- Fully Cooked turkey loaf
- ready for the oven turkey meatloaf with ketchup/brown sugar topping
It’s Sunday our kids are still out here and I am in the mood for turkey meatloaf . We haven’t had turkey meat loaf in a very long time and it is a perfect crowd pleaser for the family table.
The first time I made this was in Aspen with my friend Susan many moons ago. We found the recipe from Barefoot Contessa and it was back in the day I wasn’t living out there yet and before my blog was born. We collaborated on it, and Joel and Drew liked it so much they used to tell us to open a shop with turkey lasagna and turkey meat loaf (uh uh, not happening) In any event , it has long become a staple in both of our households and even Drew makes it now. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. I have made a few changes to the original, but the original is a perfect recipe as is. It can easily be cut in 1/2, and tonite I cut it even more using only 1 1/2 lbs. of ground turkey. This recipe as is will serve 8 – 10 servings easily. Great for a large crowd. I serve with roasted butternut squash , roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and/or a beautiful salad. Possibilities are endless with this meatloaf.
*you will need a meat thermometer to check for doneness
Ingredients:
5 lbs ground turkey
3 cups chopped yellow onions ( app. 2 large onions)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups plain dry bread crumbs
3 extra-large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup ketchup/1 tablespoon brown sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a medium saute pan (frying pan) , over a medium low heat, cook the onions in the olive oil, add salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent app. 10 minutes or so. Don’t brown them. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow this mixture to cool in frying pan off the heat to room temperature.
In the meantime, combine the turkey, bread crumbs, and eggs in a large bowl and mix well. Then add in the onion mixture when it’s cooled down and incorporate well. Shape into a rectangular loaf on a lightly sprayed sheet pan. When you shape as a loaf , try to make the ends even with the middle or they will dry out. ( I kind of like the ends like that but just saying…) Spread the ketchup/brown sugar evenly on top. Bake for app. 1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature of meatloaf is 160 degrees and the meatloaf is cooked through.
I place a large Pyrex with water underneath the meatloaf (rack below) it will help to keep meatloaf from cracking . (it works) I always let it stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Serve hot, at room temperature and delicious cold the next day.
I suppose it’s that time of the year again when we crave warm cozy meals. this is perfect for sunday dinner (or any night ) will feed about 8 people nicely. freezes perfectly. and served with a beautiful salad and some bread it’s an awesome meal. i make so many soups, and will be following up throughout the winter with all of my wonderful soup recipes, but this one is really special. the lentils add a wonderful flavor and texture, the sausage adds a savory spice. i mix hot and sweet sausage but feel free to go all sweet, i also like the sausage to have some fennel in it, i use italian pork sausage. you can obviously substitute with turkey or chicken sausage. so cozy on up to this one, it’s a true keeper. I believe this recipe came from a cookbook by julia della croce, who has the most awesome italian recipes. i’ve made a few changes for myself, but maybe you will too. this is filling enough as a meal which is how we eat it.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. (1 1/2 cups) lentils
10 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 lb. sausage, I used 1/2 sweet and 1/2 spicy italian pork sausage , feel free to use turkey sausage /chicken sausage. I like fennel in my sausage, so the italian ones usually have it. i have made it with turkey and it’s delicious.
3 tablespoons olive oil , You may need a little more after you cook the sausage. (see directions)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion chopped (yellow)
1 large celery stalk chopped ( leaves included)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 16 oz. can plum tomatoes, i use the chopped, peeled and seeded ones, along with the juice.
1/2 cup ditalini or any little pasta
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
some flat leaf parsley chopped up (optional)
grated fresh parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
pick over the lentils, remove any stones, imperfect ones, etc. wash the lentils in cold water ( I use a colander to pick through) Transfer to a large pot ( my trusty Le Creuset) large dutch oven. Cover the lentils with broth and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer immediately. Simmer for about 15 minutes. while the soup is cooking , remove sausage from it’s casing ( butcher can do this for you as well) In a large ample frying pan, put the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and when the olive oil is heated up , put in sausage, and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 10 minutes. Remove sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon. Leave whatever oil is still in the pan, should be about 1 tablespoon. I usually add a little more olive oil here about 1 more tablespoon should do it. then add the garlic, onion, celery, and thyme and saute till vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. When veggies are softened, return sausage to the pan. in a bowl or measuring cup i take a few ladles of broth out of pot and mix the 3 tablespoons of tomato paste into it. then add to sausage mixture . add all ingredients into lentil/broth plus can of chopped tomatoes in their juice. let all ingredients blend together and bring back to a low boil, then simmer for about an hour. before i serve it i return to a boil and add pasta, it only takes about 8 minutes for pasta to cook through. discard the bay leaf, ladle into soup bowls, add freshly grated parmesan cheese and you’re good to go with a super authentic italian soup. we eat it as a meal alongside salad and some very good bread
*should serve 8 as a meal, with a little left over to freeze
- Sweet and Sour MBalls with Turkey
I have been making this recipe since I got married in 1975. It is really a perfect recipe for holidays or any time. You can use these meatballs with rice or anything like that. They are good for a big crowd when you have poultry and want another main. A lot of you are probably very familiar with this one and have different versions of it. Believe it or not, I still have the very original recipe. I’ve made a few changes to it: I now add my own bread crumbs, which I always make from whole wheat bread but feel free to use store-bought seasoned bread crumbs; If you want you can make these for* Passover by substituting matzo meal for bread crumbs. I also grate in a little onion (spanish); and my mother taught me to grate in a little potato so I always do that, as well. Now and then I’ll use turkey in this recipe too. Otherwise, this is the original and it’s super easy. I used turkey this time out, and they came out perfectly.
INGREDIENTS: (This is for one pound but you can definitely double and these freeze beautifully.)
1 lb. ground beef (Whatever kind you like. I sometimes use ground turkey. In 1975, we all ate beef, but today you might want to use ground turkey or ground chicken.
1 egg (room temp. works best)
1/4 cup bread crumbs (if you’re using from the can) I use 3 slices of whole wheat bread crusts removed. (when I doubled I used 5 slices and it was enough)
*For Passover – omit the bread crumbs and replace with matzo meal
Kosher Salt, app. 1 teaspoon
Freshly ground black pepper to taste (1/4 teaspoon)
1 clove garlic, minced (the original calls for garlic powder but I’ve changed this as well. If you prefer, try 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon)
1/8 cup warm water (just to moisten it) when you double just add up to 1/4 , I don’t usually use the whole 1/4 cup.
1/4 spanish onion, grated
1/4 potato, grated
1 bottle (12 oz.) Heinz chili sauce
6 oz. grape jelly
Directions:
Mix meat, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic, and water all together. I then grate in the onion and potato too. Next, shape into small balls about 3/4 inches in diameter. Heat the chili sauce and grape jelly until they blend and bring to a low boil. Then drop the raw meatballs into the sauce and simmer, covered, for approx. 45 minutes. Again, these can be made ahead and frozen. They are quick, easy, and so good. The larger the pot the more balls you’re able to get in, so a large dutch oven works out best for this.
* serves about 8 – 10
*Some people have been known to throw a can of sauerkraut in the sauce, which is also delicious, but you hafta like that flavor. (Just saying…)
Brisket can definitely be an intimidating thing to make. I once made it as a young cook, and it was perfectly inedible. Back then, I couldn’t believe how long it takes to cook, but it does take very long. Now I usually make it in the slow cooker, which is awesome; but I don’t have a slow cooker in New York, and I don’t have time to run out and buy one. So this time I used my trusty Le Creuset, which worked out beautifully. I just finished cooking it and froze it before I took pictures so I will post pics when it defrosts on Thursday. A lot of people have some pretty awesome brisket recipes and I welcome you to send me yours. This really couldn’t be any easier and it’s super tasty. This original recipe came from my friend, Michele (with a few comments from Karyn too.) I did change a few things to the original recipe, but not a lot and I thank Michele for the recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
4 lb. brisket (I didn’t need larger but you can adjust this recipe for whatever size brisket you use)
Lawry’s seasoned salt (I’ve never used this before today but I found out it doesn’t contain MSG, as I had previously thought)
2 large Spanish onions (Karyn uses Vidalia, which is also good), sliced thickly
2 cans of tomato sauce , I used the 16 oz. size. You can also use the 1 can of 28 oz. size. It depends on you and how much sauce you like.
2 tbsp. brown sugar (this is my addition. It doesn’t really change the flavor so much as cut the salt a bit)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
I sprinkled Lawry’s seasoned salt on both sides of the brisket (generously) then seared it in the Le Creuset pot with a little vegetable oil–probably about a tablespoon. (After the meat was seared, it shrunk to fit perfectly in my pot but I don’t think that a larger brisket would have fit.) Next, I added the tomato sauce and onions, covered the pot and put it in the oven. I cooked it for a total of 3 hours. I checked on it after each hour, which probably wasn’t even necessary. I then let it cool, off of the heat, for about an hour. Next, I sliced it with an electric knife, which came out beautifully. The meat was soft, but not falling apart at all. I then added the brown sugar to the gravy, put the brisket in a container with the gravy and froze it. I’ll take it out the night before I serve. Karyn pulses her gravy with an immersion blender. I didn’t do this but I think it makes for a good suggestion. In fact, I might still do it on Thursday. I’ll let you know. Thanks again Michele and Karyn!
- real deal meatballs/prep
I’ve been on the subject of comforting foods a lot lately and this recipe is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. When I was a young girl, nothing made me happier than to know that my mother was preparing meatballs and spaghetti for dinner and it is still one of my most favorite meals, of which I have the fondest of memories. I hope you like my recipe and are not put off by the amount of ingredients required. I promise you it’s worth it. The sauce and meatballs are perfect for freezing and I usually make enough for at least one extra meal. This tomato sauce has onions and a few different ingredients from my other tomato sauce. This is one suggestions for these meatballs but you can use any sauce that you like. The last time I made these meatballs I actually used the Dreamy Creamy Vodka Sauce. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
Spaghetti (any type you like) cooked according to directions on package
Freshly grated parmesan
Meatballs:
1/2 lb. ground veal
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I never cheat on this one. I use 4 slices–5 for thinner bread–of whole wheat bread and make the crumbs in a food processor with a steel blade. It’s fast and easy but you can use whatever you have in the house.)
1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs (Italian style)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (you can cheat here, if you must)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp fresh, flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 extra large egg, beaten (start with a room temp egg)
Sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup (one medium) yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes (or you can puree chopped plum tomatoes)
1 tbsp fresh, flat-leaf parsley, chopped (this is optional but it adds delicious flavor)
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt (taste to check if you need more than this)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (use at your own discretion)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the ground meats, both types of bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg and 3/4 cup warm water in a large bowl. Combine all ingredients with a fork. Next, I use my washed hands and lightly form the mixture into small (2 inch) meatballs. You should have about 20-25 meatballs. I don’t fry my balls; I bake them at400 degrees for approx. 30 – 40 minutes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. If you prefer to fry the balls, use a combination of vegetable and olive oils. (This is up to you.) The meatballs will continue to cook in the sauce so don’t worry if they are not fully cooked through as well as they should be at first.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and while cooking sauce on high heat, deglaze the pan by scraping up from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Do this until almost all of the liquid evaporates. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, oregano, pepper, parsley, crushed red pepper, and tomato paste. Let it cook for approx. 1 hour. If sauce is too thick, add a little water at a time until you get to the consistency you like. Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover and simmer on the lowest possible heat for about another 1/2 hour, until the meatballs are immersed in the sauce and cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti with freshly grated parmesan cheese. I plate individually so I can freeze left over sauce with meatballs for another meal.
Cooking with Candi 