Quick Turkey Meatloaf

Who doesn't love comfort food?  You?  Liar.  Unfortunately most of my favorites are not part of a judicious eating repertoire.  I've borrowed some inspiration from Paul Deen's recipe.  What, I'm slimming down a Paula Deen recipe?  Yes. And I assure you it's just as good, if not better.   Another added bonus, the prep on this takes about 15 minutes.

I've replaced the ground beef with ground turkey.  A simple, yet tricky substitute.  I've always found turkey to be a sorry substitute...but you gotta make some sacrifices, right?  But for something like meatloaf, the lean turkey is masked by other bold flavors.  Also, I recommend carefully purchasing your ground turkey, as just like beef, there are higher fat options, and also extra lean options.   Go for the lean.

I used a minimal amount of tomato paste, which can if you don't look closely, contain a lot of sugar.  So I opted for only a tomato paste that contains TOMATOES.  You'd be surprised of how many will sneak in sugar and high fructose corn syrup.  I also added Worcestershire (and took out brown sugar) to the "glaze" which, if you leave out will leave it looking orange.  I'm not bothered by it, but we do eat with our eyes.

I'm also a a fan of free forming my meatloaf on a rimmed baking sheet with a separate pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven to prevent cracking.  The steam from the water should hold it together.  You'll want to keep that extra step in mind, as turkey is much leaner than ground beef.

I hope my dietitian, Danielle Omar, RD approves.  Danielle, if this recipe is a bust, let me know and this will for sure be re-tweaked!

Turkey Meatloaf
Serves 4-6

1 lb extra lean ground turkey
1/2 cup of  small diced green peppers
1/2 cup small diced onion
2 TB tomato paste
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of quick cooking oats

For the glaze:
2-3 TB of ketchup
1 TB dijon mustard
1-2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce for color

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Make sure you have two racks set, one for the loaf (top), and one for your pan of water (bottom).

With your hands, thoroughly mix the meatloaf ingredients. Be careful not to handle the mixture too much, you don't want to make the loaf tough.  Mix enough to evenly distribute all of the ingredients.  Whisk together the glaze ingredients.  Form the loaf on to a baking sheet (lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray).  Slather on the glaze.

Place a baking pan or casserole dish with about 3 cups of water on the bottom rack of the oven.  Put the loaf sheet on the top.  Bake for 1 hour.  Serve with some roasted broccoli and you've got yourself dinner.