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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Tasty Thursday: Turkey and Stuffing Meatloaf and Gravy And a Bonus roll-over meal!


Turkey and Stuffing Meatloaf
 

  The name alone should be enough to draw you in. If that doesn't work, take a look at this picture.
 
And when I tell you this is a meal that you purposely make more of so you can have role-over meal, you should be adding this to your menu as you read the rest of this blog.
 
All you need is:
 
 
extra virgin olive oil
butter
onion
celery ribs
bay leaf
Salt and Pepper
stuffing cubes with herbs 
tbs poultry seasoning
chicken stock
ground turkey
eggs
all purpose flour
dried cranberries*
 
I made this in honor of fall. As you can imagine it made my house smell like Thanksgiving morning. It tastes as good as it smells, too. When I was a kid, summer was my favorite season. No school. Swimming. Cedar Point. Picnics. The lake. However, I have come to love fall. I especially love fall up north where I am from. I used to live in Northern Michigan. The colors are stunningly beautiful there. We don't really have colors like that in the south, where I have lived for the past...oh, forever. So I have embraced fall all that much more. Nostalgia plus a break from 100 degree weather. When fall rolls around I am ready for all things apple, pumpkin, turkey and...Helllloooo, layers!
I found this recipe in Rachael Ray's Yum-o! cookbook. I love Rachael Ray...Rach. We are talking full-on girl crush. No, I don't wanna do her. But I do admire her. I have her cookware, knives, utensils, cookbooks. I think she is beautiful, funny, smart and has a great heart. *shrugs* Judge me if you want.  
 
 
The first time I made this, my husband said "Ya know what this needs?". I did. Cranberry sauce. But hey, why do regular cranberry sauce when you can put...cranberries inside it! You're welcome. :o) But, since this is a dish you are supposed to use the leftovers to make another dish (enchil-lasgna), I only put the cranberries in one loaf.
 
 
Chop up your onions, celery (and dried cranberries if you are using them). 
 
 
Melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Chop the butter into smaller bits for quicker melting. 
Add salt and pepper and pop in the bay leaf. You want to sweat them out, soften them up. I, personally, like a little crunch left to the celery in my stuffing so I don't let it go that long. Totally up to you. Then preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 
 
 
Put that in a large mixing bowl and allow it to cool a bit. Discard bay leaf. 
 
 
While it's cooling, prepare your baking dish. I like to cook my meatloaves on a foil lined cookie sheet on top of a foil covered rack. I poke holes through the foil to let the drippings fall through. Easy clean up and lets the whole loaf develop a crust. Bring the pan over near your bowl. 
 
 
Then add the stuffing cubes and sprinkle the poultry seasoning over top. I like heavy seasoning. 
 
Pour in about 1-1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Mix it up a bit and see if it's moist enough. Add up to 2 cups. 
 
 
Add the turkey and two eggs, beat up the eggs a bit then mix it until it's welcome combined. Divide it into two even piles. With your hands, one half onto one side of the sheet and form a loaf. 
 
 
Mix the cranberries into the remaining turkey mixture. Transfer that to the sheet and form it into a loaf. Make sure you leave room between the two loaves to ensure proper cooking. 
 
 
 Wash your hands up then drizzle some olive oil over both loaves. 
 
Allow to cook for about an hour. You want an internal temp of 165 degrees for poultry. 
 
 
About half way through the cook time prepare your sides including the gravy. I didn't get pictures of the gravy process. I totally spaced on it. Sorry
 
Melt the remaining butter over medium heat. Add the flour and let it cook for a few minutes while stirring it. I like to get a little color on it. You can add pepper here if you want. But I wouldn't recommend salt since you are making the gravy with the remaining  2 cups of broth.
This is going to make more gravy than you need for this meal but hold on to it, because next week I'm going to show you how to make an Enchil-lasagna with that and the extra turkey loaf. So, if you make the turkey and stuffing meatloaf this week, just freeze the extra meatloaf because I guarantee you want to make the roll-over meal too!
 
 
 This meal is in frequent rotation in the fall months and dotted among the other seasons as well. Whenever you want a turkey and stuffing dinner but don't want to fuss with a turkey and stuffing.  
 
 
 Turkey and Stuffing Meatloaf with Gravy
 
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
6 tbs butter, divided
1 large onion, chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped. If you are lucky enough to still have the celery hearts, use about 5-6 of those with the leafy tops
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper
1 bag of stuffing cubes with herbs (12-16oz)
2 tbs poultry seasoning
4c chicken stock, divided (2 and 2)
3 lbs ground turkey
2 eggs
1/4-1/2 c dried cranberries*, chopped. Optional. 
1/4 c all purpose flour
Preheat your oven to 400.
Melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onions and celery until tender, about 10 minutes (give or take). Once cooked, transfer to a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool slightly. Add stuffing cubes, poultry seasoning and broth (up to 2 cups), mix well until the cubes are moist. Add eggs and ground turkey. 

While still in the bowl, divide into two equal piles. Form two loaves on a prepared pan. Don't forget to add the cranberries to the second loaf before forming it on the pan. Drizzle with olive oil and cook for about an hour until the loaves are browned and cooked to an internal temp of 165 degrees.

For the gravy

4 tbs butter melted over medium heat in the same pan you cooked the onions and celery in. Add 1/4c flour and let it get brown while you stir it for about 3-4 minutes or as brown as you'd like. Slowly add the remaining 2 cups of broth, whisking to prevent lumps.







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1 comment:

  1. This is a great way for someone who isn't going to make a big turkey to have the fun! I love the dried cranberries, too. Super! I'd like to have this all the time, and I want to make it asap! There must be some good sales on ground turkey now, too!!! Yea!

    ReplyDelete