I Hate Meatloaf . . . And Other Lies I Used to Believe

Yesterday when posting about my youthful ideals of what a sister, a large family, and a dog were supposed to look like, I got to thinking about other lies I've believed.  Lies that have thrown me completely for a loop in the past month.

Lies like:

A child will never knowingly cause more work for its mother by not cleaning up the empty chip bags, slowly warming gallon of milk, sticky peanut butter knife, dripped juice, spilled cereal, and discarded granola bar wrappers in the kitchen.

or

A bathroom used by 3 teen-aged boys should only need to be cleaned once a week.

A bathroom used by 3 teen-aged boys should only need to be cleaned three times a week.

A bathroom used by 3 teen-aged boys should only need to be cleaned once a day.

or

The level of excitement generated by a new knitting project will extend to the time of completion of said object.

or, to bring me to the subject of this post,

I hate meatloaf.

Yes, that last "I hate," as I have recently discovered, is a lie.

Because I just hadn't tasted this meatloaf.

This meatloaf is moist and juicy and light and bursting with flavor.  It is airy, not compact; soft, not dry and hard.  My children actually love it, and one requested to have it for leftovers the next night.

By the way, shouldn't "meatloaf" have another name?  Isn't there something just slightly off-putting about the idea of meat and a loaf.  Like those two concepts shouldn't come together in one name.

I googled "another name for meatloaf."  The two sites that came up were "No Results Found" and an attempt to get me to read the lyrics of "Is Nothing Sacred."  Wrong meatloaf.

So, I guess we're stuck.  Meatloaf it is.  But don't let the disappointment of all those past meatloafs keep you from trying this one.

It is Meat Succulence . . . to be sure.

Italian Turkey Meat Loaf Succulence (I double this for a family of 7)
1 large egg
Half a 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley (Whoever has this on hand?  I left it out.  Never missed it.)
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 package Italian turkey sausages - removed from casings, about 4 sausages (You can get these just in the poultry section of the grocery store.)
1/2 pound ground turkey
1/3 cup spaghetti sauce


Preheat oven to 375.  


In a large bowl, beat the egg and stir in tomatoes, onion, parsley, oats, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Then mix in by hand the Italian turkey sausage and ground turkey just until blended.  Form into a large meat loaf (meat succulence) on a baking sheet (like a jelly roll pan), patting to remove any air spaces.  Bake for one hour.  Top with spaghetti sauce and continue baking 15 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.