A recent LG Canada survey found that 71% of Canadians believe that some of their fondest family memories involve enjoying a home cooked meal together. And yet, 77% of Canadians are worried that they are missing out on valuable family memories by not cooking and eating together!
These statistics really hit home for me as I have incredible memories of being in the kitchen with my mom and I absolutely LOVE to have my boys in the kitchen with me. But I know that the busy pace of life can make these experiences feel out of reach.
That’s why I was so excited when I heard about LG Canada’s Kitchen Memory Rescue campaign in partnership with Chef Anna Olson. I knew right away that it would be an incredible way to educate and inspire Canadians to get back into the kitchen and rediscover favourite family recipes and hopefully bring the younger generation into the process too!
As soon as I heard about the campaign, I thought about how much my boys love to prepare my mom’s Cranberry Turkey Meatloaf together as a family. So, when LG invited us to create a family recipe with Chef Anna Olson, I knew this would be the one
When we arrived at the event everything was set up beautifully for an intimate cooking experience. We had a wonderful time preparing the meatloaf along with two of Chef Anna’s recipes for sides; roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. As the boy’s helped prepare the meal, Anna and I chatted about cooking techniques and the nutritional aspects of the ingredients. The boys loved all the measuring, mixing, cutting, and pouring. They also enjoyed smelling all the spices!
The use of the LG kitchen appliances added such ease to our day. I loved how simple it was for Anna to get the cranberry sauce from the LG InstaView Door-in-Door® refrigerator without opening the whole fridge and in turn letting the cool air out. And, when Wes asked for water he was able to fill his cup right from the water dispenser.
We cooked everything in the LG ProBake Convection™ oven, which was both easy and convenient! Since there is a fan to circulate the heat and the heat source is located at the back of the oven, rather than the bottom, the dishes did not need to be rotated in any way and they all came out evenly cooked to perfection. This meant that even if the meatloaf had boiled over (which has happened to me numerous times at home), there would not have been any challenge in cleaning up the mess off the heat source.
And speaking of minimal clean up, this was a cinch even with all of the dishes. The cleaning and sanitizing features of the LG QuadWash® dishwasher made everything quick and easy. This innovative appliance uses TrueSteam® technology to clean and sanitize un-rinsed dishes leaving fewer water spots!
Want to make some new food-oriented memories with your family? Here is the recipe we made – perfectly simple so you can engage the whole family and give each person a role! It has a few variations from the original to make it casein free and egg free. It also includes a technique called Panada which we learned from Chef Anna, which makes the meatloaf super moist and delicious.
Cranberry Turkey Meatloaf
Makes one 9-x-5-inch (2 L) meatloaf
Serves 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 75 minutes
Ingredients
½ cup 125 ml cranberry sauce (homemade or prepared)
1 1/2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
½ cup 125 ml plain dry breadcrumbs
½ cup 125 ml coconut milk (tetra, not tinned)
5 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1 ½ lbs (675 g) extra lean ground turkey
3 Tbsp finely chopped sweet onion
½ tsp fine salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp dried sage
Pinch ground nutmeg
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) on the ProBake Convection setting. Because the heat source comes from the back of the oven, the meatloaf will cook quickly and evenly.
2. Stir the cranberry sauce and brown sugar together and spread this over the bottom of a 9-x-5-inch (2 L) loaf pan.
3. Stir the breadcrumbs and coconut milk together in a small dish and set aside. In another small dish, stir the ground flaxseed with 6 Tbsp (90 ml) of water and set aside.
4. Combine the ground turkey with the onion, salt, pepper, thyme, sage and nutmeg, mixing well. Add the soaked breadcrumbs and soaked flaxseed and mix in well. Spoon this in to the loaf pan and spread to level it.
5. Bake for about 75 minutes, until an internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C) is reached. Let the meatloaf rest on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes, before tipping out to slice and serve.
When the recipes were done cooking, my boys couldn’t wait to try them! I am always in awe of how children are much more interested in trying foods they helped prepare. They patiently waited while we took a few photos, and then dug in the moment we told them they could. They loved it and were so proud of what they had made! Clay convinced Chef Anna he needed a second serving of meatloaf before he was even done his first, which she very kindly shared! Wes declared that he officially likes Brussels sprouts, as long as we use Chef Anna’s recipe, and Rhett ate four servings of everything! Pretty sure he has a hollow leg!
What a day! I’m so happy that I could spend a day in the kitchen making cherished memories with my boys over a beloved family recipe. To learn more about the LG Kitchen Memory Rescue campaign, click here.
The entire experience left me so excited for any and all opportunities to have my kids in the kitchen with me. So now that I shared my beloved recipe, I want to hear yours! Share a recipe that’s special to you on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter using #LGKitchenMemoryRescue so I can get some fresh ideas!
Thank you To Chef Anna Olson and LG Canada for a truly unforgettable memory!
This post was sponsored by LG Canada but my love, opinion, and enthusiasm regarding the experience and appliances are 100% my own.