Pepperoni Pizza Meatloaf!

What a weird concept. I don't know why I was even thinking it. But I was taking my mom on her weekly grocery shopping trip and I was thinking of making meatloaf for dinner. Then I just started thinking to myself, "self, what would pepperoni pizza meatloaf be like?" I decided that adding some tomato sauce, pepperoni, Italian seasonings and mozzarella cheese would make a meatloaf kind of pepperoni pizzay.

I started off with two pounds of ground turkey. My logic being that if I'm making a meatloaf with cheese and pepperoni in it, I should probably try and save some calories and fat somewhere. I don't know how much I succeeded with this, but it makes me feel a little better about it.


From there, I took half a large sweet onion, chopped and three cloves of garlic, chopped, and sauteed them in a little olive oil. I do this for all my meatloaf. I like the sauteed vegetables more than adding them to the meat raw. It's just another level of flavor.



While the onions and garlic are getting all nice and soft and sweet, I chopped up some pepperoni in bite size chunks. Using the same twisted logic as the reason for ground turkey, I decided that if I saute the pepperoni, it will release some of the oil and I won't have all that oil in the meatloaf. As it turns out, that wasn't so twisted after all!


I also chopped the mozzarella into bite size chunks.



Now that everything is chopped, sauteed or ready to go, I mixed it all with the meat... the onions/garlic, the pepperoni (about a cup or so), the cheese (same amount), 3/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs with a hearty pinch of salt, about 10 grinds of pepper, two tablespoons dried parsley, one tablespoon dried basil, one teaspoon dried oregano, and about half a cup of crushed tomatoes. Form the meatloaf and then pour about another half cup of crushed tomatoes over the top. And then top with thinly sliced pepperoni.


Bake at 350 for at least an hour. I suggest that you not use a loaf pan because even though you cooked some of the oil out of the pepperoni, there will still be some and if you bake it in a baking dish instead, you can drain it out.

This is a BIG meatloaf. It will take time to cook. And for a first try at something I just made up in my head on the way to the grocery store, it was pretty damn good! Sure, I now know that there are lots of recipes online for Pepperoni Pizza Meatloaf, but I had never looked one up until after I made it. I wasn't really surprised. Not much is original anymore.

You definitely want the pepperoni on top to be crispy, the cheese to be oozy and in general the whole thing to be a big mound of yummy deliciousness.





I served it with some orzo with asparagus. I think if I make it again, I might add an egg to the mixture. It didn't fall completely apart, but it was a little messy. It was even better the next day.

Meatloaf, My Way.

When I was a kid, my mom made meatloaf rather regularly. My dad is what you might call a connoisseur of meatloaf. He orders it out more than anyone I have ever known. He loves it. In fact, if you ever are hanging out with my dad, ask him about the meatloaf at Dan Marino's restaurant. He loves to tell that story! But me, I'm not such a big fan of meatloaf. At least, not the typical way my mom used make it with onions, carrots and ketchup. So when I was out on my own I decided that I would make meatloaf with flavors that I like.

I start with onions and garlic, chopped and sauteed in a little olive oil. I find that sauteing first gives the onions and garlic a better flavor than putting them in the meatloaf raw.




I generally use ground turkey for my meatloaf with a few links of turkey Italian sausage thrown in (squeezed out of the casings), but you can use ground beef. I think adding the sausage gives it a little firmer texture and a nice flavor. Hmmm... my meat picture looks a little obscene!




To the meat, I add about 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs (do not use Panko in this, it changes the texture and not in a good way), one egg, the sauteed onions and garlic, two Tablespoons of dried parsley or fresh if you've got it. And one Tablespoon Italian seasoning. Then I add about 1/4 cup of Dijon. Now, I use the mild Hellman's Dijonnaise. If you're using straight up Dijon mustard, I would probably go with less since it's a bit stronger in flavor.




After mixing it all together, and use your hands, a spoon just isn't going to do the job right, plop the whole thing into a loaf pan and shape to fit. Then sprinkle the top with more bread crumbs. I think Panko would be OK here.





Bake for at least 45 minutes. The top should be browned nicely and the sides pulling away from the pan. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes before you slice it. It's great with any side dishes. My darling husband does not like mashed potatoes (can you believe that!?) so I don't make them often. Today we had it with mixed vegetables and pierogi.

Turkey Casserole

Seriously? It's really been since November 20 since I posted a blog?? I can't believe it. Time really does fly. So allow me to apologize for staying away so long, and apologize in advance for the photos that go with this blog. I was just sizing them and noticed how incredibly dark they are. I realized that I had adjusted my flash so my Christmas tree photos with the lights on would be darker, and show the lights more. And apparently I forgot to change it back. I fixed them as best I could. The final product pictures actually turned out OK. It's the rest that are bit dark and weird looking.

So without further ado, this is a casserole I made with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving (actually a week or so after Thanksgiving when I had another dinner). If you shy away from butter, then read no further. This recipe is chock full of it. Everything is betta with butta.

First of all you want to make a pound of pasta or egg noodles. I used rotini pasta for this. At the same time, in the same pot with the pasta, cook a bag of a frozen vegetable medley. I used carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. You will also need about 2 cups of chopped/cubed cold leftover turkey. No bones please.




You will also need about a cup and a half of shredded cheese. I used cheddar.



I'm working from memory here, because like the dork I am, I didn't write down what I was doing. Shame too, because this casserole was really delicious! First you start with a classic white sauce, 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of flour in a large pot on medium heat. Cook them together until it's just starting to change color. Don't let it brown though. It should be a golden tan color.


Slowly add 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of chicken broth and stir until it starts to thicken. Stir in about a teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste and about a teaspoon of dried thyme. Then add in your cheese. You can turn the heat off at this point, the cheese will melt from the heat of the sauce.

Add the rest of your ingredients to the pot... pasta, veggies, and turkey. Stir to coat in the sauce.


Pour the whole mixture into a buttered (OK, you can use cooking spray here) casserole dish and top with bread crumbs and if you're feeling like you want to go for it, dot the top with more butter.

Everything is already cooked so it doesn't have to stay in the oven very long but bake it at 350 for about 30-40 minutes. Check and make sure the top is browning and the casserole is bubbly.



This really was delish! So much better than anything you can make with cream of whatever soup! Serve with a salad or some crusty bread or heck, why not both? And enjoy!