Not Your Momma's Meatloaf!

I admit, I am not meatloaf's biggest fan. First of all, I think the name of the dish could use some reworking! Who wants to eat something called "meatloaf"? Even with such strong feelings, research shows that you have to try something at least 11 times to really know if you like it or not.

We'll call this recipe number six and we've found a winner! 

Instead of the traditional beef-based meatloaf, this recipe called for ground turkey and mushrooms. Admittedly, I'm a little late to the turkey party, but I'm here with enthusiasm. Without further adieu, here is the Turkey Meatloaf recipe I snagged from Epicurious.com. 

As with most recipes, I've made slight changes to suit my taste, available ingredients and lifestyle. Most notably in this recipe: the type of mushrooms, breadcrumbs and baking method. My local Harris Teeter had regular white button mushrooms on sale so I chose to substitute them for the creminis (or Baby Bellas as they are also known). 

This recipe also calls for fresh, homemade breadcrumbs from white bread. I didn't have any on hand at the time so I substituted for panko breadcrumbs instead.  I always suggest you look at the recipe reviews for helpful hints on substitutions. If you don't have it readily available in your pantry, chances are someone else has run into the same problem.

Lastly, I made a change that allowed my meatloaf to carry me through the rest of the week. Not that you couldn't achieve similar results through a traditional loaf style, but portion control was on my mind. At the suggestion of a friend, I gave my cupcake pan some extra use and divided the loaf into about 11 servings.

I served my meatloaf with pseudo-creamed spinach and simple mashed potatoes. All you need for the spinach is a little bit of sauteed onions and garlic which I steeped in some heavy cream. Just add the spinach to the cream until it wilts, add salt and pepper (some people like a little nutmeg too, but it's not my favorite so I omitted it) and your done! 

You'll see how this meatloaf lives on later in the week...