Cheesy Bacon Turkey Meatloaf

Growing up, I was never a fan of meatloaf. My mom was (is) a wonderful cook, but I never had the guts to mention that I just didn’t enjoy the classic American dish.

I don’t know what inspired me to take the meatloaf-route when pondering dinner tonight, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve made all week. This dish even managed to pass the test of all tests…my DAD loved it! So for those of you with picky, “I hate all healthy food” family members, this is the dish for you.

Cheesy Bacon Turkey Meatloaf (yields 6-8 servings)

meatloaf ingredients:

• 1 package (about 1.3 lbs) lean ground turkey meat
• 2-3 slices whole grain bread (I used 2 Arnold Fill’ems)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used microwave-ready)
• 2 wedges Laughing Cow cheese
• 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce
• generous dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic (or 2 cloves)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (for sauteeing veggies)

topping/glaze ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Toast the bread in the toaster oven. Put the toasted bread into the food processor and pulse until you have breadcrumbs. Set breadcrumbs aside.

3. Sautee the pepper, onion, and garlic with olive oil over medium heat for about 7 minutes, or until cooked through.

4. Place all of the loaf ingredients (**except for the Laughing Cow cheese**) in a large bowl and combine well (you’ll have to get your hands dirty!)

5. Spray a loaf pan or casserole dish with nonstick spray and put mixture into the pan.

6. Slice each cheese wedge into thirds. Stick each piece of cheese (6) throughout the turkey mixture, pressing it into the middle of the loaf. Try to seal the “holes” so the top of the meatloaf is flat again.

7. Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl, and spread the mixture evenly over the top of the meatloaf.

8. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool for at least 5 minutes, and slice to serve.

UnbeLOAFable!! Gosh, did I really just say that…?

Seriously though, this is one rockin’ meatloaf…certainly not the one you’ve grown up eating. The random spots of cheese throughout the meatloaf make for a great surprise with each bite. And despite how decadent this tastes, each serving is only about 200 calories!

The usual worry with turkey is that it will come out dry, but the addition of the egg, barbecue sauce, and cheese made this super moist.

The glaze was definitely the icing on the cake. Okay…bad metaphor. But you know what I mean.

Serve with a baked sweet potato and some roasted broccoli, and you’re in for quite the amped-up old-school dinner!

• What meal did you dislike growing up?
• Do you find it tough to impress family members with “healthy” dishes?