Italian Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf

Happy May Everyone! It's been quite a while since I've been able to cook and post on the blog, as I've been on other work travel, but I'm back! This recipe was actually something I made right before my travel began, but I never got the chance to post it. This was a great way to spice up ordinary meatloaf, and still keep it mostly healthy (minus the cheese). This also made for delicious leftovers. You could get creative and stuff this with other ingredients as well; I was just craving Italian ingredients. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey (I used 93/7)

1/4 cup onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I used salt-free)

dash of salt and pepper

dash of Worcestershire sauce

~1/3 Italian breadcrumbs (or panko)

1 tb ketchup

1 egg, lightly beaten

6 slices fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1 cup baby spinach leaves

1 tb fresh basil, torn into small pieces, for garnish

1 tb grated parmesan

~1/3 cup Marinara sauce (I used Scarlett's Artichoke Tomato Sauce)

Non-stick cooking spray

1/2 tb olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray (or wipe down with olive oil). In a small saute pan, heat the olive oil and cook the onion and garlic for approximately 2-3 minutes. Set aside and let cool. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, ketchup, and egg. Add the garlic and onion mixture once it's cooled down a bit. Combine until all ingredients are mixed in. If you have time, refrigerate the mixture for ~20 minutes so that the meat is easier to form. If not, that's alright and this will come out just fine. On a large piece of parchment paper, roll out the turkey mixture until it's about half an inch thick and in the shape of a square or rectangle. Cover the mixture with the mozzarella and spinach evenly. Using the parchment paper, roll from one end and continue rolling until the meatloaf is in the shape of a tube. Place on the baking sheet and cover the surface of the meatloaf with the marinara sauce. Bake for 35 minutes minutes. Remove from the oven, top with the remaining marinara sauce and the parmesan. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the fresh basil. Serve immediately!