In anticipation of my maternity leave, I've been tinkering with new freezer friendly recipes. Between take-out and what I'm assuming will be a deluge of cheesy casseroles, I have a hunch veggies will be hard to come by. So I've made it my personal mission to cram as many veggies as possible into my freezer meal prep.
Turns out, turkey meatloaf and sauteed vegetables are a match made in waist-line friendly heaven. My husband enjoyed it even more than my classic turkey meatloaf - score! Red peppers, carrots, and zucchini contributed great color, subtle sweetness, and moisture. A handful of mushrooms or spinach would have been lovely too I'm sure.
Two key steps... the veggies must be diced fine or shredded. I find big chunks or veggies in my meatloaf rather off-putting. Rather I like the veggies to more so mimic the texture of the ground meat. And it's important to sautee these veggies before incorporated them into the turkey mixture. In doing so, you soften the veggies and draw out a bit of moisture. This brings about a more pleasing texture in the loaf.
If you like, you can bake the Plant Power Meatloaf immediately. Otherwise, form a loaf, wrap it up in plastic, and stash it in the freezer for another day. Keep a can of tomato sauce and a box of noodles in the pantry for a complete meal any day of the week!
Plant Power Meatloaf
Ingredients
· 1 tbsp olive oil
· 1/3 cup onion, diced fine
· 1 red pepper, minced
· 1 small zucchini, shredded
· 1 carrot, peeled & shredded
· 2 tbsp tomato paste
· ½ cup bread crumbs
· 1/3 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
· 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
· 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
· 1 egg
· 1 tsp salt
· ½ tsp black pepper
· ½ tsp garlic powder
· 1lb lean ground turkey
· 15oz tomato sauce, not marinara
· 2 tbsp brown sugar
· 1 tbsp cornstarch
Preheat oven to 350F.
Add olive oil to a small pan and sautee onion, pepper, zucchini, carrots and tomato paste over low heat until veggies are softened. Allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the veggies, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, basil, egg, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add the ground turkey. Fold the breadcrumb mixture evenly into the turkey.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch.
Pour the tomato sauce into a small, greased baking dish. Form the turkey mixture into a loaf and position the loaf in the middle of the baking dish. Ladle some of the sauce over the top of the meatloaf.
Bake the meatloaf for about 1 hour until cooked through. Slice and serve over mashed potatoes or elbow noodles.
Serves 4
GF Friendly
Gluten Free Friendly!
Swap the bread crumbs for gluten free bread crumbs.
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