The Ballard Bunch

I don't usually watch Rachel Ray. Something about her totally bugs, but I'm not sure what it is exactly. Today, however, I ended up watching her show (mainly by accident - wasn't paying attention to what was on) and found the yummiest dinner recipe. It was so good, I had to share! And, to top it off, there is enough to make dinner for the next night (a Thanksgiving-style shepherd's pie).

Turkey-Stuffin’ Meatloaf With Scallion Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Ingredients
· 7 tablespoons butter, divided
· 1/2 large onion, cut into small dice
· 3 pieces celery heart, cut into small dice
· 1 bay leaf
· 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper
· 1 bag stuffing cubes (I used the cornbread flavor and they were so good!)
· 2 quarts chicken stock, divided
· 2 pounds ground turkey
· 2 eggs
· 2 1/2 pounds (about 4 to 5 medium-size) peeled Idaho potatoes
· 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
· 1/2 cup milk
· 1 small bunch scallions, chopped
· 1/4 cup flour
· 1 pound green beans


Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons of butter. When the butter is melted, add the onions, celery and bay leaf to the skillet, season with poultry seasoning, salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until the veggies are tender.
3. Add the stuffing cubes to the skillet and mix in about 2 to 3 cups of chicken stock to moisten. Take the bay leaf out of the skillet, remove the skillet from the heat and let the mixture cool, about 5 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey, eggs and cooled stuffing mixture. Form the meat mix into 2 long loaves on a baking sheet (or in bread pans, like I do). Drizzle them with olive oil and cook in the oven for about an hour, until brown and cooked through (165ºF internal temperature), about 45 minutes.
5. Once the turkey loaves are about half way done, start the sour cream and scallion potatoes: Add the potatoes to a medium-size pot of cold water and boil until tender.
6. While the potatoes are boiling start the gravy: Add the remaining four tablespoons butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and cook for about a minute. Whisk the remaining 6 cups of chicken stock into the skillet with the butter and flour mixture, and cook until thickened and bubbling, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside half the gravy for tonight’s meat loaf and mashed potatoes and reserve the other half for the Shepherd's Pie.
7. Heat a pot over high heat with enough water to come one inch up the side of the pot. Once boiling, add the green beans and cook until tender, 3-4 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water from the pot and mash up the potatoes with the sour cream, milk, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once the potatoes are mashed, stir in the scallions.
8. Serve one of the loaves of meatloaf and the potatoes with the green beans alongside. Save the second meatloaf for Shepherd's Pie.


Bon Appetit!