Cooking In Autumn

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."

- Luciano Pavarotti

Day 9 Of The 13 Diabetic Days Of Halloween.

I love cooking in autumn. Desserts have been a favorite in past years, but this year I have been really interested in new main dish meals. Alan and I really enjoy hearty, home style type dinners like pot roast, stews and meatloaf. So, while we were discussing what to have for dinner one evening, a couple weeks ago, we decided to get our creative on, and expand on a basic meatloaf. There is nothing like a long drive in the country to make me feel creative.

After we both made a few suggestions back and forth, we finally decided on a ground turkey meatloaf, stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese, and spinach. It was really easy, and if I do say so myself, it was delicious. The cheese gave the whole meatloaf a nice flavor, and the cheese rose to the top of the meat, during cooking, which gave it a nice crust on top. I am going to play with the recipe a little more, and see if I can improve it, but for right now, it is pretty darn good. :) By the way, I figured in all the calories, and sliced a portion of 1/8 of the meatloaf. It came to about 375 calories, and had a nice green salad on the side. My dinner was under 450 calories. :) Good eating, and good for my diabetes.

Carly's Spinach Meatloaf
(Alan calls it GorGonGobbleLoaf)

2 lbs. Ground Turkey or Chicken
2 slices extra sourdough bread (chopped into crumbs)
1 pkg meatloaf seasoning, (Lawry's is what I use)
4 oz, chopped Gorgonzola cheese
1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach (thawed to room temperature and drained if necessary).

Directions

Mix ground turkey and meatloaf seasoning in a bowl according to package directions. Separate the mixture in half, and set aside. Put half the mixture in a medium sized baking dish, and put the thawed spinach on top. Next, add the crumbled cheese and top with the remaining meatloaf mixture. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until meat thermometer inserted directly into the meatloaf reads 190, or until it is no longer pink. About 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Note: Different meatloaf seasonings call for different additions, such as milk or eggs. Any seasoning package will work fine for this meatloaf.

I will have more recipes later next week. :) Stay Tuned.

-OndineMonet
"Harvest Meatloaf"
Woodside, California
October, 2007
Evening