Joan Gitzel, C.H.N.C.: Turkey Vegetable Meat Loaf

Turkey Vegetable Meat Loaf

When I was growing up we were really poor. I didn't know we were poor because I always had enough to eat, warm clothes to wear, a warm house and a loving home. Dad worked long hours to make sure of that.

On my 7th birthday in front of my childhood home

When I came home for lunch on school days in the winter Mom would have a hot lunch waiting for us. I remember some days it was "oatmeal soup", which was made from the leftovers of oatmeal porridge from breakfast - thinned out with lots of cinnamon!
Mom had to be really inventive when it came to ways to prepare hamburger as we couldn't afford more expensive meats.

We occasionally got a venison or moose when my uncle Dave went hunting, but I don't remember enjoying that too much.

When my own kids were little we were as poor as church mice, so I had to learn to be inventive too. I think I could have written a cookbook called 101 Ways to Prepare Hamburger So Your Family Doesn't Know It's Hamburger!

Well, these days my body doesn't take kindly to eating beef - I have trouble digesting it. But I do still like a burger or meatloaf; there's something comforting about meatloaf on a cold winter's day. So I make mine out of ground turkey or chicken. However, this kind of meat can be really dear, so when fresh turkey is readily available at Thanksgiving or Christmas that's when we stock up. My husband was raised on the farm so he's no stranger to cutting up birds. Some are cut up for roasting and frying (as cutlets), and one whole turkey usually ends up being ground. Here's the kind of turkey we buy, and we save a lot of money by processing it ourselves. It's available in most stores at those times of the year.

Stan told me he was standing in the checkout line with three of these little beasties in his cart once and the woman in front of him remarked that we must be expecting a lot of company. To which he smugly replied "not really. In fact, my wife can eat through a whole one of these by herself!" Dear man. I do love his sense of humor.

The other thing we do with turkey is, when it's not "in season" and we can only get them frozen, we buy one, thaw it out and cut it into small pieces, add seasonings and can it in small jars. It's very convenient to be able to open a small jar whenever you need it. If you want to know more, I can share how to do this in a future blog. Just let me know.

Here's the recipe:

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey or chicken
1 egg
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1/2 cup leftover, cooked veggies (broccoli, carrots or whatever)
1 tsp sea salt
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried parsley
(Note: The pictures were taken when I doubled the recipe for a dinner party. It was a hit!)
Sauté onion and celery in a small frying pan with a little oil (coconut or almond are best as they take the heat).