Dinner With a Kick

For a quick and easy end-of-summer dinner, American Profile offers two recipes featuring healthful ingredients brimming with flavor—fresh tomatoes and ground turkey.

For a quick and easy end-of-summer dinner, American Profile offers two recipes featuring healthful ingredients brimming with flavor—fresh tomatoes and ground turkey.

Eaten straight from the vine, tossed in a salad, sliced for a BLT sandwich or cooked into rich red sauces, tomatoes are one of the home cook's most versatile fruits. Lush ripe tomatoes are the star of the Tomato Salad recipe submitted by Tina Stinson of Loveland, Colo. Featuring Roma tomatoes gently tossed in a mixture of garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil and fresh basil, the recipe is "one of our family's favorite salads—simple to prepare yet very different,” Stinson says.

We think the fresh-made salad is perfect paired with Cajun Turkey Meatloaf, a good choice for families looking to curb calories and fat without sacrificing flavor. Created by Sharon Shanks of Raywood, Texas, this dish gets its spicy kick from Cajun seasoning and hot pepper sauce and is great served right out of the oven or chilled and sliced for meatloaf sandwiches.

As always, American Profile looks forward to receiving—and publishing—your favorite recipes each week and sharing them with our millions of readers across the nation.

Tomato Salad - Tina Stinson, Loveland, Colo.

• 5 Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
• Salt and pepper

Place tomatoes in a bowl and toss well with garlic, red wine vinegar, oil, basil, salt and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves 4.

Tips From Our Test Kitchen: This salad is best when the tomatoes are at their peak ripeness. Use whatever variety you like, depending on what is available in your area.

Cajun Turkey Meatloaf - Sharon Shanks, Raywood, Texas

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion, with tops
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 cup quick oats, uncooked
• 1 to 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt butter in saucepan and sauté onion, celery, green pepper, green onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Stir in pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire and heat through. Set aside to cool. Place ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add cooled vegetable mixture and oats, 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk and ketchup. Mix with your hands until well blended. Add another egg and more milk if mixture needs more moisture. Shape into a large loaf and place in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Bake about 1 hour or until the center is well cooked. Serves 8.

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