Easy Turkey Dinner Meatloaf

Turkey Dinner Meatloaf is basically turkey and stuffing combined (YUM!!!) and it's one of my go-to meals - it's delicious, freezes well, takes advantage of modern conveniences and my family loves it. It's also a great recipe to try if you're interested in freezer meals but don't want to spend a whole day in the kitchen.

My recipe makes two meatloaves so you can enjoy one for dinner and then have a second dinner waiting  in the freezer. 

Ingredients:

About 3 pounds of ground turkey. The packages I buy are around 1.3lbs and I use two of them. This is a ballpark figure, don't stress about it.

1 box of chicken flavored stuffing mix. Stove-top or generic are fine. You don't need to bust out home made bakery-fresh bread cubes.

1 roll of sage sausage

3-4 ribs of celery 

1 medium onion, chopped fairly small

(optional) a dash of poultry seasoning or sage

That's it.

In a frying pan, brown your sage sausage. When sausage is about half-cooked, add your chopped celery and onion. I like to add the celery leaves too, minced. Add a sprinkle of spices if you're using them. It's very optional and tastes great without them.

Continue cooking until onions and celery are tender and sausage is fully cooked and lightly browned. Remove from heat.

Put the turkey in a big bowl.

Add the slightly cooled sausage and vegetables.

Combine well. 

Prepare two 9x13 pans. Spray one with cooking spray and line the other with foil. Then spray the foil with cooking spray.

Form your loaves, one in each pan.

Fold the foil up from the pan around the loaf. Try not to change the shape of the loaf because right now, as formed, it fits perfectly in your pan. You'll thank me later.

Add a second layer of foil and write the name of the food and the date. This doesn't seem important now but I've gone to unwrap a frozen meatloaf and found a calzone instead... which isn't near as good with mashed potatoes.

When you're ready to cook the frozen one just thaw and place it in your prepared 9x13 pan. 

Brush top with a little  olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Use a thermometer to test for doneness. I usually cover mine for the first 30 minutes or so. 

Serving suggestions: 

Cut up potatoes in cubes, toss with olive oil, salt and spices and cook them alongside the meatloaf. This is great! So delicious. Serve with gravy.

Slice meatloaf onto soft bread for an open-face sandwich. Top with gravy and serve with fries and coleslaw.

Have a proper Sunday Dinner and serve with biscuits, mashed potatoes corn or green beans and cranberry sauce.

Chop leftovers into cubes and make hash.

Cook meatloaf in muffin tins for portion control and 'fun factor'; remember to cut the cooking time down to 25-30 minutes. Saves time and calories.

I hope you try this recipe. It's delicious and a favorite of ours.

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Whipperberry