An American Classic with a Twist: Meatloaf Minis

Meatloaf minis..doused in ketchup

As a transplant to the U.S., many of the dinner staples - the "meals like Mom made" - have passed me by.  I didn't grow up dining on such dishes as meatloaf and mac 'n' cheese.  It's been an interesting process acquiring these recipes for my own family.

I found the latest addition to my repertoire of "American classics" while waiting in a doctor's office, perusing a copy of People magazine.  In the food section of the magazine is a 'Great Ideas" page, which is basically a cook-it-quick recipe that anyone can make. 

This recipe earned a place at our table because while my son adores meatloaf, my daughter won't touch it because the meat is just too dense. 

This recipe keeps all parties happy;

• it's a souped up meatloaf (you wouldn't know that it's crammed with healthy veggies!);
• it's much lighter than a standard meat-heavy meatloaf - the recipe uses grated vegetables and rolled oats which seem to break up the density of the meat itself;
• and I like the aesthetics!  The meatloaf minis look more like oversized meatballs, which I prefer to having a slab of meatloaf on my plate. 

Win, win, win.

The meatloaf minis I made looked just as gorgeous as the (no doubt digitally enhanced) photo in People  magazine, but I promise you they come out of the oven looking most pretty...

Although this recipe uses turkey, I substituted the same quantity of ground beef.  Likewise, rather than using shredded broccoli, I substituted already grated carrots (see above).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup grated onion (I didn't fancy grating an onion - and ruining my nails in the process - so bought a pre-chopped pack of diced celery and diced onion).
• 7tbsp ketchup
• 1 1/4lb lean turkey mince
• 3 cups shredded broccoli coleslaw, chopped
• 1/2 cup fat free liquid egg (I didn't have these in my pantry so used a real egg instead!)
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt

Method

• Heat oven to 350degrees
• Line 9-10 compartments of a muffin tin with baking cups or spray with a non stick spray
• Combine all ingredients except 3tbsp of ketchup in a bowl and mix thoroughly (I actually pre-fried the onion and celery I was adding, in order to ensure that they were nicely softened, but the recipe doesn't call for this...)
• Divide mixture evenly among the cups.  Brush each muffin with 1tsp of ketchup
• Bake for 30-35 mins.

Now on to dessert - cheat's Monkey Bread! 

This is more an assemblage than real baking. 

But that suits me perfectly. 

This too from People mag.  It was a pretty productive trip to the Dr. that day...

Recipe to follow.