastic wrap inside:) Bake for 45-55 minutes uncovered, let rest for 5-10 minutes and serve with Tzatziki sauce for an extra Greek kick! (click for Tzatziki recipe).

** I had left over stuffing mix from thanksgiving laying around, so I added this instead for a hint of flavor not offered by the boring binder of sandwich bread. I combined it with one piece of sandwich bread to make sure the moisture stayed in the meatloaf. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, so I did both to be safe. Next time I will add just stuffing mix if I have it laying around still.

I hope you enjoy this healthy spin on meatloaf, thanks for reading, xo-G

Meatball Malice, part II of sad-cooking-Sunday

October 24, 2011 By in Baking, Comfort Food, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Turkey Tags: , , , 2 Comments

In an effort to cook healthy and be somewhat inventive, I decided to dream up my own meatball. I thought it would be a perfect night for homemade bread, spaghetti, and meatballs. Well, it was certainly a fun learning experience and also one of the first times I had seriously failed in awhile.   My efforts started when I was milling around in my fridge to see what I could scrap into a Sunday dinner dish for one.   I had meager  supplies; 1/3 of an onion,  half of a red bell pepper, some basil that was about to go bad, and 1 egg.  Bread crumbs are a staple, and I’ve acquired enough spices recently that making a meatball seemed like a reality.  A quick trip over to whole foods to grab some meat and I’d be all set.

I’m not usually a fan of ground turkey, but eating lean was the goal and after the weekend I had entertaining, drinking and dining out,  I could afford to eat a little lighter.  To add some flavor and fat content (for moisture) I mixed the ground turkey with 2 sweet Italian sausages.  I would have preferred regular over sweet, but Whole Foods was out.

Here’s what I used:

  • 1/2  lb Lean ground turkey
  • 2  Italian sausages, removed from the casing
  • ½ cup bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup of cremini mushrooms, chopped and sautéed lightly
  • ½ red pepper, brunois (1/8” x 1/8” x 1/8”) sweated
  • ¼ onion, brunois, sweated
  • 2 tbsp, basil, chiffonade
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ tsp cayenne Pepper
  • ½ tsp Paprika
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
When I make these again, I will add/use:
  • 1/2 lb ground beef or equal parts light and dark meat ground turkey to add fat.
  • 1 tbsp  of cream
  • a sprig of thyme
  • maybe a 1tbsp of olive oil
  • Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F

2. Sweat peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Toss in the garlic 30 seconds before taking off the heat.

2. In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together. Best mixed with clean, bare hands.

3. Using a tablespoon, form 1″ meatballs and place on a baking sheet.

4. Bake for around 15-18 minutes.

This meatball was flavorful, but it was seriously dry.  I thought the ingredients were spot on and the flavor profile worked, however there just wasn’t enough fat to give these meatballs the moisture they needed to combat the lean turkey.    The next time I try this I will most certainly be using ground beef and sausage together or a more fat aggregate mixture of white and dark turkey meat.  It was a fairly successful first try, but dry meat-anything is lack luster.

Between the Focaccia Bread and these meatballs, I gave myself a nice humble reality check.  I researched why I thought I went wrong and I proved myself right; my fat ratio was off, it should have been 80/20 and I was probably somewhere around 90/10.  I might have failed slightly, but at least I know why.  Even though the end product wasn’t that great, it was still a successful recipe test. Hey, at least it photographed well!

4 star look, 1 star flavor

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