Hello April.  We welcome the beginnings of spring after a long , hard winter here in NJ.

Today was a cloudy and cold spring day.  Went to Whole Foods and got some organic, free range antibiotic free ground turkey.  Decided to not bother making meatballs since it’s Meatless Monday, and went with a healthy take on meat loaf.  If you have a meatloaf pan , this is very easy.

I roasted a bunch of mushrooms, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, an aged balsamic, sliced onions and sprinkled with oregano.

I glazed the top with a marinara sauce with basil and garlic.

Recipe

Into a metal bowl add about 1 pound of ground turkey

One large egg

1/3 cup of parmesan reggiano grated and some locatelli romano

sprinkle in some italian seasoning (and/or dried oregano)

1/3 cup or so of bread crumbs- use more if it feels like it needs it

a teaspoon of organic ketchup

2 teaspoons of your best aged balsamic vinegar

4 or so cloves of crushed garlic

handful of chopped parsley

Chopped fresh basil (optional)

 

Add about 1 tablespoon of evoo to the pan and spread around (so it won’t stick)

Mix the turkey in the bowl together with some salt and pepper, and when it feels like it will form a loaf in the pan  , put it in the pan however thick or thin you like it.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Spread the marinara on the top of the loaf with another drizzle of evoo.  Another splash of balsamic, add some grated parmesan.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 20- 30 minutes.  After about 20 minutes you will see some gravy forming on the side of the meatloaf , to this add a little splash of water, and then add some baby spinach.

 

Cook until spinach is melted down and it is done.

In another pan put the mushrooms and onions with garlic , oregano, salt pepper as I said above, this will take about 10 minutes to cook.  When done remove.

Add the veggies to the pan and serve the turkey loaf smothered with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and basil sauce.

 

Enjoy.