Mini Meatloaf

It's dinner time and in between playing airplane with the cardboard box from my little birthday present of a Le Crueset canister set repurposed to an airplane/rocket, I needed to whip soothing up fast. 

I looked in my refrigerator and saw a thawed pound of meat. It snowed today and this beach-raised-California-girl-turned-Hoosier is looking for some comfort food. My mom always made the best meatloaf. Well, she was at work and I was about 1 pound short of meat for the whole recipe, so I Googled and found this! 

Yummy Mini Meatloaf Recipe

Credit for this little gem of a find comes from my blessed life.

Yields: 10 mini loaves

1 egg

1/2 c. milk (I used whole)

1 c. cheese (All I had was an organic Mexican blend, but cheddar or gouda would be amazing)

1/2 c. oats

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. onion powder

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. salt

1 lb. ground beef (I used bison meat as we are looking for lean red alternatives and it's locally raised here in Indiana)

Glaze: ketchup, mustard (I used dijon), raw or brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray a muffin pan with a non-stick oil.

In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, cheese, oats, oregano, onion powder, garlic and salt.  Add ground meat and mix well.  This is best done using your hands and fingers.

Evenly divide the meat mixture in muffin pan with about a palm-sized ball.  In a small bowl, mix ketchup (~ 1 1/2 c.), a tad of mustard (a good squeeze) and a teaspoon of sugar.  Evenly divide the glaze over each mini meatloaf.

Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes or until meat is done. I paired it with some mashed potatoes and sautéed kale to round out the meal.


According to the writer of this recipe, you can freeze the left over patties for future uses (thaw and heat.) 

In other birthday news, we have begun a little updating in our kitchen. We added some backsplash and some under lighting so I can see a little better while in the kitchen. 

before

after

To come will be a new floor (to show less child-produced dirt) and a built in banquet for family kitchen time. What is the favorite thing about your kitchen space? What inspires you?