A Taste of Thanksgiving {Recipe: Turkey and Stuffing Meatloaf}

This post is for those who aren't able to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but still want the flavors of a Thanksgiving meal. Just add cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie (or other favorite Thanksgiving sides) along with this meatloaf and you have a little taste of Thanksgiving dinner. 

Turkey and Stuffing Meatloaf

Serve this with desired sides, such as cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, corn and/or green beans. 

1-16 ounce package ground turkey

2 cups herb stuffing mix

1-14.5 ounce can of turkey or chicken broth, divided

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced celery

1 tablespoon butter

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat an 8.5x4.5" loaf pan with cooking spray. Place ground turkey into a medium mixing bowl; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, stir together 1-1/2 cups stuffing mix and broth: set aside to let the stuffing mix soften. . Melt butter in a small sauté pan, add onion and celery and sauté until onion is translucent and celery is softened. Remove onion mixture from heat. Crush or grind the remaining 1/2 cup stuffing mix by blender or hand, then add to onion mixture. Add eggs, sage, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to ground turkey, and stir with a fork. Add stuffing/broth mixture and onion/stuffing mixture; stir until well combined. Turn turkey mixture into prepared loaf and spread evenly into pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. Let the meatloaf rest 10 minutes before serving. 

For Gravy:

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

Remaining 1/2 can of turkey or chicken broth 

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for about a minute. Gradually add broth to the butter/flour mixture. Whisk in onion powder, thyme, and salt. Continue to cook until gravy thickens a bit. If gravy is too thick, add a little water until desired consistency is achieved. 

Serves 4

Enjoy!

It's Apple Cider Season! {Recipe: Small Batch Apple Cider Pancakes}

After making some apple cider donut muffins recently, I thought that the flavor would make a good pancake flavor. I think I'm right, these are excellent!

Small Batch Apple Cider Pancake

This recipe can easily be doubled.

In a small mixing bowl stir together, then set aside:
1 cups of whole milk Greek yogurt (32 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together:
1 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch of allspice

Pinch of teaspoon salt

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together:
1 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup apple cider


Stir the egg mixture in with the yogurt mixture. Then pour this mixture into the medium bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened and combined. It is important not to over stir pancakes. If the pancake batter gets overworked, the pancakes will be tough. 

Spray griddle with cooking spray or coat with a thin layer of oil, then heat on medium heat until the griddle is nice and hot. Using a 1/4 cup scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop and pour batter onto the hot griddle.* 

Turn the pancakes over when bubbles form on top; cook until the second side is golden brown.  Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Makes 8-10 pancakes.

*Note: This batter is a bit thick. After scooping the batter onto the griddle, they may need to be spread out a bit with a metal icing spatula or the back of the scoop to get desired thickness. Also, if preferred, more apple cider can be added to the pancake batter to thin it out. 

Enjoy!