Gluten-Free Gravy Mix Review and Mini Turkey Meatloaf recipe

Mini Turkey Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Did you know 3.1 million turkeys were bought by Canadians in 2012?? That's a lot of gobbling by turkeys and us alike!

Canadian Thanksgiving is officially on October 14th but we will celebrate on Sunday the 13th.  This gives us Monday to relax and enjoy all the leftovers! I love making Thanksgiving dinner and planning the menu from beginning to end. I make home-made rolls, appetizers, desserts, mains, sides ... pretty much everything ...except the gravy! I love gravy but I always find the last 30 minutes of trying to get everything to the table (and keep it hot) very stressful so I decided years ago to cut out the home-made gravy. I have to say that no one has complained. I usually buy it from a local shop, heat and serve.

Of course, when you host a big dinner like Thanksgiving or Christmas you have to make sure everyone's needs are met - extra sides for vegetarians, Uncle Fred's favourite brussel sprout dish and gluten free offerings for friends and family with celiac disease or gluten sensitivities (and don't forget my big glass of wine). It can be a lot of preparation and effort but, of course, it's all worth it when everything is on the table and bellies are pleasantly full (ok... stuffed to the max).

If you are like me and don't want to make gravy and need to ensure it is gluten free, you should try Club House gluten-free turkey gravy mix. I was lucky enough to be offered a stash of samples to review. Club House is part of McCormick Canada. Did you know,130-year-old McCormick Canada is the largest spice, dry sauce and seasoning extract and specialty food operation in the country! The largest of McCormick's brands is Club House which is now the 54th largest brand in Canada. They have launched a line of gluten-free products to meet the needs of the 15% of North American households who are consuming gluten-free foods.


Preparing the turkey gluten-free gravy mix is as easy as opening the package and adding water. That's it. Easy. If you want to gourmet it up a notch, you can add turkey drippings. Today, I used it to top off some mini-turkey meat loaves and mashed potatoes but I will also be using at my Thanksgiving dinner. It was great. What I liked the most was:

• consistency - not goopy or too thin - easily coated my spoon.
• taste - tastes like gravy, not too salty (it actually has 25% less salt than Club House's regular mix), no after taste. 
• ease of preparation - no need to make a roux, season, stir forever etc
• calories - if you just use water (no turkey drippings) there is only 20 calories in 1/4 cup of gravy (leaves room for extra dessert :)

One package makes 1 cup so I'd suggest using one pack per 3-4 people at your table.

Here is my mini turkey meatloaf recipe. Please note that I did not make it gluten free but you could easily substitute gluten free breadcrumbs and other ingredients:

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey breast
3/4 lb  turkey sausage
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp worcestershire 
1 c panko bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup curry bottled sauce (I used yellow curry) + extra for brushing 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix all of the above in a large bowl until well combined.
Press mixture into 12 muffin tins that have been sprayed with cooking oil.
Make a small indentation in the centres of each "muffin".
Bake for 25 minutes. 
If desired carefully spread a bit more curry sauce on top of mini loaves and bake for another 5 minutes.
Make sure the internal temperature of meatloaves reach 165 degrees F.

If desired, pipe smoothly mashed potatoes on top and spoon Club House's gravy over top!


Click for more information on Club House Products or McCormick Spice on Facebook.


This sponsorship is brought to you by The Gluten Free Agency whom we have partnered with for this promotion. 

All opinions and recipes are my own.