Quinoa Turkey Meatloaf

As promised, another quinoa recipe for you.  Quinoa was the ingredient of the week this week.  First we had the Quinoa Protein Bars - a little something healthy but sweet for an after school or mid morning snack.  Now we have the quinoa turkey meatloaf, a savory, hearty dinner that is easy to make.  This is especially true if you prep your quinoa on your plan and prep day and keep it stored in the fridge until you are ready to make this meatloaf.  We really liked this recipe.  The quinoa gave it a great texture and seemed to make it more filling.  Even the boy who doesn't like meatloaf and loathes turkey meatloaf declared it "not bad".  I'll take that as a win.

It is hard to make meatloaf look good!  It tastes great though.

1/4 cup quinoa   
1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, chopped

1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce       

1egg

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon water

1.   Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3.   Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.

4.   Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, BBQ sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf in an 8x8 baking dish. Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf.

5.   Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Turkey Meatballs

We had whole wheat spaghetti and turkey meatballs for dinner tonight.  Since there are several sporting events going on tomorrow I thought it would be good to get some carbohydrates and protein in those bodies.  Spaghetti and meatballs isn't a regular dish around here so it was a treat for the boys and they loved it.  Whole wheat spaghetti has been the norm here for several years so they probably don't even remember what regular spaghetti tastes like.  I like the texture of whole wheat pasta better myself, it is a bit of an acquired taste but it was probably one of the easiest switches we made as far as eating healthier.  The turkey meatballs were new.  In the past we would use a combination of lean ground beef and Italian sausage for our meat sauce.  Today I did the turkey meatballs and I threw in a few sausage meatballs for old time's sake.  Just in case the turkey meatballs caused some kind of mutiny.  Overall I would say it was a success.  Two out of three boys agree turkey meatballs are good.  The third boy, not so much.  The fourth boy lives on his own now and will eat anything so I know if he were here he would have liked them too.  They are definitely more dense than a regular meatball and have a drier texture but these will be added to the rotation.  So here is the recipe (as taken from The Gracious Pantry website).

1.5 Pounds lean, ground turkey

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp onion powder

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1.5 Cups Clean tomato sauce (I used Muir Glen Organic Tomato Basil - this isn't necessarily a clean sauce)

1/4 Cup grated parmesan cheese (I didn't use this in the recipe, but the boys sprinkled it on their servings)

In a large mixing bowl, knead the turkey together with the spices.  Roll meat into 22, walnut sized meatballs and place in a single layer in your crockpot.  Pour the tomato sauce over the top, being sure to cover the meatballs evenly.  Sprinkle the cheese across the top and set the slow cooker to low heat for 4 hours. 

Nutritional Content (for 2 meatballs as per The Gracious Pantry website)

Calories: 117

Total Fat: 6 g

Carbohydrates: 4 g

Dietary Fiber: 1 g

Sugars: 2 g

Protein: 12 g