Thanksgiving Meatloaf and Gravy

For the meatloaf:
In a heatproof bowl, add your two boxes of stuffing, poultry seasoning, mustard, garlic and chili flakes. Pour the two cups of hot water over the stuffing and mix well to soften. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together the 2 pounds of ground chicken or turkey, salt and pepper and 2 eggs. Mix both the stuffing and the meat mixture together.

Take more than half of the meatloaf mixture and start to make your meatloaf – this will be your bottom layer. Put it in a roaster pan or on a baking sheet with sides. Lay slices of the cranberry sauce in the middle of the first layer and top with the remaining meatloaf mixture. Take time to make sure all the cranberry sauce is surrounded by the meatloaf mixture.

Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 50-55 minutes or until fully cooked. Slice and serve with gravy.

To make homemade stove top gravy:
In a large skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter/margarine and 1 Tablespoon of canola oil together. Then slice an onion and add it to the pan and allow it to cook gently at medium heat until they fully soften. Add salt and pepper. I cooked it for about 10 minutes to get the onions softened but not brown. Next add 1/4 cup of all purpose flour. Cook the flour with the other ingredients for about 2 minutes until the raw flour flavor is gone. Add 2 cups of chicken broth (or water and chicken bouillon equivalent) to the pan and bring to a simmer. Add the Worcestershire sauce and 1 cup of half and half or whole milk to the pan. Stir well and allow to thicken. If you need add more salt and seasoning.

Serve meatloaf covered with gravy.