Meatloaves

turkey-spinach meatloaf

I recently happened upon an idea among the numerous online recipes for meatloaf which was to add chopped spinach. (I would give the link to that recipe, but I can’t find it now–I think there were more than one, actually.) I’d always added pitted black olives and dried oregano and basil to my meatloaf. I figured the addition of the spinach would make it an “Italian” meatloaf. It was terrific. The spinach keeps the meatloaf very moist, and the extras keep it from tasting too “beefy.”

I served some to an artist friend who happened by my home and he agreed it was good. He mentioned, though, that the best meatloaf he’d ever had was topped with mustard instead of tomato sauce. I agreed that that sounded very interesting, so the following week, I experimented a little. I figured that the mustard might taste better with ground turkey, rather than beef. I think it does; just be sure to get the best quality ground turkey you can find–the cheap stuff doesn’t taste so good.

Here’s my recipes for the two kinds of meatloaf. Yes…that’s a lot of fiber, but fiber is a good thing!

turkey meatloaf

2 eggs
2 cups finely chopped spinach
1 can pitted black olives
1 cup old-fashioned oats (dry)
salt to taste
1.5-2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup rice bran
1.5 cups sliced pickled jalapenos
cup of plain yogurt
cup of chicken broth
3 heaping tablespoons of Gray Poupon mustard
¼ cup ground cumin
¼ cup dried parsley flakes

topping: an additional 3 heaping tablespoons of Gray Poupon mustard, 1 cup plain yogurt, and ½ cup of chicken broth, all mixed well and poured on top before putting in oven.

beef meatloaf

2 eggs
2 cups finely chopped spinach
1 can pitted black olives
1 cup old-fashioned oats (dry)
salt to taste
1.5-2 pounds ground beef or buffalo
1 cup wheat bran
½ large can crushed tomatoes
¼ cup dried oregano
¼ cup dried basil
½ cup capers

topping: rest of the large can of crushed tomatoes poured on top before putting in oven.