As the month starts to dwindle down to the end, and my cupboards and refrigerator are filled with random items that seem to actually repel one another rather than blend nicely into a nutritious meal. I quickly grab the phone which has my mother on speed dial. It goes a little something like this...
"MOOOOOM" (rather whiney of me)
"Yes dear... don't whine...what is it?"
"There is nothing to eat in my house and we have no money to go shopping til Friday!"
"Oh I am sure there is SOMETHING to eat."
"Nuh-uh. All we have is random things that don't go together. I can't make dinner out of applesauce, a can of cranberries, ground pork and turkey, and cinnamon oatmeal."
At this point I can hear the gears of my mother's creative mind start up.
"Sure you can, you just have to be creative!"
We chat for a bit, and then come up with this recipe, which was rather tasty n my own humble opinion.
Turkey/Pork Meatloaf with an Apple Cranberry BBQ glaze.
Ingred: 1.5 lbs lean ground pork
1 lb ground turkey
2 eggs
one packet apple cinnamon instant oatmeal
one packet brown sugar oatmeal
1/4 cup cranberry sauce (no berries)
1/4 cup applesauce
1 small apple
1 tbsp worchershire sauce (or more to taste, i start out with 1 tbsp and add more)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp of your favorite mustard. I like Dijon for the extra "bite"
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 to 3/4 a packet of onion soup mix
So as usual, my recipes are on the fly and pretty much employ the dump and pour method. It is hard to create a recipe out of that, but I think you will get the gist of it here. I highly encourage "thinking outside of the Corning Ware" so to speak!
The Meatloaf: I start with combining the turkey and the pork in a large bowl. Add 2 eggs and mix/knead by hand until fully mixed. Next I add the oatmeal packets. It is best if you pour them into a separate bowl, mix, and then add them to the meatloaf so the flavors marry well. Now, with my savory meatloaf I add shredded carrots to give it an extra dimension. In this meatloaf, which has more of a sweet element, I add shredded or chopped apples. I hate getting the apple corer/shredder out, so I just eyeball it as i "shave" pieces off the apple. The final ingredient in the meat part of this loaf is the onion soup. After adding it, start kneading all the ingredients again. You want to make sure everything is WELL MIXED. Season as you see fit, I add a little bit of salt and pepper and a dash of garlic powder, but as this is a sweeter variety I try not to add too many savory ingredients.
The Sauce: Again, this is a dump and pour method, but you will get the idea. To a medium bowl, add applesauce, cranberry sauce, ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. Whisk well with a fork or whisk. It takes a while to break up the cranberry sauce and the brown sugar. If it helps, add the brown sugar a little at a time. Now I usually taste the sauce at this time to decided how much of he worchestershire sauce to add, but a few dashes is safe. Keep tasting as you go along. I like a lot of cranberry flavor to go nicely with the turkey. (Mmmm... Remember Thanksgivings as a child when you made turkey sandwiches out of cream cheese, cranberries, and leftover turkey the next day?) When the sauce is to your liking, it is time to prepare the meatloaf.
Shape the meat into a loaf and place it in a lightly greased (very lightly) loaf pan. This makes a hug loaf so if you want to break it up into smaller pans, that is fine too. I "inject" the loaf with part of my sauce. (I use one of those medicine syringe type things you get from the pharmacy with prescription cough syrup) Pull some sauce into the syringe and go to town. :) Most of the remaining sauce is then brushed over the top of the meatloaf. ( i save a little for dipping later)
Okay, here is the hard part because I do not remember how long I cooked this bad boy for! I like to cook things low and slow, but i know that most people do not. Lets see, I am pretty sure I had it at 350 for t least 45 minutes, then i just continued to check it every 10-15 minutes or so until it was done.
So there you have it, i will get back to you on the cooking time. Like I said, I am a dump and pour gal, someday I will remember to measure better so I can seem like I know what I am doing! LOL.
as always,,,, ENJOY!
