stuffed turkey meatloaf

A very wise chef in Connecticut gave me the idea of stuffed meatloaf. :) Who would've thunk!?...lol. I've stuffed, pork, chicken, steak, fish...but never a meatloaf. So I dared to embark on this adventurous journey! I used turkey meatloaf because it's less oily and not to mention less calories. Gotta watch that wasteline ladies...well and gents too! Aaaannnywho, this was a big success when I made it for my husband, so I decided to make the dish for his parents when they we're down last weekend. This was the second dish I made for them this trip, the chicken cordon bleu was a hit, so I thought I'd serve this for day 2.  Super kaduper hit! Mikes mom said "That's so you, everything you make has a touch of class." LOL and it was just a mere turkey meatloaf with some bacon and cheese! So for those of you who want to impress that special someone or the in-laws, this recipe is for you! If you're not a turkey fan, substitute ground beef, but get it extra lean so the loaf isn't drenched in oil. recipe as follows.

 The old man on the toilet is our salt and pepper shaker. So when you see Gramps..it's salt and peppa!
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 egg
clove of garlic minced
half an onion
1/2 to 3/4 seasoned bread crumbs (depends on the consistency you like, 3/4 makes a firm meatloaf.)
Havarti cheese or ANY cheese for that matter
Bacon
italian seasoning
and any other seasonings you want, I kept it pretty basic so the 'stuffing' would be the main flavor.
also if you want mushrooms, or bell beppers, spinach, whatever your heart desires. :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 Dice the onion and throw it in a pan with a little butter or oil. I use EVOO. just brown them until they're clear and a little golden. you don't want to caramelize them and make them sweet, eh well. maybe YOU do. but I like mine savory...and for the sake of this being my blog, we're gonna do things my way. so there Mmmkay! oh yeah, toss in that delicious minced garlic in there as well.  About when the onions are half way done so the garlic doesn't burn.

when the onion/garlic combo is done take the remainder of your ingredients and toss in a mixing bowl. Add the garlic and onion mixture.

Take your fingers and squish that meat! feel the eggs burst between your fingers! sometimes I pretend i'm squishing someones brain. Juuusst kidding. that would be Gross! :) Back to being an adult, you're going to want to mix the meat and remaining ingredients until everything is well blended and starts to feel firm, not a goppy mess. Is goppy even a word? did I mean to type sloppy?...again for the sake of this being my blog, we'll go ahead and wing it with 'goppy'.! So once the mixture is not all 'GOPPY', go ahead and lay it on a piece of saran wrap and flatten it to shape a rectangle. Add whatever ingredients you want to fill it with on top.

Carefully pull up the plastic wrap on one side and slowly roll the meatloaf, into a spiral shape. Just think of Dory from finding nemo. Just keep rolling, just keep rolling, just keep roollliiiiing!! Hey a whale! I wish i could speak whale!...again off track, sorry. You're going to want to roll the meat until you can't roll anymore, the whole time just using the plastic as a guide but making sure not to roll the plastic in with the meat, unless you're into eating plastic. which if you are, I don't know why we're friends. I prefer paper.

When you're meatloaf can not be rolled anymore, you're going to lift up the log with the plastic wrap underneath and gently roll it on a baking dish or baking sheet. whateva. Go ahead and seal your edges with your hands and shape your loaf to the shape you'd like it. Place in oven at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

I took this out of the oven and served it up, It was gone before I could take a picture. Great for me because it means it was yummy, but bad for you because I don't have a picture. Don't fret my pet, I will enclose a picture of the OTHER stuffed meatloaf I made for my hubby, so you get the drift of how the finished product looks.

I used Gouda in this version with mushrooms and bacon, paired it with mushroom and garlic cous cous.