Cheesy Turkey Loaf

So I had the craving for some turkey meatloaf the other day and asked my dear husband to grab some at the store. He came home with a container of 85/15 ground Turkey. I normally get the 99% fat free kind. I was hungry and didn't know when we would be back to Kroger, so I tried it, using my standard meatloaf recipe, courtesy of my Mother and Grandmother. I enjoyed it, I ate it all over several days. But, I was  not impressed. So, a week later and another trip to the store and I  had the 'right' stuff. However, my tastebuds were wanting something different. So I surfed around on Allrecipes.com for a while, reading different turkeyloaf recipes. One stood out, Cheesy Turkey Loaf. I used that recipe as my base ratio for turkey/milk/eggs/bread crumbs to get the right consistency and then did my own thing with the spices. I was pretty pleased with the resulting turkeyloaf!  

It was seasoned fairly well, but not overly strong. In fact, one of the changes I will make when I make it again (I have several meals worth in the freezer though!) I intend to add some Riley's Seasoning. If you are unfamiliar with Riley's Seasoning, you obviously did not grow up in Pike County, IL! It is well known around those parts, and we get a bottle or two of it at Christmas every few years to keep us supplied. I believe you can order it online nowadays too. Riley's is great on potatoes and meats of all kinds.

Below you will find my recipe for Cheesy Turkey Loaf. I will say, the cheesy part I could take or leave. It was good but not necessary. So to save the fat and calories, leave it out! Another thing my wise mother and grandmother taught me about meatloaf is to make it slightly smaller than the pan you are cooking in, when making real meatloaf that has grease that cooks out, this gives the grease a place to collect so you can then drain or suction it off with a turkey baster. In this case though, it allows the cheese to bubble up and out without overflowing the sides of you pan and making a mess inside your oven. Just an FYI. :)

~Kristina

Cheesy Turkey Loaf

Ingredients:

2 containers (1.20 lb) 99% fat free ground turkey

2 C milk

2 1/4 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp Garlic Salt

½ tsp Onion Powder

½ tsp Parsley

1 tsp Rileys Seasoning

1-8oz block Cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a seperate bowl, add seasonings to bread crumbs. Mix the turkey, milk, bread crumbs, and eggs by hand. Fold the cheese cubes into the mixture. Transfer to a loaf pan, form into loaf allowing 1/2” space around the outside edge of loaf. Bake about 1 hour in the preheated oven, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F. 

easily serve 8