Meatloaf

Growing up, I never liked meatloaf. Nothing against my mom's meatloaf, which my Dad and sister Lisa love, but I think there were a few reasons I wasn't a fan of meatloaf night. First, the idea of all that unknown meat (it was probably just ground beef, but at the time I didn't know that) shaped into a loaf did not look appealing. Second, it was always served with gravy instead of the sweet tomato/ketchup topping. I'm not a big gravy fan either. I don't think I have ever made it or eaten it besides on Thanksgiving. And third, I didn't know how many variations of meatloaf recipes there are and that all meatloaf isn't the same.

Once I left for college I was able to avoid meatloaf altogether. Then I started working with the ladies at the group home who loved meatloaf, and I learned how to make one for them. Short on time, spices and interest in the meal, I took the short cut with the McCormick spice pack mixed with ground beef or turkey and some breadcrumbs. It turned out ok, but I still wasn't eating it myself. Then last year after Rob and I moved in together, he asked if we could have meatloaf for dinner some night- one of his favorite meals. Of course I said sure, and that is when I discovered how many different kinds of meatloaf you could make.

Many meatloaf recipes later, I have found another one that I will defintely be keeping in our meatloaf dinner rotation. My brother-in-law's girlfriend, Linnea, gave me the Mary Mac's Tea Room cookbook for my birthday. I have never eaten at the Southern cooking Atlanta restaurant, but Linnea says it is one of her favorites. The first recipe I tried was the Italian Turkey and Vegetable Meatloaf. They also call it the Holiday Meatloaf because of the green and red colors in it.

I will say it was the biggest meatloaf I have ever made, which is why I decided to omit the bag of chopped spinach the recipe called for. Maybe next time I will suck it up and add it to make an even bigger loaf. The picture to the left is only half of the final product. Basically you mix together 1 lb turkey, 1 lb sausage, 1 green & 1 red bell pepper, 1 sweet onion, 1 cup oatmeal, 8 cloves garlic, egg, olive oil, dried basil, dried parsley and oregano, salt and pepper. Bake for an hour at 350 degrees. One of the best parts of this was the tomato sauce topping. Over medium-low heat melt tablespoon of butter, add in 1 cup canned tomato sauce, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and cook for 10 minutes. Rob and I both give it two thumbs up, which says something coming from a once meatloaf-hater.