One of my favorite meatloaf recipes has an Italian twist and was made by Giada De Laurentiis. She uses sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese to make it super flavorful, and unlike many other turkey meatloaves, this one is really moist!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/turkey-meatloaf-with-feta-and-sun-dried-tomatoes-recipe/index.html
I make this meatloaf AT LEAST once a month- probably more. I have a tendency to play out things I love very quickly by doing them over and over (I can't listen to Regina Spector anymore), so I thought I would try a spin on Giada's recipe and do a Mexican theme.
We are huge fans of Mexican flavors. My half-Mexican stepdad made my sisters and I burritos pretty much every other day when I was growing up, and my husband Ted taught Spanish in Puerto Vallarta for a year, so we joke that we are part-Mexican based on how much we love the food.
This Mexican Turkey Meatloaf turned out soooo good!! Definitely has a kick, but is not too spicy. The lack of pictures in this post is because we dug right in as soon as it came out of the oven. Hope you like it!
Mexican Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients:
1 6 oz can diced jalepenos, (we used the "hot", but you can use medium or mild to tone it down)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 C jarred roasted red peppers, diced
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 C plain bread crumbs
1/2 C part-skim ricotta cheese
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 lb. ground turkey (white or dark meat works fine)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix everything but the ground turkey together first. Then add the turkey last and combine well. Place into a oiled deep dish pie plate and bake for 45 min at 375 or until it reads 165 degrees with a thermometer. Serve with sour cream and salsa and chopped fresh cilantro.
Pizzinterest: Pinterest-inspired Pizza! I have come across some wonderful pizza recipes on Pinterest lately, including one with a cauliflower crust from the blog Eat.Drink.Smile (http://www.eat-drink-smile.com/2011/04/cauliflower-crust-pizza.html) and one made with thin-sliced butternut squash on a garlic-olive-oil base, (http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/10/21/butternut-squash-and-crispy-sage-pizza-five-minutes-a-day-style/).
I decided to combine the two into an super-veggie-full, low-carb dinner. I also found a few more ways to make it weight-watchers friendly, so one-quarter of the pizza turns out to be about 5 points+, or 4 points+ without the chicken sausage if you want it to be all-vegetarian. Despite the low points, this has a rich flavor that is so satisfying.
To roast the Butternut Squash:
Cut off the skin, and use a mandolin to slice the squash very thin. Place in a single layer on a oiled (I used Pam spray) baking sheet, spray with more oil, and season with sea salt and crushed red pepper. Bake on 400 for about 15-20 minutes, until the edges are crispy. (These make delicious chips to eat as a snack too!)
To make the crust:
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Take one whole head of cauliflower, leaves removed, and cut into small florets. Working in batches, pulse on high in a food processor for about a minute until it has a mealy texture. Place in a micro-wave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cook for 8 minutes.You'll end up with about 3-4 C. Take 1 C. cauliflower, 1 C of shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese and 2 egg whites and mix together in a bowl. Add 1 t. dried oregano, 1/2 t. of garlic salt and 1 t. minced garlic. Place on an oiled pizza pan and spread out to a 10 inch diameter circle. Bake for 15 minutes in the 450 oven.
After the crust is cooled a bit, I added a t. of olive oil and spread it around the crust. Then I mixed together 2 cloves of minced garlic with 1/4 C. part-skim ricotta cheese, then spread it evenly on the crust.
Next, I added my toppings: the roasted butternut squash, some diced roasted red peppers from a jar, and some thinly sliced pieces of a chipotle-chicken sausage dogs I found at the store and couldn't resist. I topped with about 1/4 C. part-skim mozz and baked together for about 5-7 minutes.
This meal was so tasty!! I think the best part was the garlic-infused ricotta- it was so delicious with the strong garlic balanced by the mild ricotta. You also have to eat it with a fork, since the crust isn't sturdy enough to pick up, but the dish still gave us the deep satisfaction that you'd get from traditional pizza. I still have a few cups of cauliflower ready to make a few more crusts later this week. So glad I tried this!!! Ted was pretty happy about it too. :)
