Mini Italian Turkey Meat Loaves with Roasted Broccoli

I have never made turkey meatloaf before. I've never even bought ground turkey before, just because Ive always been afraid of it for some reason. Is it supposed to be like ground beef, but with a poultry taste? Ive always just been a bit wierded out by ground turkey in general. Like we were trying to trick ourselves that we were eating ground beef. Well, I decided to put that behind me and figure out if I could find a recipe we would like. Afterall, it is a healthy alternative to beef. Carl isnt a huge meatloaf fan, but I wonder if he would like it if it were a lighter version? I was inspired by this recipe to make mini meat loaves in a muffin pan. Meat muffins! Yeah! I came up with my own recipe based on what I had on hand. I served this up with some garlic roasted broccoli and thick sliced Hawaiian bread with lots of butter. This was the first time I made broccoli this way and I LOVED it. The broccoli recipe is below. All in all, everything turned out great. Carl, the meatloaf hater, even said they "exceeded his expectations." Just like when I first made Salmon Burgers. I remember when I made the salmon burgers the first time, we were both so skeptical. But they ended up being sooo good! A wonderful alternative to regular burgers. Better even! A great new way to eat Salmon. This was the same way. It really was so much better than meat loaf with ground beef.

Mini Italian Turkey Meat Loaves

1 lb ground turkey breast
1 can diced tomatos, drained
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp worchestishire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
lots of salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl with your hands until well combined. With a large spoon or ice cream scoop, fill a muffin tin to the top with the meat mixture. Top with parmesan cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until a nice crust forms on top of each "muffin."

Garlic Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan

1 bunch of broccoli
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lemon juiced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and fresh ground pepper

In a small pan, cook the garlic in the olive oil on low until it starts to sizzle. Continue to cook it slowly, making sure it doesnt burn, but turns a nice brown color. Add the pepper flakes and cook 1 more minute. Strain the garlic and pepper out of the oil and throw away. Add the oil to the broccoli in a bowl. Add lemon juice, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat. Pour the broccoli into a large baking dish in one single layer and roast at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes stirring once.