Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf and Rosemary Roasted Vegetables

I always thought I didn't like meatloaf, but I tried this recipe from Allrecipes a year or so ago on the advice of a good friend (Thanks Yvonne!) and love it!  Now my deep dark secret is I've never made meatloaf using hamburger, just ground turkey.  Jenna loves to dip hers in ketchup and is always concerned I don't share her great love of that dipping sauce.  To each her own.  The roasted vegetables are something super simple to throw together and I'm always amazed at how many we can eat.  Plus they go well with a wide variety of entrees.  You can leave the rosemary out if you want, or try your own spice combo depending on what you like and what you're serving them with.  

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

1/4 cup quinoa

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey (I use whatever size the package at Costco is)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (I only use 1/2 tablespoon of Tabasco)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon water

Bring the quinoa and water to boil in a small saucepan over high heat.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Remove from heat to cool.

Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onion/garlic mixture, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in  a large bowl until well combined.  The mixture will be very moist.  Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet.  (Make sure you do this!  Ground turkey cooks differently than beef and will be dry if you bake in a loaf pan)  Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl.  Rub/drizzle the paste over the top of the meatloaf.

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes.  Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Rosemary Roasted Vegetables

Potatoes

Sweet potatoes

Baby carrots

An onion

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Rosemary (I used dried crushed Rosemary)

Cut up all the vegetables into bite-sized chunks and toss into a glass baking dish.  I tend to make the potatoes smaller than the sweet potatoes as they don't get tender quite as quickly.  Toss the veggies in olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary to taste.  Make sure to get them all good and coated.  Bake at 350 for about an hour or until desired tenderness.