When I think of comfort food a few things come to mind. Homemade soup, apple pie and meatloaf. I love all three and often crave the taste of meatloaf. Mostly because I am the only one in the family that can eat meatloaf anytime of the year.

Growing up, my mom made a delicious meatloaf. Back then she used beef instead of turkey and made her own bread crumbs to add to the meatloaf. I take the easy way out and soak slices of bread in milk then add it to the meatloaf to keep it moist. Remember that no amount of gravy or tomato sauce will make a dry meatloaf taste good. So make sure you include extra moisture however you can and do not over cook the meatloaf.

Another way to include moisture in meatloaf is to add veggies. For this meatloaf, I stuffed it with wilted Swiss chard and Gruyere cheese. Swiss chard is a new veggie for me. I had never used it before in a recipe but thought I would try it instead using my usual go to spinach filling. Like spinach, Swiss chard is easy to cook and can be used in a lot of dishes or made into a salad.

The next time you have a craving for comfort food and decide on meatloaf, try kicking it up a notch and add something new.

Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 bunch Swiss chard sliced (remove stems)
2 slices bread
2 eggs beaten
2 tbsp ketchup
½ cup milk
½ tbsp salt
½ tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp parsley chopped
1 tbsp basil
½ tsp thyme
1 tsp cumin
1 cup shredded mozzarella or grated Gruyere cheese
3 strips of bacon

Optional:
Substitute 1 lb of ground veal for 1 lb of ground turkey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet wilt Swiss chard and onions seasoned with a little salt. Remove from skillet and drain juice. Set aside to cool. Once cooled stir in the mozzarella cheese.

Place slices of bread in a bowl and pour milk over bread. Let the bread soak up all of the milk. This will help to keep the meatloaf moist while cooking.

In a large bowl add turkey, eggs, seasonings and bread soaked in milk. Mix well then place half of the turkey on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil sprayed with cooking spray. Form into the shape of a meatloaf. Create a gully in the center of the meatloaf. Place the Swiss chard and cheese mixture in the center of the meatloaf then top with remaining ground turkey. Reform if necessary. Lay the slices of bacon on top of the meatloaf. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.