Meatloaf Cake

Doesn't this look just like a cake, especially with the potatoes on top that look like icing? This recipe was loosely based on this Rachael Ray recipe. Rachael's recipe is meatloaf that has been baked flat with sliced potatoes over the top and cheese sauce poured over. I really wanted to try this recipe, but didn't have the time allowed for the prep and the baking so I improvised. I made my own turkey meatloaf - used 1 pound of ground turkey, a slice of gf bread, egg replacer, ketchup, a sprinkling of Italian seasoning, salt/pepper, chopped basil and put it in a small rectangle pan and baked it at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. While it was baking, I had just one Yukon gold potato (1 was just right), so I chopped it and boiled it for about 12 minutes. I then made a sauce - I put Earth Balance in a pan and whisked in about 1 tablespoon of arrowroot. I heated 1/2 a cup of chicken stock and 1/2 a cup of almond milk in the microwave and poured it in the pan, whisking while pouring. Back to the potatoes, I drained them and put them back in the hot pot and started mashing, adding a touch of chicken stock (if you boil your potatoes right, they don't need all that milk and butter to mash, just use a little stock, and you have healthier potatoes). After the potatoes were set, I mixed in about a handful of shredded parmigiana cheese and left it on the stove. For the sauce, I added some chopped basil (which I included in the meatloaf) and left it on the stove.

After the meatloaf baked (it shrunk about an inch on all sides) I took it out and I turned the oven temp to broil. I then spread the mashed potatoes over the top and used an off set spatula to cover the meatloaf. I used the spatula to "poke" holes in the meatloaf so as I poured the sauce over, it would seep into the meatloaf. I placed the meatloaf cake under the broiler and broiled for about 3 minutes - I just wanted the potatoes and meatloaf to meld and not turn brown. I had some sauce leftover in the pan and heated it to pour over each "cake" slice.

This came out really good. Probably not as good as Rachael's, as I didn't use her meatloaf recipe, but it wasn't bad at all and I would probably do this again and maybe use ground Italian sausage instead of turkey and make a marinara sauce instead of the sauce I made.

So, next time you're having meatloaf, give my idea a try - you just might like it too.

Happy Baking!!!!

Comments or questions are always welcomed. I would love to hear what you think of this recipe or any of my other posts. Thanks!