Week 24 - Historical Foods

I puzzled for months over what to make for the historical foods week of the 52 week challenge (which caused a bit of a challenge bottleneck).  I looked up recipes from ancient times, which I really should have had some clue about already, considering I took a course on the foods of ancient Greece and Rome in college. I considered medieval recipes and colonial recipes and more, but nothing really caught my eye. I worked my way through the various decades until it finally hit me - meatloaf! I associate that more with historical eras than the present, so maybe meatloaf would work? As I researched, I found this post chronicling meatloaf through the ages, even as far back as ancient Rome. I love meatloaf and I was so glad to finally come up with a satisfying answer to the challenge.

I looked around for a good turkey meatloaf recipe since I couldn't remember which one I made last time (years ago). I found this one titled "Unbelievably Moist Turkey Meatloaf," which sounded perfect. I made a couple of adaptations to the ingredients list, but used:

- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, very finely chopped ($1.75)

- 1 large onion, finely chopped ($0.60)

- 2 garlic cloves, minced ($0.08)

- 1 tbsp olive oil ($0.20)

- salt and pepper ($0.08)

- sprigs of fresh thyme ($0.15)

- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.15)

- 7 tbsp ketchup, divided ($0.28)

- 1 cup Italian style bread crumbs ($0.30)

- 1/3 cup of milk ($0.30)

- 2 large eggs, beaten ($0.30)

- 1 lb (or so) ground turkey ($4.50)

The meatloaf cost about $8.50 and the vegetable side dish was another $3. Not bad for a satisfying and filling meal.

I followed the recipe pretty closely in terms of process, but the steps were basically:

1. Saute onions until softened. Add garlic. One minute later, add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are soft and liquid has all evaporated.

2. Move onions and mushrooms to a large bowl, add 3 tbsp of ketchup and 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce. Let cool while you mix bread crumbs and milk in another bowl, and beat the eggs in yet another.

3. Combine the onion-mushroom mixture, bread crumb-milk mixture, and eggs in a bowl. Add turkey and mix well with hands. (The recipe also said to add salt and pepper with the turkey but I forgot. I think it was okay without it.)

4. Line a baking sheet with foil and then oil the foil. Put meatloaf mixture onto baking sheet and form into a loaf shape in the middle. Spread 4 tbsp ketchup on the outside of the loaf. 

5. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes (until meatloaf is at least 170 degrees).

After 40 minutes, our meatloaf was way over 170 degrees, so it was definitely done. I cut it up into slices and we ate it with a spinach and mushroom saute. Originally I thought this would make enough for an entire leftover meal, but we ate the whole meatloaf that night. I don't know if that means we were really hungry or it was just the right amount for dinner for 2 people.

This meatloaf was really good. The recipe was really straightforward and easy, and true to its title, the meatloaf was incredibly moist. We were really happy with this and would definitely make it again.