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Take a Try at Turkey Meatloaf

I have been using a lot of ground turkey lately for different things. The price has been right for it at the supermarket or at BJ’s where I can buy large packages of it and try different things. I have used it before in chili, turkey burgers, meatballs and even on nachos but I realized that I hadn’t given a turkey meatloaf a try. I am something of a meatloaf nut and love different meatloaf recipes so I was happy to take a look and see what I c ould find for turkey meatloaf, but to be honest I wasn’t bowled over by any one recipe that I saw anywhere. I then decided I would just do it on my own and see how it would come as far as flavor. To me ground turkey is one of those meats that needs seasoning and moisture, so I ended up putting a few things together and came up with this particular recipe of my own.

Turkey Meatloaf

1 shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup fresh bread crumbs (about 2 pieces of white bread, crusts removed)

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ketchup

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon tomato paste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and heat the oil until it is shimmering. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the shallot has softened and is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

In a large bowl, add the bread crumbs and the milk and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Add the cooled vegetables, the egg, the ground turkey, the Worcestershire sauce, the 1/4 cup of ketchup, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Mix the ingredients together by hand until they are just blended. Form the mixture into a loaf and place the loaf in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Mix the remaining ketchup and tomato paste together in a small bowl and spread over the top of the meatloaf to coat it well. Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a thermometer inserted into the meatloaf registers 170 degrees. Remove the meatloaf from the pan to a platter and allow it to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

As is the case with any meatloaf, you can always add different ingredients that you like to give it some extra flavor. If you are going for something leaner, you could certainly add different vegetables, like grated carrots and onions. If you want a different flavor, try topping it with bacon or putting crumbled up cooked bacon into the meatloaf. You could also add a cup of mushrooms you have processed in the food processor to give the meatloaf another layer of flavor. There are a lot of things you can do, but this one was pretty basic and came out with really good flavor. We even made a little gravy out of some chicken stock and had it with the turkey and mashed potatoes. Of course, the turkey meatloaf is great for meatloaf sandwiches for lunch or dinner in the following days.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Take a Turn at Turkey Black Bean Chili

17 Sep

Very often when I make chili I only use ground turkey to do it. We like the flavor of the chili and there is less fat and grease to deal with during the cooking process. I was looking for a recipe that would be just a little bit different from the standard recipe I have been using for years for chili when I cam across this one at myrecipes.com. There are just some slight differences in this recipe from the one I normally use, but you can adapt this recipe to make it as hot or as mild as you would like.

Turkey Black Bean Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 poblano chile, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound ground turkey

2 cans (28 ounces each) diced tomatoes

2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar or 2 teaspoons sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Kosher salt

Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. Saute the onion, bell pepper, poblano chile and the garlic, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the ground turkey, increase the heat to high and cook, stirring often and breaking the meat into chunks until the meat is no longer pink, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the diced tomatoes, the black beans, tomato paste, chili powder, ground cumin and the agave nectar or sugar. Bring the chili to a boil, stirring often. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover, stirring occasionally, and cook until all the flavors are blended, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in the lime juice. Check the seasonings and add kosher salt if desired or necessary. Serve the chili with shredded cheese and sour cream.

This recipe carries a little more heat to it than the one I had made in the past, thanks to the poblano pepper, but I really liked it and so did Michelle, who is the real chili lover in our family. You can always leave out the poblano if you prefer to have it a little milder. I used the sugar instead of the agave nectar because that is what I had on hand and it did help to cut down the acidity of the tomatoes. The lime juice really adds to the dish as well. I also seasoned the ground turkey before putting it in the chili with some Montreal chicken seasoning for some extra flavor because I find that ground turkey alone can be kind of bland, even in chili, but you can always season it in another manner if you choose or not at all and I think you will still get pretty good flavor out of this recipe. Of course, the flavor gets even better after a day or two and it has been great for lunches or even just as a snack with some tortilla chips.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on September 17, 2014 in Beans, Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Soups & Stews, Turkey

Tags: ground turkey, myrecipes.com, turkey black bean chili, turkey chili, turkey chili recipe

Take a Turn at These Turkey Burgers

26 Aug

Sean had been asking me to make turkey burgers one night for dinner because he really wanted to try them out. I figured it was a great alternative to ground beef and was happy to oblige, but I really needed to figure out how to get some great flavor into the turkey burgers. To me, ground turkey has a tendency to be somewhat flavorless unless you add something to it. I love to use it in chili and meatballs, so I really wanted to find a good combination of spices and vegetables to add to the burgers to make them great. I looked at a lot of recipes and really just ended up taking what I liked best from all of them and putting them together to make my own turkey burgers.

Turkey Burgers

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1 shallot, diced

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon hot sauce

1 tablespoon McCormick’s Montreal Chicken seasoning

1/4 cup chicken broth

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Your favorite slices of cheese, optional

Hamburger rolls, for serving

Sliced red onion, for serving

Sliced pickles, for serving

Combine the ground turkey, diced shallot, egg yolk, chopped parsley, minced garlic, hot sauce and Montreal chicken seasoning with clean hands until everything is well blended but not overmixed. Add a little bit of the chicken broth at a time and mix it into the turkey mixture (you can add a little bit more if it seems like it needs more moisture). Shape the turkey mixture into 4 or 5 equally sized patties. Season both sides of the patties with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet set over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Place the patties into the skillet and cook the turkey burgers until they are golden brown and cooked all the way through, about 5 to 7 minutes per side. If you are using any cheese, place slices of cheese on the burgers and cover the skillet for 1 minute or until the cheese is completely melted. Transfer the burgers to a clean plate and serve, along with the hamburger rolls or buns, sliced red onion, pickles or any other accompaniments that you like with your burgers.

I think everyone was a little skeptical as to how flavorful these burgers would turn out, but I have to say that I thought they were great. The turkey burgers were moist and had great flavor. I think the seasonings and that little bit of chicken broth really helped to make a difference. Of course, the great thing about any type of burger is that you can always add whatever you like best to the mix and get the flavors you want. I think the little bit of heat from the hot sauce combined well with the shallots and garlic. You could easily add other vegetables to the mix instead, like grated carrot or some spinach and it would be very good.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!