My Boyfriend Can Cook!: Sweet Herb Turkey Meatloaf

Chuck is looking forward to this post. And maybe a little afraid of what I'm going to say? Monday, we were trying to decide what to have for dinner. He suggested turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts. Really, he was serious. I was excited. Since I was itching to contribute to our meals, and he makes the best mashed potatoes in the world, I told him I would handle the meatloaf and he could handle the potatoes.

I went to work, searching for the perfect recipe, at least for an idea of where to start. I found one. This one. Sent him the list of ingredients I didn't have to see which ones he did have, and which ones I needed to pick up from the store. After a couple of suggestions I cringed when I received this text: "If you want me to look at the recipe you are using I can... If I make a suggestion ahead of time, maybe I won't annoy you so much :)" So I sent the recipe. I had my own ideas on changing it up a little but we changed it up even more.

When he got to the house with the ingredients I was missing he offered up a lot of changes which, I appreciated, but also was a little grumpy about. I was grumpy because I was trying to do it on my own, but only until I saw how great it was working with his suggestions. I was writing down the recipe as I went, taking pictures, making the food, and realizing why only writing and taking pictures is what I usually do. Doing the notetaking and cooking at the same time was a little busy. I'll admit it: it wouldn't have been nearly as good without his changes. I wanted to eat the whole pan of it when it came out of the oven.

It was really good. The meatloaf was a little sweet, the potatoes were savory, and the brussel sprouts were cooked in a tinfoil pouch with a little olive oil, a lot of balsamic vinegar, and some garlic salt and pepper, offering up a little bit of sour.

Sweet Herb Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients

     20 oz.    Ground turkey (I used the 93% lean)
     1 Yellow onion, small/medium, finely diced
     1 Small Granny Smith Apple, finely diced
     1 Garlic clove, minced
     1             Egg
     1/2 c.    Balsamic Vinegar
     1 1/2 T Fresh basil, chopped
     1 T         Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
                   Kosher salt
                   Fresh ground pepper
   4 slices White bread, crust removed, torn into small pieces
   1/4 c. 2% milk

   1 c.     Tomato sauce
   1/2 c.     Packed brown sugar (next time I will only use 1/4 c.)
   1 T      Dijon mustard

Directions:

   1: Prep onion, apple, and garlic. Warm a drizzle of olive oil in a pan over medium heat
                     and add the onion and apple. Cook until they start to become soft, add the
                     garlic and continue to cook for about a minute then remove from heat and allow
                     to return to room temperature. Tip from Chuck: If it's too warm when you mix
                     everything together it will cook your egg and ruin your dish. Tip from Ashley: I
                     wanted to cool it down quickly and not warm up my fridge or freezer so I stuck it
                     outside for about 5 minutes during a snow storm, under an awning. Perfect.

2: In a small bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, brown sugar, and dijon mustard.
Set aside.

3: In another small bowl, mix basil, parsley, balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt and
pepper.

   4: Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a loaf pan.
   5: Add the turkey to the cooled onions and apples, pour in the vinegar mixture, add the
                     egg and bread pieces. Mix it all together, then add the milk (more or less
                     depending on the texture of the mixture you've made).
   6: Press into your loaf pan, poke a few holes in the top, pour the tomato sauce mixture
                     over the meatloaf and pop it in the oven. Bake for about an hour, until a meat
                     thermometer reads 160 degrees.