Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf - serves 2-4

This is known as “Andrew’s infamous turkey quinoa meatloaf”. It was the first thing Andrew cooked for Tiyrah that actually impressed her. It remains a delicacy in the AF household. Even if you don’t like quinoa or think that ground turkey has no place in meatloaf, you will be amazed by this dish. It says it serves 2-4… Sometimes it’s hard to stop ourselves. Your results may vary.

Things to watch out for/take note of:

People may try to wife you up after the first bite. Stay alert.

Wash the quinoa! We went so long without knowing this and dealt with bitter quinoa… and still rather enjoyed it… Don’t do it to yourself. Enjoy it right. We use a mesh strainer and it works well.

Cook the quinoa a bit ahead of time since you want to let it cool a bit once cooked.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup dry quinoa

  • 1/2 cup water (or chicken stock/broth)

  • 1 tsp olive oil

  • 1 small onion, chopped

  • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 16-20oz package ground turkey

  • 1 tbsp tomato paste

  • 1 tbsp hot sauce - Frank’s or Crystal

  • 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

  • 1 egg

  • 1 and 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp ground black pepper, to taste for the sauce/coating on top:

  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

  • 2 tsp worcestershire sauce (separate from above!)

  • 1 tsp water (or less)

Directions:

  1. Bring the washed/rinsed quinoa and water/stock/broth to a boil. Once there, cover and reduce to low, simmering for 15-20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed, the quinoa is tender and the little spirals are popping out. Set aside.
  2. Get the oven preheated while you wait for things to cool down. 350F.
  3. Get some olive oil going in a skillet. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, but not browned. About 5 minutes or less. Add garlic, cooking until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside to cool as well.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground turkey, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons of the worcestershire (not the smaller amount reserved for the sauce later), egg, salt, pepper, the cooked quinoa, and the onion/garlic mixture. Mix well and place it into a greased or parchment lined loaf pan.
  5. Make the coating in a small bowl - Combine the 2 tbsp of brown sugar with the 2 tsp (smaller amount) of worcestershire sauce and drop in a bit of the 1 tsp of water. Mix well and spread across the top of the meatloaf in the pan.
  6. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes - a meat thermometer poked into the middle should read 160.
  7. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes! If you slice into too soon, a lot of the moisture will be lost to the pan. Though it is still quite good if this happens. We have been guilty of this more than a few times.