Rachael Ray's Meatloaf Pan & Garbage Bowl AND Giada De Laurentiis' Tukey Meatloaf Recipe: longest blog post title ever

Last month I was asked if I wanted to review Rachael Ray's non stick meatloaf pan set and garbage bowl.

Here are the things that went through my mind:

1) ooh, I love trying out new gadgets/dishes/tools in the kitchen

2) my current meatloaf pan is slightly scratched and it'd be nice to have a replacement

3) garbage bowl: can't any bowl be a garbage bowl?

4) I only watch RR's show when I'm home sick and really, really, really, hate the way she makes up words, uses abbreviations while then explaining what they are and is so darn animated

5) BUT I can separate someone's annoying-to-me characteristics from their great business sense, passion for food and smart kitchen tips

And so, in the end, I agreed to receive the meatloaf pan and the garbage bowl and give them a go in my kitchen.

First, I really like the orange color accent in the meatloaf pan set. The set seemed sturdy, and the idea of cooking the meatloaf in the upper portion of the set, while the extra fat drips down into the lower part of the set is great! Of course you can take the insert out and use the lower portion of the set to bake bread, cakes, etc.

The garbage bowl, to be used to collect the garbage while you are cooking, is bright, happy looking and light. It also sticks to your counter. Of course you can also use it to mix dough, salads, or to hold fruit. And obviously you can use any other bowl you have in your kitchen as a garbage bowl.

When it came to finding a recipe for meatloaf, I searched the Internet, but could not find anything that really stood out. So I turned to my Twitter friends. That's when my friend K suggested a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis for Turkey Meatloaf with Sundried Tomatoes and Feta. Since I pretty much followed the recipe to a t, I'm not going to rewrite the full list of ingredients and directions: just follow the link.

Basically, you use ground turkey, eggs, bread crumbs, milk, salt and pepper, garlic, parsley, sundried tomatoes and feta. Although I love tomatoes, sundried tomatoes don't always do it for me. Instead, I used roasted red peppers. You combine all the ingredients but ground turkey in a bowl. Then add ground turkey, mix and put the mixture into a oil-sprayed meatloaf pan.

And here's my garbage bowl ;)

The meatloaf cooked for about 45 minutes. I must confess I had a hard time taking out the meatloaf pan with just one hand: something about it was just bulky. Also, for some reason I thought the orange squishy handles would stay cool in the oven: I was absolutely wrong. If someone is inventing the next meatloaf pan, please put that into your design!

The meatloaf was terrific! It definitely had strong flavors from garlic, feta and parsley. The milk and red roasted peppers helped to keep the meatloaf moist. Not only was it great straight out of the oven, but I ate it for leftovers and still enjoyed it.

While the meatloaf was baking, I also baked a few potatoes and beets: a perfect accompaniment.

My verdict: get the garbage bowl if you love the color. Otherwise, just use whatever bowl you have. If you make meatloaf often, then definitely get the meatloaf pan set: especially if you use ground beef. You'll see quite a bit of fat drained into the bottom part.

Do you have either one of these at home? What do you think about these products?

I'm off to Seattle tomorrow, but I'll try to post a few recipes while I'm gone. Have a good weekend!

Disclosure: although I received the two products mentioned in this blog for free, I was not obligated to write about them. Also, I was not paid for this post.