Retro Night – Turkey Meatloaf

When I’m craving old-fashioned, stick-to-your ribs food, this is at the top of my list. I serve it with mashed yukon gold potatoes and broccoli sauteed with garlic.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan with olive oil or butter.

In large bowl combine:

• 2lbs ground turkey (I use 1lb breast meat, 1lb thigh meat – they’re sold separately at my grocery store)
• 1/2 – 1 cup bread crumbs (since most store-brand varieties have milk in them, I make my own by toasting day-old sourdough and then blitzing in the food processor until very fine)
• 1/2 finely chopped parsley
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce\
• 1/3 c. ketchup (I like Heinz organic)
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt!)

Mash all ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Press into loaf pan and round the top. Spread another 1/3 cup of ketchup. Bake at 375, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes or until browned on top and cooked through.

You can easily make a gravy to go with this by making a simple roux (equal parts flour, butter – I usually need about a TBSP of each) and adding chicken broth, ketchup, a little tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste. My family likes the meatloaf with just ketchup. They’re big ketchup fans. Especially my one year old. The dentists will scold me for this, I’m sure.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash and Potato Leek Soup

 

For someone who has never been all that fond of butternut squash, I would eat this soup morning, noon and night if I could. It’s easy, relatively fast (especially if you have already-roasted squash on hand) and perfect for fall and winter weather.

When I’m making soup, I always try to season as I go so each level of ingredients is properly seasoned. I think in the end I use less salt and the flavors are better blended.

Serve this with a nice salad and some rustic sourdough bread.

• 2 TBSP olive oil or butter (I used half and half)
• 3 large leeks, sliced (discard the top dark green parts, just use the white and pale green portion of the leek)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 lbs potatoes, sliced (Skinned Russets are ok but yukon or fingerling have better flavor for this recipe I think)
• 1/2 large roasted butternut squash, cubed (or more! use to taste)
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• S&P to taste

Heat oil in large stock pot and sautee onions and leeks until softened and transluscent. Add potatoes and cook until the potatoes are soft but not fully cooked. Add about 1 qt chicken stock and simmer covered until potatoes are cooked through. Drop in cubed butternut squash and begin to break up the potatoes and squash pieces with a wooden spoon. Add about another 1/2 qt chicken stock and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the squash and potatoes are very soft and well-combined. At this point you can serve as-is, blend for a really smooth/creamy soup or use a potato masher to gently mash the soup a little more. In my family, we like chunky soup. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Makes about 8-10 servings