1 lb. extra lean or lean ground turkey
1 lb. ground turkey breakfast sausage, lean if possible
1/2 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs or buttery-style cracker crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 cup. salsa
2 to 3 oz. of your favorite medium-meltable cheese (shredded or sliced thinly) - something like Monterey Jack or cheddar (optional)

Mix the two meats until they are well blended.

Add egg, flour, and breadcrumbs, again making sure the mixture is well blended.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix together.

Place in your preferred pan for meatloaf. (loaf pan, 9x9-inch, or similar sized)

Bake at 350°F for 1 to 1 1/2 hours - until the center comes up to 150°F. Then top with sliced or shredded cheese and continue cooking until all portions of the meatloaf reach 165°F.

Ideally use a meatloaf pan with a draining rack on the bottom. Make sure the top of the meatloaf is slightly rounded so that liquids do not pool on top.

If you don't have a meatloaf pan or a suitable oven proof rack for your pan, it is helpful to allow space around the side for liquids. If you are not forming the meatloaf into a loaf shape before placing in the pan (sometimes the mixture is too soft for that, depending on the moisture content of the ground meats) you can use a fork to reach down and pull the sides of mixture away from the sides of pan before you put it in the oven. This leaves a space for liquids to drain away to the sides of the loaf and allows the loaf to brown on the top. In general, leaner meats produce less liquids in most cases. (Sometimes they do add water to some brands of leaner meats though).

No salt specified because the breakfast sausage, crumbs, and salsa bring plenty to the dish if you are at all sodium conscious.

The small amount flour helps to bind ground meats a little better than breadcrumbs alone. I find cracker crumbs do a little better job at binding than breadcrumbs, but do add a lot more salt, so it's your choice. Too much binder makes the meatloaf too soft, so the flour has helped cut down the quantities of the crumbs.

Submitted by: Kathie Clark