I remember Mom making meatloaf when growing up but this is not her recipe. Over the years, as you know, I collected recipes from various newspapers and magazines. This one is from a 2004 edition of Woman’s Day.

I had saved this I am sure because it was a way to put a meal on the table in a short while. This article promised dinner in 20 minutes. That would appeal to the working parent and it apparently appealed to me.

I had just partitioned a large package of ground turkey into one pound packs. I had all the ingredients with a few substitutions. I don’t have real garlic cloves (I forgot to buy some) and I use the ground turkey instead of the ground beef or meatloaf mixture (beef, pork, and veal).  There were three choices: to basic ground beef and 2 eggs, the cook would add a liquid, some mix-ins, and serve or top with a sauce. This article even suggested the sides to round out the meal. I used one pound of ground meat and not the 1 1/4 pounds asked for in the recipe. And I did use ketchup even though I don’t usually cook with ketchup. I had to use garlic powder and my oats weren’t quick-cooking.

So here goes: I gather everything. EVERYTHING. We know that Mise en Place is very important! Well, not as important in meatloaf as in baking, but, it’s the professional thing to do.

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• handful of fresh parsley
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 large green bell pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (this is my own dried thyme from last summer’s herb pot!)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup ketchup with 1 teaspoon Worcestershire plus 1 tablespoon water for the sauce*

Mix the ground meat with two eggs and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Chop the onion, parsley, and green pepper. I’m chopping and chopping and measuring and thinking to myself “this is meatloaf, why am I measuring?”

I mix 1/2 cup ketchup with 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and add that to the meat mixture. Then add the mix-ins. Shape into four mini-loaves on a prepared baking pan lined with foil. Oven has been pre-heated to 425 degrees F.

And then because bacon makes everything better, I add bacon!

These get baked for 20 minutes. I then spread the sauce* on the tops of the loaves and leave them in the hot oven for another five minutes. They smell wonderful and are ready just as Hubby comes home from work.

We had just had a huge baked potato the other day so I serve these with mixed vegetables. I am hoping for a meatloaf sandwich for lunch in the next day or two.

This meatloaf “batter” was very “wet”. I think I would use less ketchup as the “liquid”. Or perhaps the extra 1/4 pound meat would take care of that. The taste was mild which was what I was actually going for. That is most likely due to using turkey instead of beef. A barbecue sauce topping baked right on top would be a nice variation and give it a little bit more bite.

One of my favorite meals was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots. My mother made meatloaf with stale bread crumbs. I remember the ends of bread sitting out on the kitchen counter drying up. No wasting of food for her! She didn’t put any ketchup or sauce on top either. Leftovers were great in a sandwich, bread spread with Miracle Whip. When I started to cook my own meals I read some recipes that used oatmeal in meatloaves instead of bread crumbs. I have used both over the years. I don’t think I have a preference. Do you?