Sunday Dinner- Stuffed Turkey loaf

One of my friends asked for this recipe and so it inspired me to post it here.

This is one of my favorites and my husband loves it too.  When i was younger my parents had a friend that passed on this recipe and over the years i have altered it slightly to make it easier.   Some people have time to Make their own marinara sauce I just open whatever jar is in my cabinet. :)  I love short cuts.

So here is my adaptation.  I dont have many measurements because everyone has different tastes of how much spice or cheese they like. This is something you just kind of have to play with until you get what you like.  But heres the basics.

Stuffed Turkey Loaf

1-1.5 lbs. of ground turkey (its also great made with chicken)
1 package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
Shredded cheese blend (I use whatever i have but mozzarella, or an Italian blend works good) 
about 1-2 cups of pasta sauce
Bread Crumbs
an egg (beaten)
Italian seasonings
salt to taste

1.) Preheat over to 375.

2.)Take turkey and add seasonings, a dash of salt, about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and the egg.  Mix thoroughly.  You are making a meat loaf so you want to be able to shape into a loaf.  If it seems too soggy add more bread crumbs.  On occasion I will even throw in some Parmesan cheese (the powdery kind) to add thickness.

3.) Shape into a long loaf and place in an oven safe dish.  Now carve a channel down the middle lengthwise. This is where you will put the stuffing.  The more room you lake the more you can stuff.  Basically you want your loaf to be a long "U" shape if you looked at the end of it with the sides fairly tall as this will be what you will fold over to cover the stuffing.

4.) Loosely spread the spinach evenly across the bottom of the channel.  Then spread about 1/2 cup of cheese or more if you like it really cheesey.  This is your preference.

5.) Now carefully fold over the sides of the turkey loaf to cover the stuffing and pinch on the top to seal.  In the end you want it to just look like a loaf with no cheese or spinach showing.

6.) Now pour pasta sauce over the top and around the sides and place in oven about 40 minutes until turkey is done.  I like to sprinkle some cheese on the top during the last few minutes.

When done you should be able to cut into about 8-10 slices.  Serve with salad or even a small scoop of pasta on the side.

Alternatives:
*** The last time i made this I pureed a small onion, a half a green pepper, and some fresh basil from my garden and used that as the seasonings.  It was wonderful and the flavor was blended perfect throughout. My husband said it was the best he remembered, and it snuck in some extra veges for the kids.

*** I have made mini personal sized loaves too and only put small amounts of spinach in my kids and added chopped pepperonis for a "pizza loaf".  Everyone got their own loaf and they loved the kid friendly version.

*** Short on time?  This recipe can be done tandem in the microwave and oven to save half the cooking time.  Honestly this is how i cook it all the time.  Just put it in a microwave & oven safe dish.  Start in the microwave for about 15 minutes then move to the oven for about 7-10 minutes.  This is great in the summer and keeps the house from getting hot.

My family loves this recipe I hope you find your own variations to make it special for your family.

Melissa