Hatch Chili Pepper Meatloaf

This hatch chili pepper meatloaf is flavorful and tender. It’s a meaty well-seasoned main course, made with both ground turkey and beef. So easy too!

When it’s Hatch chili pepper season (generally August and September in Hatch, New Mexico, depending on the weather) I buy lots of those great peppers, roast them in the oven, peel and freeze so we can enjoy their flavor all year round. 

I use them in lots of dishes, like my Creamy Hatch Chili Pepper Spinach Chicken (where you can see my roast and peel method) and even pimento cheese. As you’ll see in the pimento cheese recipe, if you don’t have Hatch peppers in your freezer, they can also be purchased in cans. 

It’s Sunday FunDay and we are celebrating Elvis Presley’s birthday by sharing recipes to honor him! Had he lived this long, Elvis would be 88 today. Everyone knows about the iconic sandwich he loved, but did you know that his actual favorite dish is meatloaf? 

Or so said Elvis impersonator, Mark Hussman in an interview with the Chicago Tribune many years ago: "Elvis ate a lot of Southern food, he loved steak, and he loved meatloaf. His favorite food was meatloaf. He ate it every day for month one year."  

That sounds a bit much but his former wife Priscilla Presley once confirmed that at one point, Elvis wanted his Sunday Meatloaf for every evening meal for six months straight! 

According to yet another source, once a week, Elvis would request meatloaf on the menu, a recipe subsequently printed in the Presley Family Cookbook. I did find that one online and considered making it but while my Hatch Chili Pepper Meatloaf is not the original Presley family recipe, I like to think Elvis would approve. My own family certainly did! 

Hatch Chili Pepper Meatloaf 

This meatloaf is one of my favorite dishes with the Hatch chili peppers. They add a lovely fresh and slightly smoky flavor to the meat. If you aren’t a fan of spicy, by all means substitute green pepper. 

Ingredients

4 slices sandwich bread or 2 hamburger buns

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

1 small onion

2 eggs

1 1/3 lbs or 600g ground beef

1 lb or 450g ground turkey

2 roasted peeled Hatch chili peppers

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup or 80ml ketchup

2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard powder (like Colman’s)

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Rip the bread into rough pieces and, in a small bowl, pour the milk over it, pushing the pieces down into the milk. Soak until all the milk is absorbed.

Put the onion in the food processor and process till chopped finely.

Add the hatch chili peppers and process again briefly.

Mash the soggy bread with a fork and then add to a large bowl with all of the other ingredients. 

Mix well.

Tip the lot into a loaf pan lined with foil. (The foil is not essential, especially if your pan is nonstick, but it does make clean up so much easier.)

Bake for about an hour or until the meatloaf is browned nicely and internal temperature reaches 155°F or 68°C. The temperature will continue to rise, reaching a safe temp of 165°F or 74°C for the ground turkey. Cover with foil for 10 minutes before slicing to serve. 

I suggest serving this juicy meatloaf alongside some rich mashed potatoes, gravy and the vegetable of your choice.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it’s Sunday FunDay and we are honoring Elvis today! Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Buffalo Chicken Baked Mac and Cheese 
• Food Lust People Love: Hatch Chili Pepper Meatloaf
• Culinary Cam: Oysters Rockefeller 
• Palatable Pastime: Pineapple Poke Cake 
• Sneha's Recipe: Pork Chops In Homemade Recheado Masala 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: "The Elvis" Peanut Butter, Bacon, & Banana Sandwich

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Marinated Turkey Kabobs - Shish Hindi

Flavorful and tender, these Marinated Turkey Kabobs aka Shish Hindi are a delightful main course. Stuff them in pita bread or eat them plain! So good!

For years I’ve been making shish tawook, the chicken version of this dish. It’s truly one of our favorite meals especially when served with homemade hummus and tabouli for a full-on Middle Eastern dining experience. 

While researching turkey (the fowl) for this recipe, I learned that in many languages it is called some version of “Indian bird,” for instance, in Armenian, it is called hndkahav or hntkahav, which translates to “Indian chicken.” In Hebrew, the turkey is called tarnegol hodu, literally meaning "rooster of India." In both Polish and Ukrainian, turkey is called indyk, a reference to India. Similarly it is indik in Yiddish, also referring to India. And there are more! Source: Bare Bones Translations. 

If you are saying to yourself, I had no idea that turkeys originated in India! Well, that's because they didn't. Turns out that the story is more convoluted than the name in other languages would have you believe and, frankly, the whole thing started making my head hurt. Suffice to say that the turkey is a native north American bird but it's been domesticated in many locales and one of those is India. 

At some point in my google fest, I found a site that called turkey skewers (skewers = shish) shish hindi and I can only imagine that what they were trying to indicate was Indian chicken aka turkey. I have since lost that link but it tickled me so I kept the name. 

Marinated Turkey Kabobs - Shish Hindi

I haven’t included the recipes for the garlic mayo or salad since this post is primarily about the turkey but making garlic mayo is simple. Add 1 clove of minced garlic to about 1/4 cup or 60ml of your favorite mayonnaise. For the salad, I include deseeded cucumber, finely sliced onion, sliced black olives and small tomatoes, halved. Dress the salad simply with a drizzle of olive oil, a generous squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Ingredients

1/3 cup or 80ml plain yogurt

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 tablespoons or 45ml fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 lb or 450g turkey breast fillet 

8-10 wooden skewers, soaked in water for an hour. 

Optional to serve:

Pita bread

Garlic mayonnaise - see note above

Mixed salad- see note above

Method

Put all the ingredients except the turkey into a nonreactive bowl and mix well.  

Clean the extra fat and sinews off of the turkey breast, if any, and cut it into bite-sized pieces. 

Pop them in the bowl with the marinade and stir until the turkey is well-coated.  Let this marinate for as long as you have but at least one hour. 

When you are ready to cook the shish hindi, push the turkey pieces on to your soaked wooden skewers.

Heat a well-seasoned iron skillet till very hot.  Put the turkey on and cook for several minutes. Turn the skewers over when they are well-browned. 

Cook for a few more minutes until both sides are browned and the turkey is cooked through.   

You can eat the turkey kabobs as is with side dishes but we like to stuff them into a folded pita bread with garlic mayo and salad. A delicious, tasty meal!

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes in celebration of National Something on a Stick Day, which happens to be tomorrow, 28 March! Many thanks to our host, Mayuri of Mayuri’s Jikoni.

• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Bacon Mini Cheese Balls on a Stick
• A Day in the Life on the Farm Homemade Corndogs
• Food Lust People Love: Marinated Turkey Kabobs - Shish Hindi
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Mini Caprese Salad Skewers
• Sneha’s Recipe: Paneer Lollipops
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Vegetable Seekh Kababs

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Meatball, Spinach and Tortellini al Brodo

This bowl of warm comfort is called Meatball, Spinach and Tortellini al Brodo and each spoonful is a light yet cozy delight on a chilly night.

It’s not cold here in Texas yet but I am anticipating those days with soup! The traditional Italian dish of tortellini al brodo – that is to say, cooked in broth – doesn’t have meatballs or spinach but I couldn’t resist the urge take it up a notch by adding both. 

Meatball, Spinach and Tortellini al Brodo

If you don’t have ground turkey, by all means substitute another light ground meat like pork or chicken. You can also skip the meatballs altogether but why would deprive yourself like that?

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 lb or 450g ground turkey

1 egg

1 green onion, white and green, minced

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup or 20g panko

olive oil

For the tortellini: 

8 cups or 1.9L chicken stock

1 lb 4 oz or 567g fresh tortellini (I used one Buitoni family-size pack.)

To serve: 

Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line the bottom of a baking pan with foil or silicone liner to make clean up easier.

In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey, egg, green onion, sea salt, red pepper and a few generous grinds of black pepper together until well combined. 

Add in the panko and mix again. 

Use a small poon or melon baller to divide the mixture into little portions. 

Wet your hands so the mixture doesn’t stick to them and rolls the portions into balls. Drizzle the meatballs with a little olive oil. 

I made 64 mini meatballs. You can make yours bigger, of course, but they won’t be as cute. 

Bake them 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn your oven to broil for 5 minutes to brown them. 

Add the meatballs to a large pot along with the chicken stock. Bring the stock to a simmer. 

Add tortellini and cook until just before al dente according to package directions.

Tip in the spinach and stir. You may have to add it in batches to get it all to fit. 

Divide the broth, tortellini and meatballs among bowls and top with grated Pecorino Romano. 

If you have any leftovers, I suggest you store the broth and the tortellini in separate containers or the tortellini will absorb all of the broth!

Enjoy! 

Today my Foodie Extravaganza friends are all sharing pasta recipes in celebration of National Pasta Month. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

• Baked Mostaccioli by Palatable Pastime
• Blue Evolution Penne by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Casunziei All'Ampezzana (Beet Filled Pasta with Poppy Seeds) by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Chinese Pickled Mustard and Noodle Soup by Pandemonium Noshery
• Grain-Free Garbanzo Beans Pasta and Paneer Soup Magical Ingredients
• Instant Noodles Shots by Sneha's Recipe
• Karen’s Lasagna Bolognese by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Meatball, Spinach and Tortellini al Brodo by Food Lust People Love
• One Pot Lasagne Soup by Our Good Life

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs

These Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs are delicious just as they are, baked till golden, as an appetizer or add them to a sauce to serve with pasta. It's kind of magical how the zucchini seems to disappear as they bake so objectors likely won't even notice it. 

I know that summer is the time when zucchini is meant to grow in abundance and people complain when neighbors leave baskets of it on their porches. Or supposedly that happens. It has never actually happened to me! 

But I got a bit of a giggle out of the sign at my nearby Sprouts Farmers Market that declared the produce I know as zucchini was Italian squash. Is this like rebranding prunes to dried plums? I have to admit, Italian squash sounds just a bit nicer and certainly more sophisticated than zucchini. (Or we could go all British and call them courgettes.) 

The results of multiple web searches seem to agree they are the same vegetable. Let’s take a poll in the comments. Do you call them zucchini or Italian squash? Or courgettes?

Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs 

This recipe is adapted from one in the New York Times Cooking section.  If you don’t have ground turkey, substitute chicken or pork. 

Ingredients

2 medium Italian squash or zucchini (approx. weight 11 oz or 312g)

1/2 large shallot

1/2 cup or 40g panko bread crumbs

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 oz or 57g feta, crumbled

1 lb or 450g ground turkey

1 large egg

Olive oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C and line a baking pan with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Cut the stem ends off of the zucchini and discard. Line a plate or cutting board with two paper towels and grate the zucchini onto the paper towels with the large holes of your grater. 

Push the zucchini around till it covers the paper towels completely to allow as much moisture as possible to be absorbed. Roll the zucchini up in the paper towels and set aside. 

Add the panko, cumin, red-pepper flakes, salt and feta to a large mixing bowl. Peel then grate the shallot and add it in as well.

Gently use the tines of a fork to toss until combined. Tip in the grated zucchini and mix again. 

Add the turkey and stir gently until combined. 

Pop the egg in the middle and break it up with the tines of your fork. Now mix it in with the fork until thoroughly combined. 

Use a spoon or small cookie dough scoop to divide the mixture into about 32 pieces, around 2 tablespoons each. Use wet hands to form them into round meatballs and place them on the prepared baking sheet. I use a two-tablespoon scoop which makes short work of this part of the job.

Rolled smooth at the top and right, merely scooped for the rest of them

Drizzle the meatballs with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. 

For more browned meatballs, broil (grill) for a few minutes at the end, if desired. It's not necessary for cookedness (I wasn't sure that was a word but spellcheck is on board!) but they do look nicer, especially as we are using turkey, a lighter colored meat. 

Enjoy! 

It’s time for my Baking Bloggers to share recipes again! This month’s theme is ground meats aka mince to the Brits among us. Many thanks to our host and organizer, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out all the recipe links below. 

• Baked Chicken Fingers by Sneha’s Recipe
• Baked Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Bierocks (German Beef & Cabbage Stuffed Rolls) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Hawawshi (Egyptian Meat Stuffed Bread) by Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Pierogi Shepherd’s Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tater Tot Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie) by Palatable Pastime
• Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs by Food Lust People Love

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Thai-style Turkey Glass Noodle Salad

This Thai-style Turkey Glass Noodle Salad recipe will bring fresh zip to your leftover Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey by adding glass noodles, lime juice, chili peppers and fish sauce, turning it into an Asian specialty.

I learned how to make this salad from a Burmese friend who was my close neighbor when we lived in a small oilfield town in Brazil. I didn’t know any better so I assumed it was a typically Burmese recipe. Turns out that Burma, Vietnam and Thailand, among others, all claim it. Here in the US, most people seem to think of it as a Thai dish, hence my title. 

Ma Toe’s version starts with ground pork that she fries really crispy. And in addition to the dried shrimp, she also puts in some boiled shrimp for added protein. It’s one of our favorite things so I make a great big bowl and we eat it for several days. 

When we lived in Malaysia, occasionally I’d make it to take along to a school lunch or potluck, replacing the pork with ground chicken so even the Muslim students or my Muslim friends could enjoy it. It was delicious with either addition and just as good with shredded turkey.

If you are looking for creative ways to repurpose leftover turkey, you might want to try my Brie cranberry turkey quesadillas, my turkey cranberry Camembert muffins, or my own personal favorite turkey pot pie.  Make sure you scroll down to see what other holiday leftovers my Sunday FunDay friends are transforming into other wonderful dishes. 

Thai-style Turkey Glass Noodle Salad

Turkey is an excellent addition to glass noodle salad, a worthy and delicious use of leftovers. True confession: I actually poached boneless turkey breast to make this dish because I couldn’t wait for leftovers. 

Ingredients

For the salad:

8 oz or 227g bean thread or glass noodles (not rice sticks!)

1 packed cup or 200g shredded, leftover turkey 

1/2 chopped or 30g green onion tops

1/2 cup or 25g chopped cilantro, leaves and fine stems. (Discard hard woody stems.)

2 tablespoons dried shrimp

For the dressing:

1/4 cup or 60ml fresh lime juice

1 onion, sliced thinly

2 bird chilies, chopped

1/4 cup or 60ml fish sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Method

Soak the glass noodles in cool tap water to soften for about 10 minutes.

Drain the water and put the noodles in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the noodles and leave for about 1 minute. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cool water. Set aside. 

Put the sliced onions and chopped chilies in a bowl with the lime juice and set aside while you make the rest of the dressing. 

Use a mortar and pestle to pound the dried shrimp into powder.

Combine the fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Stir till the sugar dissolves. Add the sweetened fish sauce to the lime juice and onions. Stir to combine.

Pour the dressing over your drained bean thread noodles in a large bowl. Toss to combine.

 

Tip: I find that the bean thread noodles don’t toss very well whole so I use my clean kitchen scissors to cut them up a bit. Or you can use your clean hands to mix the other ingredients into the noodles. 

Add in the green onion tops, cilantro and shrimp powder and toss to combine again. 

Mix in the shredded turkey. 

Taste for seasoning and add a little more fish sauce if more salt is needed. This salad just gets better as it hangs out in the refrigerator so it’s great to make ahead and chill until you serve. 

Enjoy! 

If too many leftovers are the bane of your existence after a big holiday meal, let us help you out. Check out these Sunday FunDay recipes that will transform your leftovers into new dishes your family will love.

• Chatpata Leftover Rice Paratha from Sneha's Recipe
• Savory Bread Pudding from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Thai-style Turkey Glass Noodle Salad from Food Lust People Love
• Turkey and Stuffing Quiche from Palatable Pastime
• Turkey Cranberry Sliders from Making Miracles
• Turkey Tamale Skillet from A Day in the Life on the Farm

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family Funday, so each Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join!

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Sous Vide Whole Stuffed Turkey

This sous vide whole stuffed turkey is full of flavor from the sausage stuffing within and crispy without from a quick roast in the oven. Its spicy rubbed golden skin is divine! 

As I mentioned in my recipe post for sous vide roast leg of lamb, with a sous vide precision cooker you will never, ever suffer through a dried out roast again. 

In fact even turkey, notorious for uneven cooking, results in tender moist dark AND light meat. It is easy if you follow my recipe below, cooking your bird long and slow, followed by a quick oven roasting to get that golden skin everyone fights over.

The secret to cooking a whole bird with a sous vide precision cooker is the stuffing, which not only adds flavor and moisture but, almost as importantly, fills the cavity which makes it possible for the turkey to remain submerged. 

If you are a fan of sous vide precision cooking, you might want to take a look at my chicken crown roast and tender sliceable pork roast as well.

Sous Vide Whole Stuffed Turkey

Very important: you must start one day ahead of when you want to roast and serve your turkey. It is essential to allow time for the seasonings to become one with the bird and for the skin to dry out before using the sous vide precision cooker, if you want crispy golden skin. And who doesn't? 

Ingredients

For the turkey:

1 fresh or frozen turkey (completely thawed - Approx weight 8 lb 5 oz or 3.8kg)

Dry rub (See below)

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the dry rub:

2 tablespoons poultry seasoning 

(if poultry seasoning is unsalted) 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

For the stuffing:

2 medium onions

2-3 ribs celery

3 slices smoked bacon

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups or 135g fresh breadcrumbs

1 1/2 lb or 700g sausage meat

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

zest 1/2 orange

salt to taste*

Extra equipment:

Sous vide precision cooker

Large vessel that can hold enough water to cover your turkey. I used my Coleman cooler/ice chest, which works beautifully if you have something big to sous vide.

Method

Clean the turkey, removing the top part of the tail and any stray feathers inspector 12 might have missed. I have needle-nose jewelry pliers that work great for removing feathers (and, by the way, pin bones in fish.)

Season the turkey inside and out with the dry rub.  

Mix the 1/2 teaspoon of the poultry seasoning with the 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and sprinkle it on the top of the bird from a great height, so you get an even layer. According to Serious Eats, this helps the skin dry so it will super crispy when roasted. 

Place your turkey in a casserole dish, breast up, uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours. 

You can now prepare the stuffing. 

Cut the bacon into small pieces. Fry it until crispy in a medium sized pan. Meanwhile, finely chop your onions and celery. 

Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside. Add the butter to the pan and sauté the chopped vegetables in the butter and bacon fat until softened. Leave to cool. 

In a large bowl, combine the bacon, sausage meat and the rest of the stuffing ingredients, along with the sautéed onion and celery. 

Fry a small piece of the stuffing and check the salt. Add salt to the stuffing, if necessary, and mix well. Refrigerate the stuffing until needed. 

The following day, use the stuffing to fill the cavity and the neck. 

Tuck the skin flaps in to cover the stuffing as best you can. 

The stuffing is essential to displace air and conduct heat through the bird as well as adding flavor. 

Use poultry string or silicone bands to truss the legs of the turkey together and to hold the wing tips close to the bird. 

Place the turkey in a 2 1/2 gallon bag and submerge it carefully in water to remove as much of the air inside as possible. If there is still some air inside of the turkey, it might want to float. If your bird wants to float, put a brick in a plastic bag and lean it against the turkey to keep it submerged. I’ve cooked various whole birds with this method and sometimes they need a brick and sometimes they don’t! As you can see, this particular turkey behaved without one. 

Sous vide at 160°F or 71°C for six hours.

When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Carefully remove the turkey from the bag, holding it legs down so liquid can drain out of it and back into the bag. Reserve any juice left behind to add to gravy later. It's not so attractive right now but worry not! After roasting it will be much prettier. 

Heat your oven to 450°F or 232°C. Remove the silicone bands or string and pat the bird dry with paper towels, being careful not to break the skin. 

Heat a large iron skillet on the stovetop and place the turkey in it. Roast in your very hot oven for 8-10 minutes to brown the skin, turning the pan around midway through to ensure even browning. 

Let it rest for 10 minutes, carve and serve.

Enjoy! 

It’s Multicooker Monday when I join a group of blogger friends sharing recipes using small kitchen appliances. Check them out! Many thanks to our host and leader, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Crockpot Bread from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Instant Pot Butter Beans and Sausage from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Shells from Making Miracles
• Slow Cooker Pot Roast from Palatable Pastime
• Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Jamaican Coconut & Beans Rice - Pressure Cooker from Sneha's Recipe
• Sous Vide Whole Stuffed Turkey from Food Lust People Love

Multicooker Monday is a blogger group created by Sue of Palatable Pastime for all of us who need encouragement to make better use of our small appliances like slow cookers, Instant Pots, Air Fryers, rice cookers and sous vide machines. We get together every third Monday of the month to share our recipes. If you are a food blogger who would like to post with us, please request to join our Facebook group.

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