Mini Turkey Meatloaves

Growing up I remember my mom making meatloaf countless times.

It's not a meal I've eaten regularly as an adult,

but I recently had a craving for some that wouldn't go away!

So what'd I do?

I gave her a call and asked for her recipe of course!

I made a few small changes, but it still tasted like I remember as a child.

The Goods:

Ground Turkey

Shredded Wheat

Milk

Onion

Egg

Fresh Herbs

Salt

Pepper

Dump everything in a big bowl and mix it up.

I used my hands (clean of course!) because they make the best tools.

And because that's how my mom did it when I was little.

Once mixed well, transfer to your baking dish.

I wanted mini loaves, but use whatever dish you desire!

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and brush tops with ketchup.

Return to the oven and bake 20 to 25 more minutes.

No one ever said that meatloaf was a pretty meal,

but man does it sure taste great!

Comfort food at it's finest, people!

Serve warm with some yummy sides.

I chose mashed sweet potatoes and roasted broccoli - YUM!

Mini Turkey Meatloaves

1 1/4 Pound Ground Turkey

1 Cup Shredded Wheat

1 Medium Onion - diced

1 1/4 Cups Milk

1 Egg

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

Fresh Herbs to your liking

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. 
3. Transfer mixture to your greased baking dish(es) and bake for about 20 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and bush top of loaves with ketchup.
5. Return to the oven and bake 20 to 25 more minutes.

Thanksgiving with Girlfriends 2013

I usually spend Turkey Day at a family member or close friend's home, but last year I hosted my very first Thanksgiving! I did almost all of the cooking myself and was exhausted by the end of the day, but I wouldn't have changed a thing! I had so much fun hosting that I looked forward to doing it again before the day was even over! 

I'll be honest - when people started talking about their Thanksgiving plans this year, I was a little sad that I wasn't going to be hosting again!  That is, until I decided I was going to host a very small Pre-Thanksgiving get together with a few of my close girlfriends.

After very little thought, I decided I'd make a few things, but have everyone else pitch in so it wasn't as much pressure on me. This year, I was in charge of the turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. My girlfriends were responsible for everything else. Take a look below at my fun Thanksgiving with Girlfriends!

A little decor.

The table all set for dinner.

Carving the turkey. 

The FOOOOOOOOOD!

The whole spread and a plate of deliciousness!

Everything came together so well and all the food tasted AMAZING! While I do like sweet potatoes, I've never been a huge fan of  the mashed sweet potatoes with toasted marshmallows on top. After this weekend though, I think I've officially been converted to liking them and couldn't get enough!

Hosting My FIRST Thanksgiving!

I usually travel to see family for Thanksgiving, but this year I invited my parents to come visit me! They accepted and I was more than thrilled. I don't have a HUGE place, so I couldn't host too many people, but I decided to invite my grandma and cousin to come up as well!

The table all set.

In addition to hosting Thanksgiving, I did all the prep work and almost all of the cooking. It was a lot of work, but completely worth it! I have to give my mom the credit for the yummy gravy, and my grandma mashed the potatoes with some butter, milk, sour cream and seasoning.

ALL the yummy food!

Roasted Butternut Squash

French Bread Stuffing with Bacon

I LOVE stuffing...

but now I love it with bacon even more!

Cranberry Orange Sauce

Roasted Turkey Breast

It was SO moist and delicious! 

Green Bean Casserole

No Knead Clover Rolls.

I halved the recipe and STILL had a ton!!!

Potatoes Mashed by Grandma!

And Gravy made by Mom!

A holiday meal isn't complete without a Relish Tray.

My plate - YUM!!!

All in all, it was a VERY tasty meal and I can honestly say I look forward to doing it again!  Besides all the amazing food, I had one of the BEST Thanksgivings I've had in a long time.

My wonderful Thanksgiving guests!

Turkey Taco Whole Wheat Pizza

While browsing recipes online recently, I ran across a website with a lot of cool recipes and one of them really stuck out - Taco Pizza! Really!?! I love tacos and I love pizza but I'd never thought about combining the two. And from the pictures, it looked like it may resemble an Indian Fry Bread. MMMMM Fry Bread! (Note to self: Find Indian Fry Bread Recipe and attempt to make it SOON!)

So after oogling over the recipe and pictures, I decided I'd make this for dinner one night last week. I made it for a friend and at first, they were a skeptic, but after smelling it bake and trying the first bite - they were convined it wasn't half bad. Heck - I thought it was quite tasty and enjoyed it on more than one occasion that week - partly because it makes a large quantity and it's quite filling.

Now that I've told you all about this amazing creation, let me show you just how to make it! 

It's very simple - I promise!

The Goods:

Ground Turkey (Not Pictured because I'm an idiot...)

Taco Seasoning

Refried Beans

Shredded Cheese

Pizza Dough (I used Whole Wheat)

Lettuce, Tomato, Green Onions, Cilantro, Lime, Salsa

Spread out dough and cover evenly with beans.

Add cooked, seasoned ground turkey.

And then a bunch of shredded cheese!

Bake according to dough package directions.

Halfway through baking!

Andddddddd done!

With all the toppings!

All topped and ready for consumption!

(Confession - I almost forgot to take a picture and took a bite first!)

Adventures In Pie Making: Turkey Pot Pie

The last and FINAL post in Pie Month will the the first and only savory pie!

With the rest of my turkey leftovers I decided to make Homemade Turkey Pot Pies!!! Since I got the delicious turkey brine recipe from her, I turned to The Pioneer Woman again and found an amazing recipe. 

Instead of going on and on about how great it is and how wonderful it tastes - I'll just say that I'll NEVER eat a frozen pot pie again unless I have to! This put them to shame by far and is really not that hard to make! Give it a shot! I did and was really glad I did!!

Here's the steps to making the most amazing pot pie EVER!

Pie Goods!

Melt The Butter.

Toss In Chopped Carrots, Celery and Onions.

Sauté And Cook A Couple Minutes. 

Add The Chopped Turkey.

Cook A Couple Minutes.

Sprinkle With Flour And Stir.

Pour In Chicken Broth And Stir.

 Pour In Cream And Stir.

Add Frozen Peas And Stir.

 Salt And Pepper To Taste.

Cook A Couple Minutes - Until Thickened.

Perfect Consistency!

Individual Pot Pies!

Three Covered And Ready To Bake. 

One Cover And Ready To Freeze.

DONE!

Brining A Turkey

I know it's over a week after Thanksgiving, but I don't care because this Turkey Brine is SOOOOO amazing I just had to share! The recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman, so I'm not that surprised I liked it so much! I've always been very happy with the outcome of the recipes I get from her website and cookbook.  

Since I was so impressed with the outcome, I'll probably end up doing it other times throughout the year instead of just around Thanksgiving. Who doesn't love having amazing fresh roasted turkey anyway???? It's so tasty alone, on sandwiches (see below) and used in other recipes (see post coming soon!). Oh and you could even freeze some too to use later. 

Here's my little trick though... I roast JUST the turkey breast instead of the whole turkey. Why? Well mostly because I really only like the white meat, but also because it's a much smaller portion!

So now that I've ramble about how amazing this brine is - let me show you how to make it!  

The Goods

(Minus the Turkey Breast!)

I halved the original recipe in the link above

since my bird was only a lil over 5 pounds!

Orange Peel!

Coming to a boil.

Turkey Breast In A BAGGGGG.

So I forgot to take a few pictures...

Like the brine over the turkey.

Or the turkey in the brine in the pot chilling for 20 hours.

SORRY!

After bringing and rinsing - I stuffed the cavity with sliced oranges.

And roasted it in a bag!

Roasted bird!

After roasting for about 2 or so hours and cooling,

I pulled the delicious meat off the bone and it was SO moist!

And I ate simple turkey sandwiches like this for the next few days!

THIS is the main reason I roasted the turkey breast...

And I will be doing this again next year. Brine included. Heck - this was so tasty I may make brined turkey breast a lot more often. In fact, I don't think I'll ever make one and not brine it!