Turkey Meatloaf

I try to plan dinners for the week so we have a nice variety....Asian inspired, Tex-Mex, chicken, pasta, pizza, meatless, etc. I do like having (especially in the winter) a meat and potatoes type meal once a week or so. Obviously, this was the one for this week.

As I have told you, I do like the crockpot and have found that it's a good way for me to make meatloaf. It is difficult to make certain things when you aren't able to be home an hour before serving dinner. Such is the life of a swim parent. I'm not complaining...just sayin'.

One way around this is to use the crockpot by making an aluminum foil lift in the crockpot. I take a 2 foot long piece of foil and fold it in half lengthwise and place it on the bottom and up the sides of the slowcooker. This will help to lift out the meatloaf "boule" when it's done(the picture on the left may help to see how it's done). I didn't think of this and don't want anyone to give me the credit for thinking of it, but it really does work. I did spray the sides of the slowcooker with Pam since I was using primarily ground chicken breast.

The recipe I use for meatloaf was from my mom years ago and can be varied a bit for variety. I usually use turkey (but this time it was ground chicken breast) because we aren't huge beef eaters, but I'm sure you can make this with ground beef as well.

In large bowl mix together:

1/2 c breadcrumbs

2 generous T dried parsley

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c feta or bleu cheese, crumbled

1/4 c sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1 lb ground turkey/chicken

Depending on the moisture of the turkey (and whether it is dark or light meat) it may be necessary to add a small amount of olive oil. I increased the breadcrumbs and cheese by a tiny bit and added 1/2 lb of ground pork because I had it leftover from another recipe (I had 1 lb ground pork in the freezer and only need 1/2 lb in my other recipe). Pat into a shape to fit in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or so. When it is done the foil can be pulled out of the slowcooker so it looks like the picture below.

I really think meatloaf is best served with mashed potatoes and broccoli, so you may have to make those quickly when you get home and serve it together. As you can tell, we had mashed potatoes and green beans with it this time.

It's so nice to come home and have the smell of dinner when coming in the door. A quick potato boil and mash and vegetable steam and it comes together so quickly.

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