Turkey Florentine Meatloaf

Meatloaf.  Not usually something that I'm all over making.  BUT my boys LOVE meatloaf.  I've never understood a big loaf of meat.  Mash it together and call it dinner.  But I get why my boys love it, thought still not my "cup of tea".  However, I happened to have some ground turkey in the freezer, and was stumped as to what to do with it.  The boys had been asking for meatloaf, and so, turkey meatloaf it was.  But, me being me, I needed to get more vegetables into that loaf of meat.  And this is what I came up with:

Turkey Florentine Meatloaf

1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1 cup of spaghetti sauce (Florentine if you have it)
1/2 cup of Panko

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed (or use your bullet)

1 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and very well drained
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small bowl, combine the Panko and the Italian seasoning.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey with 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, eggs, Worcestershire Sauce, seasonings, Parmesan cheese and fennel. Mix well.  Divide the mixture in half in the bowl.

Press half the turkey in a prepared loaf pan.  With your knuckles or the back of a spoon, press a 1 inch deep indentation down the center of the loaf, leaving a 1” inch border on all sides.

In a third bowl, toss the spinach and 3/4 cup of the cheddar. Spoon the spinach mixture into the indentation.  Do not overfill.

Put the remaining turkey mixture over top of the spinach mixture, sealing the edges along the side of the pan.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and CAREFULLY dump out/remove any accumulated grease.

Spoon the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of the loaf and sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and the sauce is bubbly. Check using your meat thermometer.

Once done, remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving. This loaf needs setting time before serving.

VERDICT:
We found the recipe suggestion size for the spinach to be just a little too much.  Next time I would reduce the spinach to approximately 2/3 of what the recipe calls for.  Otherwise, it was a tasty meal (even in my eyes!).