Chicken Meatloaf Stuffed with Spinach and Mozzarella

I'm not a girl who grew up eating meatloaf slathered in ketchup and for that I am eternally indebted to my mother. That being said, if any of you are in a relationship with a man, you can relate to my need to feed him something besides veggie stir fry and chocolate chip cookies.  My turkey meatloaf with sun dried tomatoes and feta is always the requested meatloaf in this house, but it might have been given a run for its money last night thanks to Jen over at Bakin and Eggs.  When I saw this recipe pop up on her blog a few weeks ago I bookmarked it immediately and knew I'd want to make it soon.

And I figured since it's Thanksgiving week you all would like to see a nice light recipe, because we're all dieting, throwing in the towel, saving up for the big day. This is not that recipe. But don't be mad, be glad! It's so good and different - I've never had a stuffed meatloaf before and let me tell you, if you haven't either, you're missing out. 

Now I apologize for the picture below, because I personally think looking at ground, raw chicken is disgusting, but I wanted to illustrate how the bottom half of the uncooked meatloaf should look before you put it in the oven.  The trick is to put half of the mixture (recipe below) in the loaf pan, then make an indentation in the mixture, leaving one inch around all sides, to add the spinach and mozzarella.  You then put the other half of the meatloaf mixture on top of the filling, cover with marinara sauce and cheese, and bake it.  YUM!

Chicken Meatloaf Stuffed with Spinach and Mozzarella
Recipe Source: barely adapted from Bakin' and Eggs

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
3/4 cup marinara sauce, divided
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained (squeeze water out with a dish rag)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare a loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, add the chicken 1/4 cup marinara sauce, bread crumbs, seasoning/herbs, onion, garlic, eggs, and Parmesan cheese.  Mix until combined but do not over mix. 

In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the spinach and 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese.

Place half the mixture in the loaf pan, create the indentation mentioned above, and fill with spinach and cheese.  Place the remaining chicken mixture on top.  Pour remaining 1/2 cup marinara sauce on top of meatloaf.  Bake for about 45 minutes, remove, add the remaining mozzarella cheese, and bake for about 10 more minutes, until chicken is cooked.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until juices have been absorbed and chicken is 160 degrees.