Who has time to watch cooking shows?
With the busy pace we are all trying to keep these days who has time for dinner, let alone time to watch a cooking show? Here is an easy standby that we rely on in our family that requires very few ingredients. This is a healthier twist on good old fashioned meatloaf. I like this recipe because you can pre-cook and freeze it, or pre-assemble and freeze it and cook it later, or cook it up and serve it hot. This is a fool-proof recipe that always works for me. I owe my mother on this one, as it is her creation. Thanks Mom! We love this this recipe and we love you!
Mom's Turkey Loaf by Dana Topliff
(serves 4 adults)
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs of ground turkey (1 regular package from the grocery store found in the meat department)
1/2 medium onion
1 teaspoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce (or you can substitute the soy with Bragg Liquid Amino's)
1-2 tablespoons of Dijon or other mustard (whatever you have on hand)
salt and pepper to taste (a few shakes into the mix)
Method:
1) Chop 1/2 of an onion into small pieces (the smaller I dice the onion the less my kids notice the onion in the Turkey Loaf when it is finished, if your kids are "anti-onion" you can simply leave it out and the recipe will still work). Saute the onion in a frying pan in the olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat, set aside.
2) Mix all ingredients, including the onion from the frying pan, together in a bowl.
3) Mold the mixture into a square pan or a bread pan.
4) Bake at 375 degrees F for about 1 hour.
5) Let it cool for about 10 minutes. Slice and serve!
*Variation:
You can chop up an uncooked and peeled yam or a sweet potato into thin slices and line the bottom of your baking pan or loaf pan in a single layer along the bottom of the pan. Then add the turkey loaf mixture on top of the yam or sweet potato. Bake a bit longer than 1 hour to ensure that the sweet potato is cooked thoroughly. 1 hour 15 min-1 hour 30 min is total baking time in my oven with this method.
"Mom, what's for dinner?"
Growing up, the typical answer to this question from my father was simply stated, mostly in jest, as "food" or "whatever your mother is making"! For some reason, that was not a satisfying answer for me as a child. As I became a young woman, my grandmother, in her wisdom, told me if I am not sure what to make for dinner to just get an onion sliced up. She said to get it sizzling in some olive oil in a frying pan before everyone arrived home. When they come through the door they will smell the onion simmering in the olive oil and they will think there is something wonderful cooking. This tactic then buys you the time to figure something out for dinner. (She was right by the way, it works like a charm!)
As a mother of two daughters and the "home engineer" of our family, it falls to me to come up with something appetizing, satisfying, yummy and healthy that pleases each family member's taste buds and nutritional needs day in and day out. My husband is a wonderful partner in this life and he does his best in the kitchen, but we decided years ago that I would be the cook and he would be the clean-up crew each evening. This works for me! When we first met his main food sources were canned tuna, strawberry yogurt and scrambled eggs. Brussel sprouts and artichokes were items he had never even seen before, let alone eaten! Thankfully, he has a much more diverse pallet these days.
Over the years I have developed a menagerie of simple, tasty yet nutritious recipes that have become the family favorites. Some of the recipes I concocted myself, others I learned from friends and family members. My hope is to share recipes each week from my kitchen and yours that have been the "go to" dinners and basic recipes that have conquered all in the midst of the family activities that take place on a daily basis. I am looking forward to this foodie adventure with you.
Cheers from my kitchen to yours! ~Suzanne
Coming soon: *Simple* homemade bread rolls and *5 ingredients only* Turkey loaf!
