Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf

I have never been a meatloaf gal. It wasn't something my mom made growing up. While other mom's made it quite often I can't think of a single time that my mom did in fact make a meatloaf.

My husband enjoys meatloaf, and because I like for my cooking to be pleasing I have made a few in my past 13 years with him. Some have been in the loaf pan and others have been free-form. I have always preferred the free-form variety as it isn't stewing in it's own fat that way. Either way haven't ever been a big fan.

Recently I got it in my head to try a turkey meatloaf one last time....It turned out amazing, we all loved it and Michael said it was the best he has ever eaten. Here is the recipe (makes 1 reasonably sized meatloaf for a family of 4 with a little leftover)-


3 Portabella mushroom caps cleaned and finely diced
1 yellow onion finely diced
2 Teaspoons olive oil
Pinch of Thyme, Salt & Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Cup Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1/2 Teaspoon Tomato Paste
1/3-1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs
1 pound Ground Turkey Breast
1 Tablespoon Crushed Garlic
1 egg lightly beaten

For Topping/Dipping Sauce-
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup of your favorite mustard (I used a stone ground variety from Trader Joe's)
2 turns of Cracked Black Pepper
1/4 Brown Sugar
2-3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In saute pan over medium heat cook the onion and mushroom in the olive oil with salt, pepper & thyme for about 5-7 minutes-until mushrooms are cooked through and onions are translucent. Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste & chicken broth and mix it well. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

While this mixture cools down, mix turkey, garlic, beaten egg, 1/3 cup breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl with your hands. Knead the entire mixture together, so all ingredients are incorporated together (just as you would when making meatballs). Add more breadcrumbs if the meat is still "wet". You want to bind this together so you can form a loaf eventually. Mix in the onion-mushroom mixture.

At this point make a little slider patty out of some of the mixture, quickly pan fry and taste to check seasonings. You can decide if it needs more salt or pepper etc and go from there.

Grease a cookie sheet or baking dish. Form meat mixture free form into a loaf. Try to keep it the same width and thickness all the way through for even cooking.

Mix all of the ingredients together for the sauce until combined over a low heat on the stove top. Add a bit more Worcestershire if you want a little more zip, or more brown sugar for more sweet.

Baste some of the sauce onto the top of the meatloaf. Set remaining sauce aside to use as a meatloaf dip with the meal. ( The sauce is so good-you will want to do this!)

Bake meatloaf until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees-about 40-50 minutes.

This recipe is a meshing of about 10 different recipes that I considered trying, and it worked for us. Remember ground turkey isn't that flavorful on it's own and needs the herbs and spices. I thought the mushrooms added some extra smoky meaty flavor.

You can personalize this a million different ways though-use different veggies (like sauteed spinach or diced tomato and maybe a little grated cheese for an Italian version)...

Enjoy!