Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

Looking for a fast weeknight meal?  This one comes from the Cooking Light Kitchen with not much extra you need to pick up at the store & not a lot of effort to make.  I would recommend adding a salad or veggies to the dish.  Game Plan ~ while the oven preheats you can toast the breadcrumbs, chop onion & garlic. While onion & garlic sautéing, dice the cheese & chop the parsley.  While mini’s cook prepare your salad/veggies.

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

Cooking Light January/February 2011  p. 87

½ cup fresh breadcrumbs

Cooking spray

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup ketchup, divided

3 ounces white cheddar cheese, diced

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

¾ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ pounds ground sirloin

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1.      Preheat oven to 420

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 skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion & garlic; sauté 3 minutes.  Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, ¼ cup ketchup, & remaining ingredients.  Shape into 6 (4 x 2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each.  Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until done.  Yield 6 servings (serving size: 1 meat loaf)

Tupps Tidbits ~ I foiled lined the pan for easy clean up.  Kid Tweak: You can omit horseradish for a sweeter meat loaf.  Diced cheese melts into gooey pockets as it cooks.

This is not much different than your good old meatloaf recipe.  Next time we might try a different cheese since ours actually melted right out of the patty.  I enjoyed that it was ready in 40 minutes & that we each had our own mini.  It also makes awesome leftovers for lunch the next day.  Healthy, low in calories, good dinner ~ this is definitely a KEEPER for us.

Next Week ~ Over the Top Brownies