Mom’s Mini Meatloaf Cups
My mom and my grandma both made meatloaf when I was little. This was back in the days when dinner happened at 5:30, and everyone sat down at the kitchen table to eat. When I first moved in with my husband, meatloaf was one of the things I knew I could make. So we’d make meatloaf. And then we’d eat it for what felt like a week. You can make some recipes smaller, but dividing one egg in half seems like you’re going a bit too far. Putting half of it back in the freezer did not seem to help; we still never managed to have meatloaf for one day; it was always enough for four meals at least. My wallet likes making meatloaf. I do not add much in the way of fillers to my meatloaf, but it always seems to stretch farther than burgers or tacos. It means one pound of ground beef is about six individual dinners for us.
My mom bought me this great silicone muffin pan. I had started making little baked egg breakfasts to heat in the morning before work. I loved the fact that I could cook once and have breakfast for the whole week! After thinking about it a little, I thought the little muffin pans just might be able to solve my meatloaf problem too.
It turns out I was right! I could make one recipe for a pound of ground beef and bake it in 12 individual, cupcake sized portions. After dinner, I can pack them all up in sets of two so they can be taken to work or frozen to become dinner later. It really helped me to stop wasting leftovers.
This recipe definitely turns out better with dryer meats. The grease bakes out and pools into the silicone cups. If you have 75% lean ground beef for example, your meatloafs will look like they are swimming in grease. My mom always told me to use 85% lean when I was making meatloaf, but I would suggest 90% lean, or to mix your beef with some ground turkey. I have never had mine come out feeling dry. I have never tried baking these in baking cups or in metal muffin pans. The silicone pans allow the meat to just slide right out.
My brothers and I were always picky eaters. We did not want to find any sort of vegetable anywhere near our delicious meat and potatoes. My mom had other ideas. Any time she wanted to add veggies to hamburgers or meatloaf or just about anything else, she would shred them! The flavors never really bothered any of us, but we didn’t like the texture of biting into cooked vegetables. As I grew up, I started liking more veggies. My husband, however, is still just like I was when I was younger. Onions are one of his downfalls. I don’t know how to cook without onions! They’re in everything! My mom shared her own little trick, and now I can cook with the recipes I love.
I do not usually make any sort of topping for my meatloaf. My pictures this time have some ketchup on top because I forgot to put the ketchup in the mix until they were already in the oven. I was afraid they would be too dry if I left out one of the major wet ingredients so I just slathered some of the ketchup over the tops of the meat-muffins.
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 F
Using a cheese grater, shred one half of one onion.
In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to mix all other ingredients.
Place your silicone muffin pan onto a baking sheet. The silicone will buckle if you try to pick it up if it does not have some external support.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop meatloaf into the muffin tins. This will help you provide consistent sizes so they bake evenly.
Place your muffin tins in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165.
Remove your meatloaf from the oven. The metal tray will be hot, but the silicone is usually cool enough to touch. You should remove them from the muffin tins immediately to avoid any grease from congealing to the outsides. I use a slotted spoon to lift them onto a plate.
Enjoy!