Turkey Meatloaf

A couple of months ago, one of my coworkers asked if I had a classic meatloaf recipe.

I immediately went to V&B, thinking I could just forward her the link ... when I realized I do not have a "traditional" meatloaf on my blog!  I couldn't believe it.  I make this recipe often, in a rotation with buffalo chicken meatloaf (which is now also a staple in our household.)

So I wanted to remedy this oversight immediately, but it's usually tough to snap a decent picture during the madness of weekday mealtimes.  Which meant I had to wait until I made it on a weekend... and the pictures are still pretty rugged, haha!

Look, as I've lamented before, it's tough to make a mound of barf-colored meat look 'sexy.'  I think I've gotten a little better, but this time I also had a hungry Mini Smalls circling like a shark.

Don't mess with the Mini when she's ready to eat - trust me, the girl is serious about her chow.  Does this look like the face of an amateur to you?

Don't be fooled by the kitty in the bottom of her bowl.  She's hardcore, I tell you.  Ruthless.

(I think she gets it from her momma - I get "hangry" too.)

In any event, I promise the taste makes up for my poor food styling & photography skills!

Turkey Meatloaf

• 16 oz. ground turkey (I use 94% lean)
• 1 egg
• 2 T. milk
• 1/2 C. plain breadcrumbs
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 3/4 t. onion powder
• 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T. dijon mustard
• 2 T. fresh parsley, minced
• 1 t. salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Glaze:

• 1/3 C. ketchup
• 1 T. barbecue sauce
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a glass pie pan or 8" square baking dish, and set
aside.  (If you like to make it in a loaf pan that's fine too, but I prefer to a larger dish so the end result is less greasy.)

Whisk eggs & milk in large bowl.  Add breadcrumbs, garlic & onion powders, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Add ground turkey and mix well with hands until
thoroughly combined.

Form into a mound in prepared pan/dish and bake 50 minutes.  In bowl, prepare glaze by combining ketchup, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar.  Spread over meat, and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Serves 2-4 people.

Original Recipe

Lighter Chicken Parmesan

So the good news is my surgery went fine and I have not had any complications.

The bad news is, I am already going crazy and I still have weeks left to go!

I had a double bunionectomy, to remove the bones on the sides my feet ... you may have already noticed this problem on the post about Greek Panzanella Salad when I showed you the tattoo Mr. V gave me?

I knew that the surgery was going to be painful and that recovery was going to be a very slow process.   And it will totally be worth it in the end when I am walking around pain-free.

But right now is pretty miserable.

As anything in life, though, it has its good & bad points.  Let's review the pros & cons:

These are my feet right now, and it's NOT cool.

AHH.

Food-wise it actually hasn't been bad so far, because my dad & mother-in-law were kind enough to make us some home-cooked meals.  But now that we're getting down to pizza, tacos, and frozen foods things should get interesting.  Maybe Mr. Vittles will be more appreciative of the things I do now that he has to take care of me!

But since you are presumably not hampered by mummified feet & velcro boat shoes, I think you should make this chicken parm & enjoy it in my honor!  I picked a light recipe in anticipation of some New Year's resolutions you may have  :)

Lighter Chicken Parmesan

• 1 1/2 C. panko bread crumbs
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
• 1/2 C. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 T. water
• cooking spray
• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 oz. each), trimmed of excess fat & sliced into cutlets
• 2 C. tomato sauce, warmed 
• 3 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 T. minced fresh basil

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Combine the bread crumbs and oil in a 12-inch skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow dish and cool slightly; when cool, stir in the Parmesan.

In a second shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg whites, and finally coat with the bread crumbs.  Press on the bread crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the chicken on the wire rack.

Spray the tops of the chicken with vegetable oil spray. Bake until the meat is no longer pink in the center and feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce onto the center of each cutlet and top the sauce with 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the remaining sauce and Parmesan separately.

Makes 6 1-piece servings.  Cal 310; Fat 8 g; Sat fat 2.5 g; Chol 75 mg; Carb 20 g; Protein 38 g; Fiber 1 g; Sodium 790 mg

Recipe from Cooks Illustrated

Jalapeno Honey Chicken Tenders

I think I mentioned a while ago that we went to a wedding on Mr. Vittles' 30th birthday.  The wedding was in Cape May NJ (an adorable shore town) and had a beach theme, and they gave out the cutest favors - small jars of Old Bay seasoning accompanied by a recipe for crab cakes.

However, as most of you know, I do not enjoy seafood in the least - so I was not about to be making any crab cakes.  I knew that you could put it on a number of other things (I've seen Old Bay seasoned potato chips) but I don't know exactly what foods the flavors go best with.

So to the Old Bay website I went, where I was able to find some good non-seafood recipe suggestions.

This one reminded me of my childhood when one of my favorite foods was chicken tenders dipped in honey.  The jalapeno and Old Bay give it a nice twist.  Mr. V and I both thought it was pretty tasty!

Jalapeno Honey Chicken Tenders

• 2 T. honey
• 1 egg
• 1 t. finely minced jalapeno
• 1/4 C. flour
• 3/4 C. unseasoned dry breadcrumbs (I used panko)
• 3 t. old bay seasoning
• 1 T. dried parsley flakes
• 1 lb. chicken tenders (or breasts, cut into strips)
• 2 T. canola oil
• 1 t. salt

Preheat oven 425.

Mix jalapeno, honey, and egg in shallow dish.  In separate shallow bowl, mix bread crumbs, flour, old bay, salt, and parsley.

Dip each chicken tender in honey mixture, then coat evenly with bread crumb mixture and place on a dish.

Heat the canola oil on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes.  Turn sheet to coat surface evenly with oil.

Immediately place chicken tenders on sheet and bake 7 minutes.  Flip and bake another 7-8 minutes until cooked through & no longer pink.  Let sit a few minutes before serving.

Recipe slightly adapted from Old Bay.com