When Good Meatloaf Goes Bad

A few weeks ago, I made a turkey meatloaf that actually made my husband, David, says, “This is probably the best thing you’ve ever made.” Please note that my husband’s a much better cook than I am.  This was high praise indeed coming from him.

And because I am now a stay-at-home full –time writer who doesn’t get a lot of social interaction during the day, I latched onto this like a barnacle on a particularly pathetic ship.  It was almost as bad as the time I got super-flattered when David complimented me on the new fabric softener I bought. (That’s when I knew it was time to join a book club,  because that’s just sad.)

So because I wanted to repeat the meat loaf success, I tried to make it again last week.  I don’t know what happened, but the result was a seething gelatinous mass of orange disappointment.   I didn’t know you could turn turkey orange without using actual oranges.

This is a pattern with me. I find a recipe.  I make the dish and it turns out well (or extremely mediocre).  I try to repeat the process, following the recipe exactly the same way, and the result is completely different.  Clearly, any success I have in the kitchen is rooted in blind stinking luck.

So, from now on, I am only trying recipes once, and then I’m moving on.  I will be like a prima donna who refuses to perform the same song twice, only with more orange results.  The good news is that David and the kids won’t have to tell me if a dish turns out badly, because they’ll never see it again!  The bad news is I might actually stumble into a recipe that works really well, but I will never enjoy it again.  Unless David cooks it.

So have you ever had a recipe go horribly awry?  What is your “hit or miss” rate when it comes to cooking?

 

 

Just in case you want to try the turkey meatloaf recipe, here it is.  In the hands of a responsible cook, I’m sure it will turn out well.

2 pounds ground turkey

1 cup salsa

2 eggs slightly beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup shredded Colby and cheddar cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ tablespoon oregano

½ tablespoon basil

½ tablespoon onion powder

½ tablespoon garlic powder

(Makes two loaf pan sized meatloafs)

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Ground turkey is sort of stringy and hard-to-manage by hand, so I mix mine in a standing mixer. Mix the meat with the salsa and then the cheeses until thoroughly combined. Slowly add bread crumbs. If you think your mixture is getting too dry, add a bit more salsa. Add spices and let the mix blend.

Separate the mixture into halves and mold them into two loaf pans. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top of the loaves. Bake at 350 for at least 45 minutes – until the internal temperature of the meat reads at a safe level as determined by your kitchen thermometer.

 

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