Cajun Style Turkey Meatloaf

Original idea:
http://www.food.com/recipe/cajun-turkey-meatloaf-low-fat-hubbies-favorite-390954

Bryan has been asking me to make meatloaf for quite some time now, so I decided tonight I will make a new turkey meatloaf recipe I have been wanting to try. Meatloaf is one of my favorite dishes to make because I change it every time I make it. You can add so much and change it up every time. Sometimes I add shredded zucchini and carrots to my meatloaf to make it more nutritious. Other times I make a bbq bacon meatloaf with caramelized onions on top. Bryan's favorite is my Italian Meatloaf that I got a recipe off CookingLight. Hopefully this one will come out just as tasty as the others have in the past. I plan on serving this meatloaf with sundried tomato florentine brown rice, some baby sugar snap peas, and cut up nectarines.

Now, with this particular recipe, you can use ground chicken, ground turkey breast, or very lean ground beef/sirloin.

Cajun Style Turkey Meatloaf
Serves 8 1-inch slices

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds of ground turkey breast
1 large sweet onion chopped (use vidalia if you can)
1/2 cup green bell pepper chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup oats or breadcrumbs (feel free to use plain, whole wheat, or italian seasoned breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
1.5 tablespoons of creole seasoning
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg white beaten
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons spicy mustard/dijon mustard


Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a loaf pan, spray nonstick cooking spray.
-In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, onion, bell pepper, garlic, oats/breadcrumbs, parsley, creole seasoning, black pepper, cumin, and thyme. Make sure you combine all ingredients very well.
-Form mixture into a loaf and place in loaf pan. Cover pan with foil.
-Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
-Remove meatloaf from the oven and top with spicy mustard.
-Place back in the oven, uncovered, for an additional 35-40 minutes.
-Check your meatloaf with a thermometer for doneness
-Slice and enjoy!

*Tips:
-You won't need to add any salt to this meatloaf because the creole seasoning should be salty enough.
-If you don't have any breadcrumbs, you can take croutons and blend them up in a grater or blender and make your own breadcrumbs.
-Using oats in this recipe will add to the nutrition of the dish and give it more fiber and whole grains.

Enjoy! :)