Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Recipe for a Leaner Meatloaf

Greetings, poor neglected bloglet! Its been a very busy week in Divaland, hence I'm woefully behind in posting, reading, commenting and email. Le sigh.

I expect things will finally ease up towards the end of the week - though I will be out of pocket for most of today and tomorrow.

In the meantime, I've made you some meatloaf! And not just any meatloaf either - a leaner, meaner, thoroughly delicious version that I know you'll return to again and again. With its combination of ground turkey breast and lean ground beef, you'll have all the satisfaction of a traditional loaf - minus some of the saturated fat. Bonus!

Basic Meatloaf Recipe:
  • 1 pound of ground turkey breast
  • 1/2 pound of lean ground sirloin beef
  • 1 cup of chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, leaves only
  • 1/2 cup of ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crumbled
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup of seasoned dry breadcrumbs
  • an additional 1/4 cup of ketchup and some chopped fresh parsley for coating the loaf
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey and ground beef. Mix with a fork, or clean hands, until the meats are incorporated. Add the onions, parsley, thyme, ketchup, Dijon Mustard, Worcestershire sauce, dried basil, dried oregano, garlic powder, Kosher salt and black pepper, and mix thoroughly with a fork, wooden spoon, or clean hands, until fully incorporated. Add the beaten egg and 1/4 cup of seasoned dried bread crumbs and mix to combine. If desired you may add up to another 1/4 cup of bread crumbs to bind the mixture, but don't over-do it! You want the mixture to just hold together, it should not be dry to the touch.

Turn the mixture out into an oven-safe 9 x 13 inch baking dish and shape into a loaf, compacting the mixture with your hands. Place the formed loaf in the middle of the baking dish (as seen above) and slather the top with some additional ketchup. Garnish with some chopped fresh parsley or thyme and bake in the middle of a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from pan, slice, serve and enjoy!

As written this recipe will serve 6 to 8 depending on appetite.

While you could certainly choose to bake the mixture in a loaf pan, I prefer this method. Baking the loaf in a larger dish allows the fat to drain away from the meatloaf, and when its finished you can simply lift it out and leave all that nasty fat behind.

It goes without saying that any leftovers should be sliced and turned into sandwiches ... isn't that the whole reason we make meatloaf in the first place? It is in here in Divaland, just ask the husband!

Eaten fresh out of the oven, or cold on a sandwich, this hearty, healthier version is sure to please. I hope you'll try it!

We'll return to my culinary tour of Germany later in the week ... stay tuned.

Bon appetit!

15 comments:

Charmian @ Christie's Corner said...

Nice to see you back! I like how you combined ground turkey and beef. I find beef too heavy at times and think the turkey will lighten it.

On a totally different note, your post initially confused me. Here , north of the border, "out of pocket" means you paid the expenses yourself and didn't get reimbursed. I gather you mean you'll be away?

English, the best and oddest language on earth.

The Diva on a Diet said...

Thanks, Charmian! I'm happy to be back ... if only for the morning. I want this week to end already!

Funny about "out of pocket" ... here, at least, it can mean both that you've paid yourself and/or that you're away or out of contact. It could be just a local expression, but the husband and I tend to use it in the second form, meaning away. Gotta love the English language!

Anonymous said...

Great to see you back...

But I wouldn't like that meatloaf, I love it when the fat comes from the meat and you ladle the drippings over the meatloaf in the oven.

But then, heaven forbid, I am not on Le diet.

I have only ever heard of it used as C@C said.

AV

Fresh Local and Best said...

Thanks for sharing! This looks like a wonderful healthy version with lots of flavor. I like the addition of Dijon mustard. Great job!

Unknown said...

Ah, i haven't had meatloaf in a really long time. This looks great! Check this out for some funny halloween shapes :D
http://foodnetworkhumor.com/2009/10/6-creepy-halloween-meatloafs/

stephchows said...

that's one lean mean meatloaf machine... ok that didn't make any sense... I need to get out of this office! :D

Laura said...

Good minds think alike! My son has been bagging for meatloaf and I finally made today only to come here and see...meatloaf! I have never put ketchup on mine though. I don't think my mom ever did either. Hunh weird I wonder in ketchuo was hard to come by up here in the 40's when she learned to cook? I'll have to ask.

Lyndsay Wells said...

I LOVE meatloaf and, as you know, am on a healtheir path - so will definitely try this!

nora@ffr said...

Oh my goodness,this looks mouth watering!! How delicious... perfect combination meatloaf! yummmm

Anonymous said...

A delicious lighter version of meatloaf! Great recipe!

The Duo Dishes said...

At this angle, the meatloaf looks huge! Like it'd feed an army of meatloaf lovin' folks. The meatloaf sandwich is by far one of the top leftover dishes by the way!

Deb said...

Sounds remarkably like my meatloaf - sometimes I will also grate in zucchini for some extra moisture and veggies!

Lisa said...

Welcome back Divalicious..and I do mean Divalicious, because that meatloaf looks tastylicious as hell. You would never think this meatloaf is actually lower in fat. I don't usually like ground turkey as a sub for ground beef, pork and/or veal, but dang, I'm trying this! :)

gfe--gluten free easily said...

Great comfort food and wonderful tweaking on your part!

Shirley

Tangled Noodle said...

Many thanks for sharing this! I can't tell you how often I have a craving for meatloaf but when I look at some recipes, I'm scared off. Uh-oh! I think I feel that craving coming on . . .