Turkey Meatloaf with Tzatziki

Today is my 50th post and I wanted it to be something kind of fun or new and exciting but I am all out of creativity so turkey meatloaf is what you get! Just when I got the living room cleaned up we totally destroyed it again today painting new closet doors and laying out the wainscot pieces so they can adjust to the climate in here. Ugh! The projects are never ending. I need to be planning Thanksgiving dinner instead of working on the house! So I stopped for a little bit to throw some dinner in the oven.

I made this Mediterranean turkey meatloaf on Tuesday evening to take to a friend who just had a baby. I left some things out because I was also busy making some cake pops for them and I lost my brain. I hate it when recipes don't turn out the way you expected. I needed to redeem myself plus this is a throw it all in the bowl and mix it up meal, my favorite of course!

This is what I forgot on Tuesday so it went in the bowl first tonight, one chopped up onion. I used a medium size sweet onion.

Next add 3 cloves of garlic. I hate peeling garlic so I just stick it in the garlic press like this. This is a Pampered Chef garlic press but I bet you could do it with any press. Sometimes I smash the garlic with the back of a big knife to get it out of the peel.

Next I chopped up a couple tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley.

Now I know some of you will be opposed to the ground turkey but you need to make the switch especially if you are trying to lose weight. I usually buy ground turkey breast or something even leaner than this but I was feeling cheap and I needed two pounds. Tuesday night when I made it for someone else I mixed it with beef. That is a great way to start getting used to the taste if you are a little skeptical. You could also mix it with ground pork. I would start with a 50/50 ratio.

Then into the bowl went a little salt and a generous amount of pepper to taste, about a tablespoon of this Greek seasoning, and about 1/2 tsp. of thyme. If you don't like thyme just leave it out or use oregano or basil. (any Greek seasoning will do)

This is two pounds of Jennie-O turkey not just one like the picture above. I wanted enough for left overs tomorrow. Mix all the ingredients together gently with your hands in a bowl. The key to good meatloaf is not to over mix it. If you want it to stick together a little better you could also add some egg. I don't mind that if falls apart a little because I like to slice it up anyway and let the sauce fall through the slices.

I like to shape mine into 8 individual meatloaves but you can put it in one longer loaf pan. You will need to adjust the cooking time for sure. Put them on a foil lined tray and into a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165. You can also pan sear them in some olive oil on each side for a few minutes before putting them in the oven to give them some extra flavor and speed up the cooking process a little. It also helps them hold together a bit better.

I like to slice one open and check for doneness which is a great reason to make them mini. They also cook much faster than a whole regular meatloaf.

Tonight I served it with a little kale I cooked with some olive oil and white wine vinegar, sliced oranges, and Joseph's pita. I always top this meatloaf with Tzatziki sauce. It makes it so delicious and better for you than a sugar loaded barbecue sauce or ketchup. Usually I slice the meatloaf up and let the sauce drip down between.

To make the Tzatziki which is a traditional Greek dip, dice up half a cucumber fairly fine. You don't want big chunks of cucumber in your sauce.

Add the cucumber to a bowl with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup light sour cream. Make these scant 1/2 cups. I also toss in a little more Italian parsley, 2 cloves garlic, salt, and add about 1 tsp. of dill. I would LOVE to add more dill but Miles hates it so it has to be mild. It is best if you can let this chill for a while so the flavors can blend. It is also awesome to dip your pita in but so was the homemade hummus!

There you have it. My oh so creative 50th post. Maybe something like peanut butter and banana smoothies would have been better! Back to the painting I go!

Recipe

TURKEY MEATLOAF WITH TZATZIKI SAUCE

2 lbs. ground turkey

One small-medium onion chopped finely

2-3 Tbsp. Italian parsley

2-3 garlic cloves

½ tsp. thyme (oregano or basil work also)

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. Greek seasoning

Mix all ingredients together gently with hands or wooden spoon. Do not over mix. Form into 8 small loaves. Place on foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

SAUCE:

½ cup plain or Greek yogurt

½ cup light sour cream

2 garlic cloves

½  tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Half of a cucumber finely chopped.

Mix all ingredients together and chill for flavors to blend. Serve over meatloaves or slice meatloaf in thin slices and place in a pita with sauce.

Wrap It Up

When all else fails throw something in a tortilla, wrap it up, and call it good! That has been my philosophy this week I suppose. In between working, the house projects,  blogging, church, getting ready for scrapbook weekend, running and oh yeah being a wife and mom there really hasn't been much time for cooking or experimenting in the kitchen! So what's a girl to do? Scrounge the fridge for some leftovers and wrap them up in a tortilla that's what!

I had some leftover quinoa salad for this one. It consisted of quinoa, grape tomatoes, basil, green onion, and fresh mozzarella mixed with some Greek dressing. I spread the dressing on the tortilla first, then topped it with some lettuce, added the salad and some more fresh mozzarella. Very delicious!

I rolled it up and sliced up some cucumber quick and threw some leftover pineapple on the plate. Lunch it was in about 5 minutes flat too!

I really prefer to make my own Greek dressing but for the sake of convenience I also love this one. This is the one I used for both mixing in the salad and spreading on the tortilla. I find these locally at CashWise in the health food section.

Yesterday I made this wrap. It has a Mediterranean spread, some deli turkey slices, lettuce, and my favorite feta of course!

Yummo! I am going to slice these up into pinwheels and bring them with me to Sunday Night Feasting at small group tonight. I just might have to bring my camera along so you can understand how much goodness happens there!

I had a failure in the kitchen yesterday with some pumpkin cookies. They turned out more like a pumpkin biscuit. A little too dry and not sweet enough. I don't do well with failure in the kitchen. Of course it is deflating to one's ego but it is also a WASTE of money! So we will still eat those pumpkin "things" even if they aren't great. But I did redeem myself with the Mediterranean spread!

It is very simple to make and VERY delicious! Grab these three ingredients and the food processor. You can use fresh basil if you prefer. If you are not an artichoke fan no worries. It gets chopped up so fine you won't even know they are in there.

My food processor is as old as my marriage so I have to give it a head start by chopping the peppers up a little. Toss the ingredients in and give a whirl! You want it to be very finely chopped.

Then you will add a little seasoning. You know my love affair with spices don't you?? I know it is hard to read but that is oregano and of course a little garlic powder. 

I didn't take a picture of it but you will then add one package of reduced or no fat cream cheese that has been softened. Give it a taste. I needed to add a little more garlic powder to mine but I love garlic an awful lot. (Cream cheese is an occasional treat for us just in case you thought I was out of my mind! I usually use Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedges on my wraps.)

We don't use a lot of lunch meat around here, mainly because we don't eat a lot of sandwiches, but when I do buy it this is the brand I choose. And this is why....

The nitrates, processing, and MSG that usually goes into lunch meat is what makes it bad for you. Nitrates are a known migraine trigger. Trust me. I know. But occasionally we enjoy this lunch meat. I even like to put it in a lettuce wrap and skip the tortilla.

Before I give you the recipe for the Mediterranean spread here are some other suggestions for what to put in a wrap. Keep in mind that it needs to be a whole wheat tortilla or made from spinach would be great also! My favorite come from Trader Joe's but we also like this Santa Fe brand that we buy at Sams.

Check the refridgerated section at CashWise next to the rest of the tortillas locally.

My kids love them  spread with all natural dark chocolate peanut butter and a sliced banana. So does Faith's best friend whose mom had to rush out and buy the peanut butter after she had some at my house. Sorry!

You can even find this at Walmart!

I also love to use my sun-dried tomato and roasted red pepper sauce spread on with some veggies filling it up!

You can click HERE for the recipe from a previous post.

I will also throw just about any salad into a tortilla with a little dressing spread on first.

Like this chick pea salad! This would be amazing as a wrap. Click HERE if you would like that recipe. Any salad would be fine though.

One final thought. All of these things are great without a wrap as well! Less calories for sure. But sometimes you just want the carbs, you know what I mean! Also, in the case of the quinoa salad, there wasn't enough left for us to just have that for lunch between the two of us but it was enough for filling a tortilla for each of us and I was being economical by not throwing it out!

Now try this Mediterranean spread! You will not be disappointed!

Mediterranean Vegetable Spread

6 oz jarred roasted red peppers (water-packed), drained
6 oz marinated artichokes, drained
1/4 cup basil, fresh, packed or 1 tsp dried (I used about a tablespoon of the chopped)1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
8 oz fat-free cream cheese, softened

Directions
In a food processor, combine peppers, artichokes, basil, oregano and garlic powder; process until blended but still slightly chunky.

Cut cream cheese into small chunks and combine with vegetable mixture until blended. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes. Serve with crudités or as a spread for Turkey Roll-Ups.