Turkey Loaf

When I made the decision to stop eating red meat, I never realized how much I would miss eating basic ground beef recipes like hamburgers, spaghetti and meatballs and meat loaf. Thankfully, I have found ways around it, discovering that using ground turkey or ground pork in place of ground beef is just as good, so long as it’s seasoned properly to give it more flavor. While ground turkey is quite a bit more expensive than hamburger, it was worth it for this recipe. And my boyfriend, who eats red meat like it’s going out of style, even thought this turkey loaf was delicious.

Loaf

2 lbs. ground turkey

1/2 large onion, diced

3/4 cup diced mushrooms

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. ketchup

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

Glaze

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard

3/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375°. Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl; add the remaining loaf ingredients and gently mix and knead with your hands until well combined. Transfer turkey ingredients to a 13-by-9-inch greased baking pan and form into a domed loaf shape. In a smaller bowl, combine the glaze ingredients and stir until well combined. Spoon the ketchup mixture evenly over meatloaf, spreading with the back of the spoon. Bake until turkey loaf is browned on top, cooked through and a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 165° (about one hour). Remove pan from oven and allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.