Tangy Apple Turkey Loaf

I cooked with ground turkey for the first time in my life.  It was a spectacular introduction!  I LOVE sweet flavoring with my meat and I found this incredible recipe on allrecipes.com that hit the spot!  Here's what you'll need for the meatloaf: 

• 1 tablespoon and 3 teaspoons butter
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 carrot, grated or chopped
• 1 apple - peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 lb. ground turkey (or chicken)
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons applesauce
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon milk
• 1/2 cup and tablespoon dry bread crumbs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
•  
• 4 Tbl applesauce
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1-1/2 teaspoons honey

1.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the celery, carrot, and onion with 1/8 teaspoon of salt, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and browned, about 12 minutes.  Stir in the apple, and remove the mixture from the heat.

3. In a mixing bowl, lightly mix together the ground chicken, egg, 4 Tbl. of applesauce, milk, bread crumbs, poultry seasoning, sage, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Mix in the cooked vegetable-apple mixture. Form the mixture into a loaf, and place into the center of a 9x12-inch baking dish. 

4. In a bowl, mix together 4 Tbl. applesauce, the Dijon mustard, and honey into a smooth mixture, and spread the glaze over the top and sides of the meat loaf.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and cook about 25-30 more minutes. Allow the loaf to rest for 5 minutes before serving.  

     Again, I believe I packed in more seasoning than the recipe called for but that's my own preference!  I served it with lima beans and corn.  I bought a bag of lima beans a while back, remembering how much I liked them as a kid.  After serving them as a side dish alone, I was rather disappointed and wondered how on earth we were going to eat the whole bag! Then, I remembered that the only way I had ever eaten lima beans was from a can, mixed with corn!  So, now I love lima beans again... as long as they are mixed with corn.  :) 

     I also served it with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy.  Funny experience with the gravy - everything was getting done at the same time and I was so pleased that I had timed everything so well.  I added about a tablespoon of cornstarch to the gravy after mixing it with a bit of milk (an important part of cooking with cornstarch - always dissolve it in something cool before pouring it into a boiling mixture, otherwise it will just clump together) in order to thicken it up.  Immediately my pan of gravy foamed up and became very white.  I was intrigued.  This had never happened before.  Why on earth had my gravy turned into a volcano?!  I looked down.  I laughed out loud.  I had just put a heaping tablespoon of BAKING POWDER into my gravy!  They were right next to each other in my cupboard, same shaped canister, same consistency, I didn't even notice! So, I dumped the whole thing down the sink and started over.  I was too amused to be upset, and hey, the volcano effect was pretty cool!