A few days ago I had a few friends over for dinner and expanded their vegetable eating ways!  I love getting people to try new things (or things they think they don’t like) that they end up liking!  Becky ate peas, which she was surprised had such good flavor.  My secret is to just pour hot water over frozen peas until they’re no longer frozen but still cold–they don’t get mushy this way, and are sweet deliciousness.  Kevin liked “heathified” mashed potatoes and only after dinner did he find out that they had cauliflower and goat cheese in them which he hates!  I was so relieved I didn’t know that before I started making dinner or I would have been panicked!

The dinner menu:  Mini Turkey Meatloaf, Creamy Cauliflower-Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli, and Peas

Mini Turkey Meatloaf

Makes 11 muffin-size loaves

1 tsp olive oil

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/8 cup worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1.3 lbs ground turkey breast
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan and saute the onion over medium high heat.  Once onion starts to turn translucent, add thyme, stock, worcestershire, tomato paste, salt, and pepper; simmer for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and allow onion mixture to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together ketchup and brown sugar.

In a large bowl, mix together ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, egg white, and the cooled onion mixture.  Scoop mixture into a greased muffin tin.  Top each loaf with a spoonful of the ketchup mixture.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until juices run clear (thermometer should register at 160°).  Let stand for a few minutes before serving.