Thursday, January 26, 2012

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.



8 comments:

  1. I used to hate meatloaf. As an extremely picky child the foods I "hated" far outnumbered the foods I loved or liked. I was skinnier then. Our family meatloaf recipe has a tangy sweet sauce on top (made of ketchup, brown sugar and a bit of mustard), almost everyone in my family likes it :-) Your recipe looks delicious; I need to give it a try so we can have an additional recipe we love. I have discovered that when I am short on time that mini meatloafs in muffin tins cook so much faster than the alternative.

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  2. I really don't do meatloaf either...and like you I think it's all in the name...I'm such a little kid ;o)

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  3. Oh...not sure how I feel about meatloaf either. My kids don't like it but then we are not big meat eaters in this family. Hmmmmm...maybe my kids don't like it because they never really have tasted it...now you got me thinking.Hugs to you this evening and thank you for your sweet well wishes you left me on my blog! xoxox

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  4. Haha... I thought I hated meatloaf too until a couple of years ago.
    To meatloaf or not to meatloaf... it all really depends on the recipe.

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  5. I need to send you a recipe I have, it has basalmic vinegar in the topping and I think also in the ingredients of the Italian Meatloaf. It is seriously good! When I run across it I will send it too you. I too use to not like meatloaf, until I tried Italian Meatloaf! :)

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  6. I just came across this post after googling "meatloaf alternate name". We are in agreement that meatloaf needs a new name!

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  7. As a child I hated meatloaf so bad that I inadvertently knocked the entire meatloaf off the table into the floor while throwing a fit over having to eat it. Yea, that didn't end so well for me lol! After that incident, my mom started calling it hamburger loaf...ha! But, I ate it without fuss! Even learned the recipe and make it on my own now. My husband hasn't tried my recipe as he "hates meatloaf" ... sigh....hamburger loaf doesn't trick him. . . So looking for alternate name as well :)

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