Turkey Meatloaf with Pinenuts and Feta

Ok I'm diving back in to the world of blogging. After a few requests to share recipes (hi Mom), here I am. I like blogging about as much as cleaning bits of dried kale out of the refrigerator. But I thought I'd try again. I am an avid blog reader but being on the other side is strange and unnerving and really, who cares what I have to say? Isn't it a little self-involved? Maybe narcissistic?

So I write for my mom. Who does actually care. Or pretends to.

I'm trying to be much more mindful about the money I spend on food. I mean, I'm trying to be more mindful about the money I spend, period (so no more mid-day champagne lunches at Le Cirque--------I kid.....more like no more name-brand laundry detergent), but a solid place to start is my food. So I want something I can make on a Sunday, and it will be dinner throughout the week. It's also nice to make something that can be frozen if I don't finish it all. I'm not sure where I got this idea for turkey meatloaf, but it's now a total go-to. Apologies for the terrible lighting in these photos. NYC kitchen light is unforgiving.


I love, love, love spaghetti squash. So easy, so good. Major bang for your buck. Get your oven heated to 400 degrees. Take your squash and slice it in half.

Scoop out the seeds, spray with canola oil/olive oil/coconut oil spray and liberally salt and pepper.

Place face down on the baking sheet and stick it in the oven. Bake until it's done. Perhaps a half an hour? Maybe 45 minutes? Check it after half an hour and if you can pierce it with a knife and it's super soft and kind of wrinkled, it's done.

Totally unrelated, but these are really, really good.



You'll need ground turkey for the meatloaf. Don't get ground turkey breast--the meatloaf will turn out dry and not good. You want the ground turkey thighs. Try and get humanely raised, local meat if that's important to you. The more I learn about how animals are raised, the more important it has become to me. This is from the Farmer's Market. $6 for the container, so relatively affordable. I buy a few at a time and then freeze them and take them out to make turkey burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, andddd that's it.

You'll then start building your meatloaf. I measure in handfuls. Actually, I don't really measure at all, except when I bake. Which is never because I hate measuring. But to keep everyone happy, I'll measure in handfuls. I use almond meal because it's protein packed. Add four handfuls.

If you want to do half breadcrumbs, half almond meal, you can. If you want to do all breadcrumbs, you can. I keep almond meal and breadcrumbs in the freezer--super convenient. 

Add three handfuls of pinenuts and two eggs. Pinenuts are expensive. Trader Joe's are the cheapest.

Add two handfuls of currants. Currants are like mini raisins. I hate raisins in anything, but the currants in this add an awesome sweetness and aren't gross.

Chop a small yellow onion, or half a large one. If you like your onion cooked, saute it for 5 minutes in some olive oil and then add. I like the subtle crunch and flavor of adding the raw onion. Add two to three handfuls of  crumbled feta cheese. Chop up some herbs--parsley, thyme, oregano, chives, basil (stay away from rosemary for this recipe--too woodsy and powerful) and add them. Add a dollop of dijon and then about two teaspoons of salt and some pepper.

Mix it with your hands and then shape it into a loaf in your pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes. Check on it after 40 minutes. Poke it with your finger--does it "bounce back" or does it make an indentation? You want it to bounce back. Worse comes to worse, stick a knife in there and check to see what the middle looks like.

Scoop out your spaghetti squash. Add some butter or olive oil and salt and pepper.

I like to make a little yogurt-herb mixture to dollop on top of the meatloaf. Take some more feta, some greek yogurt, and then some soft herb (basil or parsley would be my choice) and blend them with either a hand blender or in a food processor. This mixture is also great with pita chips, veggies, on top of soups, etc.

Make it look like this. I was lazy and didn't make the herb-yogurt. I just added some yogurt and chopped basil. Enjoy--it's really good.

The un-recipe:
Ground turkey (a package)
Pinenuts (2-3 handfuls)
Almond meal (4 handfuls)
Bread crumbs
Feta cheese (2 handfuls)
Onion (small chopped)
Two eggs
Chopped herbs (small handful)
Spaghetti squash
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Yogurt