Turkey Florentine Meatloaf

Meatloaf.  Not usually something that I'm all over making.  BUT my boys LOVE meatloaf.  I've never understood a big loaf of meat.  Mash it together and call it dinner.  But I get why my boys love it, thought still not my "cup of tea".  However, I happened to have some ground turkey in the freezer, and was stumped as to what to do with it.  The boys had been asking for meatloaf, and so, turkey meatloaf it was.  But, me being me, I needed to get more vegetables into that loaf of meat.  And this is what I came up with:

Turkey Florentine Meatloaf

1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1 cup of spaghetti sauce (Florentine if you have it)
1/2 cup of Panko

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed (or use your bullet)

1 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and very well drained
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small bowl, combine the Panko and the Italian seasoning.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey with 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, eggs, Worcestershire Sauce, seasonings, Parmesan cheese and fennel. Mix well.  Divide the mixture in half in the bowl.

Press half the turkey in a prepared loaf pan.  With your knuckles or the back of a spoon, press a 1 inch deep indentation down the center of the loaf, leaving a 1” inch border on all sides.

In a third bowl, toss the spinach and 3/4 cup of the cheddar. Spoon the spinach mixture into the indentation.  Do not overfill.

Put the remaining turkey mixture over top of the spinach mixture, sealing the edges along the side of the pan.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and CAREFULLY dump out/remove any accumulated grease.

Spoon the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of the loaf and sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and the sauce is bubbly. Check using your meat thermometer.

Once done, remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving. This loaf needs setting time before serving.

VERDICT:
We found the recipe suggestion size for the spinach to be just a little too much.  Next time I would reduce the spinach to approximately 2/3 of what the recipe calls for.  Otherwise, it was a tasty meal (even in my eyes!).

Cinnamon Raisin Raspberry French Toast Bake

French toast is a staple in our house.  It's a popular breakfast choice for my boys, along with pancakes and waffles.  I was wanting to change up our morning flavours, and a loaf of Sun-Maid Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread was my inspiration.

I have seen overnight French Toast baked breakfasts before, but have never made them.  I always attributed an overnight breakfast to a weekend thing, but I thought, why wouldn't I do this on a weekday morning?  Wouldn't this make our morning routine just a bit easier?  No standing over the stove cooking while trying to round up the kids for school and daycare.  So...I decided to give one a whirl and see what happened.  I also happened to have some beautiful raspberries and delicious cream cheese in the fridge, and in my mind, I thought these should all go together.

Here is what I did:

Cinnamon Raisin Raspberry French Toast Bake

8 slices of Sun-Maid Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread

5 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 brick cream cheese, softened
cinnamon

Butter the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan (I used glass).

Break up the bread into bite sized pieces.  Place in the prepared baking pan.  Add the raspberries into the bread dish, mixing into the bread.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, add in the milk and mix well.  Pour the egg mixture over the bread.  Press down slightly.

Cut the cream cheese into small bits, sprinkle over top of the bread mixture.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350F.  Uncover the baking pan, place in oven, and hake for 30-35 minutes. 

Remove from oven, serve with maple syrup, and enjoy!

VERDICT:
This dish was popular with my boys (and me too!).  It made for a nice change of pace to our breakfasts, and added in some extra fruit (the raisins and he raspberries).  The cream cheese was a nice addition to the mix!

Recipe Recap #16

Hello friends! Happy Tuesday to you!  Welcome back to this week's edition of "Recipe Recap"!  This week I am looking back at the recipes that I posted one year ago, the week of May 12 - 18, 2012.  Here are the recipes - they were all about Mother's Day....and the first is one of my most popular recipes from the blog!

German Apple Cake

Hint of Thai Sirloin and Mango Pepper Salad

THANK YOU for stopping by - Recipe Recap will be back next week!

Banana Coconut Bread

Usually we go through bananas like crazy, but in the last few weeks the banana consumption seems to have slowed in our house.  As a result, I was presented with 3 very ripe bananas the other day...which of course is the perfect number of ripe bananas to make banana bread!

I pulled out my trusty "Company's Coming Muffins and More" cookbook and went to my stand-by banana bread recipe.  But then I saw one for Banana Coconut Bread, and thought maybe I'd try that one.  Ran the idea by my hubby who agreed, and so, Banana Coconut Bread it was! Here is the recipe I used:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 bananas, mashed

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup coconut, medium
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Note - The recipe also called for 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, cut up.  I had neither on hand at home, so I left them out of the recipe this time. 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare a loaf pan (grease/butter)

Beat eggs until light and frothy.  Add in the sugar and the melted butter.  Mix well.  Add in the banana and mix well.

In a second bowl combine the flour, coconut, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients, stir until mixed.  Pour/spoon into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan, cool and wrap.

VERDICT:
This was a nice change to the everyday banana bread.  A hit with my boys :-)

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #62

HELLO FRIENDS!

It feels so good to be back!  We had an internet crash in our city/at our house last week which really threw my blogging for a loop.  Not only was there a provider issue, but our modem decided to crash at the same time.  Good times, good times!

I am happy to say that Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #62 is up and running - I sure hope you will come by and link up your recipes!

And last but never least....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Recipe Recap #15

Ahhh, it's Recipe Recap day!  Thanks for joining me in my little adventure looking back at the recipes I posted one year ago this week.  This week we are checking out the recipes from May 5-11, 2012...and here they are:

Smoked Salmon Gruyere Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Homemade Play Dough

See you next week!

Puffed Wheat Squares

Would you believe that until now, I have NEVER made Puffed Wheat Squares?  Seriously!  I don't really remember my Mom making them when I was a kid (though I am sure she did), but I do remember having puffed wheat squares, and that I loved them.

I was out grocery shopping the other night and happened to be in the cereal aisle (looking for some wheat bran for baking).  I came across some organic puffed wheat, immediately remembered puffed wheat squares, and figured it was time I make some and see if my family likes them.  Here is the recipe that I used:

Puffed Wheat Squares (Source: grouprecipes.com)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups organic puffed wheat

Butter a 9 x 13 pan.

In a large saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, cocoa powder and vanilla.  Bring to a slow, rolling boil.

Remove from heat and add in the puffed wheat.  Stir to combine.

Press into the prepared pan.  Cool and cut into squares.

VERDICT:
3 out of 4 in our family liked these.  They were just how I remember them from childhood.  Our oldest wasn't a big fan, but our toddler...look out.  He was screeching for more!  I think he has a bit of a sweet tooth, just like his Mama!