Chipotle meat loaves with spinach-cheddar mashed potatoes...and an ode to chipotle peppers

The chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are what prompted me to tear this recipe out of the magazine. It was right around that time that Rachael first introduced them to me. These peppers are smoky, spicy and one of those ingredients that will automatically turn me on to a recipe or menu item. Other such ingredients include avocado, bacon, basil, cheese, cilantro and peanut butter, though please not all in the same dish.

The original meat loaf recipe doesn't need any improvement, however, I've found that I can simplify it and still get great results. So, I've pared down the ingredients.  

In the future, I'd like to improve my version by mixing up my own seasoning. I've found pizza and taco seasoning recipes that I love, so I'm pretty confident that a good general seasoning recipe is also out there in the blogosphere.

Chipotle Meat Loaves with Spinach-Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
(inspired by Redbook)

Meat loaves
1 pound ground turkey
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1 egg

Glaze
1/3 cup ketchup
3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced

Mashed potatoes
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 1/2 ounces baby spinach (1/2 a bag)
4 tablespoons salted butter (1/2 a stick)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
splash of milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender (approximately as long as it takes the meat loaves to cook).

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, grill seasoning and egg. In a small bowl, combine ketchup and chiles. Form ground turkey into four mini loaves and place in baking pan. Coat tops of loaves with glaze. Bake 20 minutes until cooked through.

Add spinach to the pot of potatoes. Stir until spinach is wilted. Drain. Add butter, cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Mash together. Add extra milk for a creamier consistency.

Serves 4

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Note on the peppers - If you don't want so much spiciness, try reducing the number of peppers. The original recipe only calls for one pepper. The container gives you more peppers than you need, so I usually divide the extras (plus sauce from the can) among some plastic bags and freeze them for later. 

Note in general - To make this meal extra easy, I bake the meat loaves in the toaster oven (which preheats oh-so-quickly) and line the pan with aluminum foil (for easy clean up).