Meat and Potatoes

I have always thought of meat loaf as something my grandma would make. Boy was I wrong!

With this freezing spell outside I needed something to warm my bones and fill the house with yummy smells. I decided to abandon my stigma that only "old ladies" make meat loaf and give it a whirl. I looked up some recipes and the below recipe from Ina Garten not only sounded delish but got great reviews. 

 It was simple, quick and truly tasted delicious. Hers called for 5 pounds of ground turkey (I don't mind left overs but 5 pounds sounded like we would be eating meat loaf till Memorial Day). So I tweaked it a bit and changed it to 3 pounds. Trust me, this will still leave you with plenty of leftovers to make yummy meat loaf sandwiches the next day. 

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp tomato paste

3 pounds ground turkey

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

ketchup

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a baking sheet generously with cooking spray.

In a medium pan over medium heat cook the onions, oil, S&P and thyme until they're translucent. Be careful not to burn them. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire, chicken broth and tomato paste and stir all together until well mixed. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate bowl fold together the turkey, eggs, bread crumbs and onion mixture. Fold gently till it is all mixed and then stop. (You don't want to play with it too much or it will make the meat loaf tough)

Form the meat into a rectangular loaf on the pan. Spread ketchup on top and bake for about 75 minutes  or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. 

ready to go in the oven

With meat obviously comes potatoes. (I was going for hearty if you didn't get that already).

I always wanted to try making these crispy smashed potatoes. It was SO simple to do and they came out better then any potato dish I had made in the past.

Ingredients

Small round potatoes (I bought a bag of about 12 of them at the market)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Herbs of your choice (I used fresh chives, thyme and parsley)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add potatoes. Boil until they are fork tender. (This took about 20 minutes but just stick your fork in after about 15 to check). In the meantime line a baking sheet with aluminum and spray very generously with either cooking spray or use olive oil. Make sure you use enough or they will stick!

Take out the potatoes and set on the baking sheet. (Leave enough room in between them because they will grow once smashed). With a potato masher (If you don't have this you can just use a glass) gently press down on each potato until it is slightly mashed. Brush the tops of each mashed potato with either olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle on S&P, garlic powder and herbs of your choice.

Bake in 450 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until tops get crispy and golden brown.

Enjoy!