Pilgrim Loaf- The everyday spin on holiday dinner

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday next week, I treated us to a re-imagined turkey dinner last night. I called it Pilgrim Loaf.

**Disclaimer: Loosely based on my turkey meatloaf recipe, I must tell you that I completely made this recipe up. But, it was darn good...so much so that Ty put it in the top 5 dinners I've ever made him.  

Recipe takes about 30 min prep and 30 min cook time.  Prep time could be shortened if using store bought items. Fresh herbs are a must though! Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Turkey:

3/4 lb of ground lean organic turkey meat

2 large fresh sage leaves*

2 twigs of fresh thyme*

10 fresh rosemary leaves* (chopped together)

1 large egg

1/4 of large white onion chopped

1 clove of fresh garlic

S&P to taste

3 dashes of Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire sauce 

fold all ingredients in a mixing bowl until even (don't be afraid to get in there with your hands!)

Potatoes:

boil 1/2 QT of salted water

wash and thinly slice 2 cups of organic potatoes 

(skin on - did you even know that potato skin is a nutritional NINJA!? 

Just be sure to ALWAYS buy organic)

Boil until tender, drain and toss in low sodium organic turkey gravy (Trader Joe's makes a good one)

Set aside in mixing bowl

Stuffing:

2.5 cups of small cubed day old cornbread

chopped sage

Stuffing seasoning mx (Trader Joe's makes a good one)

2 tsp fresh creme butter

3 tbs dried cranberries

1/2 med organic apple - cubed about same size as the cornbread

1 cup water

in a small sauce pan, melt the butter, toss in the sage until you can smell it. The mix in the seasoning mix and water.  Once it comes to a low boil, pour it into the mixing bowl over the cornbread, cranberries and apple.  Toss until evenly coated and set aside.

(or, you could also make a boxed stuffing if you're short on time!)

Cranberry Sauce:

1 lb bag of cranberries

Freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup organic raw sugar

Put in a small sauce pan and boil on low-med heat, stirring occasionally, until thick and syrupy (usually about an hour).

(or you can use your favorite store bought cranberry sauce)

In a 9x5 coated bread pan, start by putting your stuffing into the bottom of the pan - pack the stuffing down with your palm.  

Top the stuffing layer with your cooked potatoes, laid flat. 

 On top of the potato layer, layer your turkey mixture, again be sure to pack it in with your palm so that it is not too high. Lastly, layer on your cranberry sauce.

 Garnish with a full sprig of fresh rosemary.  Pop the loaf into the oven for 30 min or until the turkey is just cooked.

Allow 10 min to cool, and cut into slices, like you would slice bread. Serve with fresh steamed vegetables (we had green beans and broccoli) Makes 5 portions.

Happy holiday eating!

-Bee