My Go-To Meatloaf

I found it, Laurie!  The perfect, most delicious meatloaf I have ever had - ever.  This is not your typical meatloaf, that's for sure.  It's made with ground turkey and sun dried tomatoes, and then wrapped in pancetta.  How good does that sound?  I know, so good!  This is one of my absolute favorite meals.  It is SO easy and quick to prepare.  It's great for both weekday dinners and entertaining.  Everyone is sure to love this meatloaf.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 eggs
3/4 cup shredded pecorino romano
2 tbl whole milk
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
9 - 10 slices of pancetta (sliced thin from deli)


To Prepare:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, romano, sun dried tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Add the turkey and gently stir to combine.

On the baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lay out the pancetta, overlapping the slices, into a large rectangle shape. In the middle of the rectangle, place the turkey mixture, shaping into a loaf. Using the parchment paper, wrap the pancetta up and around the turkey loaf to cover completely. Squeeze the parchment-covered loaf with your hands to secure and solidify the loaf.  Place your meatloaf package into the oven (while wrapped in paper) and cook for 45 minutes. 

I have finished this meatloaf off two ways.  For me it depends if it's just Nate and I eating dinner or if I am cooking for more people.  If it's just us eating, I allow the meatloaf to cool a bit, then I cut off the slices we will be eating that night.  I take the slices and sautee them in a hot pan coated in butter.  I brown on all sides - getting the pancetta nice and crispy.  This is a nice way for me to prepare dinner ahead of time and then serve hot whenever Nate gets home.  This is also how I prepare the leftovers. 

If I am preparing this for more people, then I unwrap the meatloaf and then invert it into a loaf pan (pancetta side up).  Then just turn on the broiler and let the pancetta get crispy. 

That's it!

Enjoy yo!