It's never good to presume.

I was reminded of this recently when I presumed my kids would eat their usual standbys, only to be met by disgruntled diners and empty stomachs. This past week, my picky eaters have refused to eat any of their usual standbys: fish sticks, broccoli, hot dogs, carrots, beef stew, even french fries (Kroger makes a gluten-free frozen shoestring variety they usually devour).

I presumed that I should just think harder and come up with a more appetizing choice for them. I set off for the store and put on my thinking cap. I picked up some more frozen "kid food" and some ground Jenny-O Turkey that was on sale that day.

That night, before sticking the newly purchased gluten-free finger foods into the oven, I decided to make a little something for the adults with the turkey I bought. I mixed the rejected broccoli, carrots, squash and some diced onions with the turkey and spiced it up with some dried herbs and gluten-free bread that I toasted and crumbled. I added some homemade barbecue sauce onto the top and popped it in the oven.

When it was done, it came out looking very unmarketable to my picky eaters. Turkey is white and doesn't conceal the mixed-in veggies very well. I presumed that the kids would NEVER take a bite.

I presumed wrong.

They both had first and second helpings and out-ate the adults. Go figure. I put the boxes of convenient food back in the freezer and sighed in relief.

Turkey Loaf Surprise
About 1 1/2 pounds Jenny-O ground turkey
1 cup of crumbled bread or gluten-free breadcrumbs
2 cups veggies of your choice (I used steamed broccoli and carrots, diced and pureed squash)
1/2 an onion, diced
2 tablespoons thyme
1 tablespoon marjoram
1 tablespoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic
salt, to taste
1 egg
1 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (recipe to follow)

Combine all ingredients except bbq sauce with hands. Form into a loaf onto casserole pan and cover with sauce. Cook in 350 F oven for 40 minutes, or until it reaches 165 F.

For sauce, we combine ketchup (Heinz is gluten free) with a dash each of honey or orange juice, Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder (just a little, it packs a lot of heat) and salt and pepper to taste.

Tip: Be liberal with spices when cooking with turkey.