Spicy Chicken Meat Loaf and Asparagus (adapted from Cooking Light)

Meat loaf was never a norm growing up, so I never had a desire to eat it. The idea of a slab of ground meat with ketchup sounds the same as just eating a burger with ketchup. My Indian mother tried it once, with the hopes of introducing us to some good ol' American food. However, I don't remember it being quite a success. A few years ago, I thought I would see what all the hoopla was about and came across the recipe in Cooking Light for a Spicy Turkey Meatloaf. The first time I tried it with the ground turkey, but it was a little dry for my taste. I decided to give it another go ahead and, like usual, a number of things went awry. I didn't have ground turkey, ground mustard, and far too little ketchup to make an accurate sauce. However, I was determined to make it regardless and with some modifications, I think it worked out better than the last time :)

Here is the recipe I ended up using:

Adapted from Cooking Light's Spicy Turkey Meat Loaf with Ketchup Topping

Ingredients:

•  1 tablespoon butter
•   2 cups chopped onion
•  1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
•  3 garlic cloves, chopped
•  3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
•  1/4 cup water
•  3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•  1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
•  Cooking spray
•  1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup Maggi Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1 tsp Splenda
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
•  1 tablespoon brown sugar
•  1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

        Preparation:

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. 2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic to pan; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes.
3. 3. Combine mushroom mixture, panko, and next 8 ingredients (through egg) in a large bowl; stir well to combine. Shape turkey mixture into a 9 x 5–inch rectangle on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.
4. 4. Combine ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and nutmeg in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Spread ketchup mixture evenly over top of meat loaf; bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Here is how it turned out....

    

      Yes, there is A LOT of meatloaf. But using ground chicken made it so moist and all the substitutions made it a bit more delish :) I sauteed some asparagus in butter and garlic and it was a perfect compliment to the dish!