Turkey

Spicy Turkey Meat Loaf with Ketchup Topping

A few months ago, I made a meat loaf recipe that I enjoyed so much, I decided right then and there that it would be my go-to meat loaf recipe from here on out. But, I had this Spicy Turkey Meat Loaf with Ketchup Topping tucked away in my recipe binder so I had to try it out also. I almost didn’t want to like it because I loved the other recipe so much but oh boy, now I’m torn!

The “spicy” in this meat loaf is from Sriracha, hot chile sauce, which is a staple in my refrigerator. It’s spiciness creeps up on you but is tamed slightly by the sweetness in the ketchup topping. Since I’m in love with spicy food lately, I think I uttered “Yum” after every single bite. The other special ingredient in this meat loaf is mushrooms. Not only to do they add a low-calorie flavor boost but they also help keep the meat loaf incredibly moist. I guess it’s better to have two winning meat loaf recipes than to have none at all, right?

Also check out Cheesy Turkey Meat Loaf.

The ingredients:

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook onion, mushrooms, and garlic to pan for 8 minutes. Remove from heat, place in a large bowl and allow to cool.

Add panko, broth, parsley, soy sauce, Sriracha, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, ground turkey, and egg to the mushroom mixture and mix until just combined.

In a small bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard, and nutmeg.

Pat turkey mixture into a loaf pan and top with ketchup mixture. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165°F.

Additions: None

Omissions:

Worcestershire sauce

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Asian Lettuce Cups

Have you ever eaten lettuce wraps at an Asian restaurant and thought, “I want to make these”? Or at least, “I wish someone would make these for me”? Well, here you go. These Asian Lettuce Cups turned out exactly how I wanted them to and didn’t disappoint at all. For some reason, I expected lettuce cups to be difficult, or at least annoying, to make but they were so easy!

You brown mushrooms and ground turkey with garlic and ginger over the stove and move it to a bowl. In another bowl is mixed a simple sauce of hoisin, soy, vinegar, and hot chile sauce. These tasty cups have a slight sweetness from the hoisin, a subtle saltiness from the soy, a real kick of spice from the chile sauce and a delicious crunch from the butter lettuce and celery. The recipe calls for water chestnuts which I don’t really care for so I used celery instead but I think carrots would be great too. I think you could use ground beef or chicken here too so use whatever you like! One serving is two lettuce cups but trust me, it’s difficult to stop at just two!

The ingredients:

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet and cook mushrooms until soft. I chopped mine up a bit because I don’t like big chunks of mushrooms but feel free to leave the caps whole if you prefer.

Once mushrooms are soft, move them to a large bowl to cool. In the same skillet, add the remaining oil, turkey, garlic, and ginger. Cook until turkey is fully browned.

Move turkey mixture to the bowl with the mushrooms and add scallions and celery (or water chestnuts). Mix well.

In a small bowl, combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and hot chile sauce.

Spoon two tablespoons of turkey mixture into one lettuce cup and top with a tablespoon of sauce. Enjoy!

Additions:

Celery

Omissions:

Water chestnuts

Substitutions:

Dried ginger for fresh ginger

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Italian Meatballs with Smoky Tomato Sauce

I’m not really a big meat-eating person but I do love a turkey burger or turkey meatballs sometimes. These Italian Meatballs with Smoky Tomato Sauce not only have ground turkey but they also have turkey sausage to add a little flavor. Mixed with egg, garlic, and parmesan cheese, these meatballs can be made quickly and include one of my favorite spices – smoked paprika! Personally, I would have preferred if there was a little more sausage in the mix but overall, I thought these meatballs were very tasty. The tomato sauce also has smoked paprika and was a hearty, albeit garlicky, sauce. I cut this recipe in half because I wasn’t looking to feed an army here and I still didn’t put in as much garlic as the recipe calls for. These meatballs would make great appetizers for your next get-together – or maybe a nice topping to some whole wheat pasta!