Meatloaf in a Muffin Tin, no joke!

It’s a double header dinner, but first…

Yes, that’s Bunky eating broccoli. Frozen. As picky as she is, the kid has loved steamed broccoli (dipped in cheese sauce, of course) for a while now. But the other night she asked for some frozen on the side and ate them like, well, broccoli pops. Crazy and awesome.

Okay, back to dinner.

For the most part I tend to fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to meals. No menu plan or scheduled grocery store trips, though maybe that would help. I wing it every day, pretty much.

But every now and then the stars align in the domestic goddess constellation and something magical happens. I’m talking about meatloaf. Meatloaf muffins to be precise. Please don’t gag, you’re just using a muffin tin. These are savory with a sweet ketchup and Worcestershire glaze.

One of the best things about this meal is the leftovers. Yes, you read that correctly. In my family of four, well three for dinner since Little Guy just nibbles, I make 12 muffins and there are usually 3-4 leftover. The next day I chop them up, or crumble with a potato masher (my husband’s trick) and add to marinara sauce or a big can crushed tomatoes, add some dry spices, and voila, dinner #2. An easy fast bolognese sauce served over gf pasta. Or, even better, make baked ziti with meat sauce.

This recipe is adapted from Carol Kicinski’s Meatloaf Mashed Potato Cupcakes. I’ve never made it with the vegan mashed potato “frosting” – I have to admit, I was kind of weirded out by that – but have created my own simplified version. I usually serve roasted sweet potatos or homemade baked fries on the side.

Meatloaf Muffins with Ketchup Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1½ pounds lean ground sirloin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce plus a couple of dashes for the glaze
• 1 cup gluten free bread crumbs (I use Schar, but whatever works)
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 dash hot sauce (if desired, I omit because of my spice averse husband)
• 2 teaspoons honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a standard muffin pan with gluten-free, non-stick cooking spray.

* I use an OLD muffin tin for these meat muffins because I’d rather not mix my meat with my treats, you know what I mean?

2. Put the sirloin in a large mixing bowl. Add minced garlic, salt, pepper, Worcestershire Sauce, bread crumbs, and egg. Mix with your hands to combine. Do not over mix the ingredients. Portion the mixture into the prepared muffin tin, an ice cream scoop works well for this or just lightly roll the meat mixture into balls with your hands.

3. In a small bowl combine the ketchup with a couple dashes of Worcestershire Sauce, the hot sauce and the honey. Spoon some on top of each mini meat loaf.

Bunky prefers hers without the glaze. Go figure.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. Cut into one and make sure they are cooked through.

I’ve been making these easy roasted sweet potatoes as a side dish. Little Guy loves them. Just peel and cube two (or more) large sweet potatoes, then toss with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped fresh rosemary (if you have on hand; also delish without). Bake along with the meatloaf for about the same amount of time, stirring at around the halfway point.

Now for the next night, take your leftover meatloaf muffins and chop up or crumble. Toss with a jar of sauce or 24 ounce can of crushed tomatoes. Serve with GF pasta, or make baked ziti, my new favorite food group.

Cook the pasta al dente. It doesn’t have to be ziti. We’ve used penne. Whatever has a hole in the middle, really. We’ve been using this new brand, Farabella, from our local butcher.

It even reheats up nicely the next day. Seriously! That is a first for us. Reheated GF pasta. Kind of a miracle. I’m a little teary eyed just writing about it.

Then throw the cooked rinsed pasta into a bowl with the sauce and meat (or omit meat for veggie version). Pour into a baking dish. Dollop some ricotta cheese on top and slip some beneath too, bonus cheese is always nice. Then top with slices of fresh or regular mozzarella. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes and then stick under the broiler to crisp up the cheese if you’d like. Second day dinner perfection.

I’m happy to have shared this post at the Gluten-Free Friday’s link up party hosted by Vegetarian Mamma, and Simply Sugar and Gluten Free’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. Click the links to find more great GF recipes.