Turkey Meatloaf

It feels like it's been crazy busy round these parts. A few weeks ago we got back from Mark's family reunion, I immediately got sick. Whilst in my sick state I did not want to do anything...so mostly I didn't. I made fake-o dinners, like, "Oh, okay let's do some quesadillas, or grilled cheese sandwiches, or scrambled eggs...or frozen pizza, or now that I think of it, let's just get some Taco Bell or go to Chick Fil-A." Yup. That was me for a week, then I got my grocery shopping going for a while. Last week I was so busy going places during the day with the boys, and Mark has been busy at work, so I never knew what time he was coming home. Dinners didn't happen again. It's really difficult to plan a dinner around a time frame that's sometime between 5 and 7 p.m. Motivation was lost. Lost I tell ya!

But then I had my parentals over for dinner last Friday, so I knew I had to make dinner at least one night last week. I made pasta bake. It was delicious. And then Sunday was the day of Fathers. I knew I had to make something scrumptious for Mark. I asked him what he wanted, but a few things were requested that would require me to run to the store late Saturday night after an eventful and tiring day of going to the park, farmer's market, and Orem Summerfest with the boys. Finally we settled on meatloaf. I had never made a meatloaf before. Thus, I scoured the internets for meatloaf recipes. None of them were precisely what I was envisioning, so I used about 6 different recipes and my own ideas (and what I had on hand) and made a loverly and delicious meatloaf of my own creation. Here's the recipe:

Turkey Meatloaf

Loaf:
-2 eggs
-1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
-1 tsp mustard
-1/2 tsp dried thyme
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/3 cup milk
-1 onion, finely diced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 carrot (or 6 baby carrots), grated
-1/2 a medium apple, grated
-1 lb. ground turkey
-1/2 lb. turkey or chicken sausage (I had turkey breakfast sausage on hand, but italian would be delicious I believe, and if you don't have sausage just use ground meat and up the salt)
-3/4 cup bread crumbs (I had panko, so I used those)

Sauce:
-1 cup ketchup
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1 tsp. dry ground mustard
-1 tablespoon (or more, taste to see how spicy and add more if you like more of a heat factor) sriracha sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees
2. Line baking foil and spray with cooking spray (I use an olive oil spritzer)
3. Whisk together egg, worcestershire sauce, mustard, thyme, salt, pepper, and milk; stir in onion, garlic, carrots and apple; add ground meat and bread crumbs and mix until just incorporated
4. Stir together sauce ingredients in a small bowl until well combined
4. Transfer to baking sheet and shape into approx. 9 x 4-5 in. loaf, spread sauce evenly over top and sides of loaf and bake for 1 hour

It was so yummy and moist and amazing. The sauce was also super delicious, if I do say so myself. I paired it with a pasta salad and sauteed green beans, but it would go well with most other vegetable side dishes, mashed potatoes, etc. Jack ate everything, gobbled it up and asked for more.


Happy Father's Day to my handsome man! He is the most kind, considerate, helpful, wonderful man I could ask for. Jack and Henry adore him. He's the fun one, always playing new games with them and getting them to laugh. He loves these kiddos so much. The first thing Jack asks about every morning is whether Dada is at work or downstairs. I don't know where I would be without my Marko man. Probably about 1/100th as happy as I am with him. Love my man and my awesome Dad who is always looking out for me, calling to make sure I'm okay, and always always there for me.

And today is Mark's birthday, so feel free to text or call him with wishes of great joy on this, the day of his birth.