I was never a big meatloaf fan as a kid. In fact, I haaaaated meatloaf night in my house. I can still remember the smell and taste of my mothers recipe. She is an amazing cook, but her meatloaf, not so much! Sorry mom! So as an adult, I sorta cringe anytime I see meatloaf. However, a few years ago I decided to try my hand at making meatloaf my own way – sans red meat, sans bacon like I tend to see on restaurant menus and sans sugar. I shared this recipe over two years ago on my erecipe account and linked it in my blog, but I’ve made a few slight changes since then and I don’t use that account much anymore, so I’m adding it here.
Let’s be honest, the first time I made this the first time I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, or how it would come out. A lot of times when I decide to create something new I base the recipe off of what I currently have available in my house and what I know goes well together. Well guess what? We loved it! And guess what even more? Now my toddler loves it too! In fact, almost every time I make this we don’t have nearly as much leftovers as I expect to have because we all just keep going back for more. In the words of my husband, “It’s very flavorful and absolutely delicious!” So if you’re looking to jazz up your dinner menu, try this recipe. It’s fab! But a little fair warning, I don’t do a ton of measuring with this one. I eyeball a lot in this one, and I feel certain that you’ll all be A-OK doing the same. If you have a few extra minutes to spare, you can watch my step by step video on how I make it 😉
- 2 cups cooked Quinoa (cook 1 cup and it makes 2)
- 1 lb of ground turkey
- 1 small finely onion chopped
- 1 small pepper chopped
- 2 eggs
- Breadcrumbs (aprox 1 cup)
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Ketchup to taste
- Hot sauce of your choice
- I cooked the quinoa with salt, mixed-up pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce. Once that was done I set it aside and let it cool off a bit.
- I mix the ground turkey with 2 eggs and breadcrumbs. Again, I eyeball a lot ingredients but it's approximately 1 cup of breadcrumbs.
- Mix the turkey, eggs and breadcrumbs together
- Add cooked quinoa, chopped veggies and parmesan cheese and mix well. Then add some ketchup, salt and pepper.
- Once everything is well mixed I spread into a casserole dish (spray it with cooking oil) and lightly sprinkled a little more parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs on top to make it crispy.
- Bake for 50 minutes at 350.
- Extra ketchup and/or hot sauce optional for dipping.
- 5 large carrots
- butter
- maple syrup
- On the stove bring a pot of water to a boil
- Add carrots, turn down the heat to low and cook carrots until soft
- Drain water and place carrots back in pot
- Add butter and maple syrup to taste
- Stir and serve