The idea of “Project Use All The Food Products In My Kitchen” kind of got launched with I made a gluten-free version of my grandmother’s banana bread. I had come home from the market one afternoon, stood in front of my pantry, and played a game of Tetris to make everything fit. It’s somewhat organized – spices are on a little rack, bottles are next to it, boxes are lined up… But I realized I kept buying new ingredients for recipes and not using enough of what I already have. I’ve also been eating out way too much, and rather see that money either in my bank account or spent on a vacation. Or on the road bike I’ve been lusting over for longer than I care to admit. Or on a gorgeous pair of shoes. 😉
Anyway, this food clutter situation extends into my freezer. For the next few weeks, there’s seriously no reason to purchase anything other than vegetables, fruit, milk, eggs, and maybe bread. And that’s how this turkey meatloaf recipe came to be. What did I have on hand, and what could I make with it? A package of ground turkey in the freezer, a red onion that had nothing better to do than be cooked in butter, a portobello mushroom that overstayed it’s welcome, and oh hey – some baby spinach would probably taste great and add some awesome color. The only bread crumbs I had were gluten-free, so those got thrown in. I didn’t have enough ketchup for a traditional meatloaf recipe, but I did have a jar of Dave’s Gourmet Red Heirloom Organic Pasta Sauce that I found on sale at Whole Foods a few weeks ago! (I often see Dave’s Gourmet sauces in Home Goods too. Always fun to save a few pennies by buying it there.)
Um, I don’t ever want to eat “regular” meatloaf again. This will be my go-to recipe. Jeff says it’s addictive. We almost polished off the ENTIRE loaf for dinner, restraining ourselves and leaving two pieces for the next day’s lunch. I made this a little over a week ago while on the verge of getting sick, so I made it again this weekend just to make sure my tastebuds weren’t off…
I might go back into the kitchen after writing this and have thirds!
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- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup red onion, chopped
- 2 medium (or 1 large) portobello mushroom, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- A handful of baby spinach
- 1¼ lbs ground turkey
- ½ cup bread crumbs (substitute gluten-free bread crumbs, if you'd like)
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup Dave's Gourmet Red Heirloom Organic Pasta Sauce
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a skillet.
- Add the onion, mushroom, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spinach when the mixture has a minute or so left to cook.
- Spoon mixture into a bowl to cool for a few minutes.
- Combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, pasta sauce, salt, pepper, and the vegetable mixture.
- Spread the meatloaf into an 8x4 loaf pan. (I lined mine with parchment paper.)
- Bake for 50-55 minutes.
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Side Note – This is not a sponsored post. I seriously had a jar of Dave’s Gourmet sauce sitting around, begging to be used.
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