Sweet and Savory Turkey Meatloaf

"Mom, MEATLOAF!"


Meatloaf is a total comfort food for me. It's just one of those things that you can't go wrong with. What I love about it is that you can mix it up with different flavors and still come out with an awesome meal. This time around I made a fairly simple meatloaf. I like to cook my veggies before putting them in the meatloaf, I find it gives it a lot more flavor. Also the onions have a chance to release some of the moisture so the meatloaf isn't too wet. I like to use sausage in my meatloaf because it gives it an extra something. The seasonings used give it a unique flavor. You can use any flavor you enjoy. I got a spicy chicken sausage but if you prefer to use a mild Italian or country style sausage, that will work as well. Because the seasonings added to this meatloaf are very basic, it makes it easy to customize it to your liking.


Brown sugar on meatloaf? What!? Please... try it. It really enhances it. Think about it. Some people put ketchup or BBQ sauce on top of their meatloaf. Both have an element of sweet. So don't knock it, til you try it. As for the sausage, I purchased a fresh sausage from the meat dept. at Whole Foods and removed it from it's casing. Crumbled it up a bit with my hands and there you go - ground sausage. Now you can purchase ground sausage but I think it is usually country style or breakfast sausage. Which will work as well in this recipes.

Sweet and Savory Turkey Meatloaf 

Cook Time: 1 hr and 10 mins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 (2 slices each)


Ingredients:

• oil spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 a bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1/4lb. ground sausage (or 1 large link)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp brown sugar, packed (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Get a loaf pan and spray liberally with olive oil.


In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add cumin, salt and pepper. Stir well. Add the Worcestershire and remove the mixture from the heat. Set aside and let cool for 5-10 minutes.


In a side bowl, combine by hand, the turkey and sausage. Then add the bread crumbs, egg, salt/pepper and the onion mixture. Mix by hand, until incorporated (be careful to not over mix).


Place the mixture into the loaf pan and evenly spread it out. Cook in the oven for 60 minutes or until the internal temp is 165F.


Then sprinkle the top with the brown sugar and broil for about a minute or until the sugar melts in and forms a crust. Remove from oven.


Let the meatloaf sit for about 5-10 mins. Cut into 8 slices and serve :)