Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

Hello friends! Sorry it's been a while since my last blog. I've had a busy month with lots of visitors keeping us busy. This was the first weekend in a while that I had no plans and so decided to open up one of my recent cooking magazines to try a new recipe. While my Mom was here, she mentioned that my brother recently made a delicious meatloaf, and ever since I've been craving some. Lucky for me, my Jan/Feb 2011 Cooking Light magazine had a recipe for Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis. Below is the recipe and "tips" they share, unfortunately I'm not very fast at chopping, so their "game plan" caused me to burn my first batch of bread crumbs and completely forget to add an egg. Without the egg, the meatloafs didn't hold together as well as they should have (as the egg is a binding ingredient), but they were still delicious. One more thing I learned, is that meatloafs don't look very appetizing in pictures, but trust me, they were GREAT and something I'll make again. I served my mini meatloafs with mashed red potatoes and corn. I especially like that each person gets their own mini loaf, probably because I like the crispy parts on the outside.

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Cooking spray

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup ketchup, divided

3 ounces white cheddar cheese, diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish*

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin

1 large egg, lightly beaten

*I left out the horseradish and added a chopped jalepeno (minus seeds) for spice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently

3. While breadcrumbs cook, heat a large skilled over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, and remaining ingredients. Shape into 6 (4x2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until done.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 meat loaf)

The Game Plan:

While oven preheats:

*Toast breadcrumbs.

*Chop onion and garlic.

While onion and garlic sute:

*Dice cheese.

*Chop parlsey.