Mary Bilyeu, Contributor

This may not be the most photogenic recipe I'll ever offer to you (trust me — I tried valiantly with different plates and angles and lighting!), but it's truly one of the best. Just imagine it: Italian sausage, Parmesan, Gorgonzola, pesto... a feast of flavors, if not a feast for the eyes!

Meatloaf often gets a bad reputation because it's usually just plain ol' ground beef mixed with ketchup or bread crumbs or Lipton onion soup mix, but it doesn't need to be that way. Use a variety of meats, change up the sauces and seasonings, stuff something interesting into the middle... give it a make-over and glam it up!

You can vary the spiciness of the dish by using mild, sweet or hot Italian sausage; and you can lower the fat content by using links made of turkey, if you prefer.

This dinner was devoured so quickly that there wasn't even a hope of leftovers for the next day — pretty good reviews for a meatloaf!

Cheesey Italian Sausage Meatloaf

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 small red onion, chopped fine
• 4 tablespoons pesto, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 4 ounces Gorgonzola, divided
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sausage, turkey, onion, 2 tablespoons of the pesto, salt, pepper and oregano. Take two-thirds of the mixture and press it across the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Place half of the Gorgonzola and all of the parmesan into the center of the circle, leaving a half-inch border. Carefully spread the rest of the mixture over the cheese, and seal the edges.

Bake for 45 minutes, then brush with remaining the remaining 2 tablespoons pesto; sprinkle the remaining Gorgonzola over the top. Bake 5 more minutes.

Let the meatloaf rest for 5 minutes before cutting into portions.

Serves 6-8.

Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures in the kitchen. She was thrilled to have her post about Scottish Oatmeal Shortbread named as one of the daily "Best of the Blogs" by the prestigious Food News Journal.

Go visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — on which she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related. Her newest feature is Frugal Floozie Friday, seeking fun and food for $5 or less ... really! Feel free to email her with questions or comments or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here.