Meatloaf Cupcakes

So when I first met my husband he was a serious meat and potatoes guy. There were very few vegetables in his diet and he was not looking to make new food friends. So I started finding ways to sneak vegetables into his favorite foods. Fast forward a few years to when my second son was in his twos. Every night was a showdown at the Okra Corral...don't worry I didn't try and force my kid to eat okra it just worked for the joke. Let me just stop here and say how annoying I find picky eaters. Perhaps its because I'm rather adventurous with my diet or because I've looked starving children in the eye, but it just irritates me! So in order to appease the tiny beast and still get him vital nutrients, I started sneaking them in again. This recipe combines two of my favorite sneaking methods. Hope it works for you!

So to get started mix all of your meatloaf ingredients together in a large bowl. I chose carrots and red peppers to hide in the meatloaf, but you can pick whatever you would like really. Fresh spinach works great too!

Spoon your filling into a cupcake tin. Each cup should take about 2 table spoons (not the measuring device, but the large spoon in the silverware drawer) Place it in your preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

A picture should have gone here, but I'm new at this and forgot to take one. Sorry.

Next we will start in on the "icing" for your cupcakes. The sneaked in veggie here is cauliflower, but I have used parsnips before too. You are going to take 2 cups of cooked cauliflower and 1 cup of milk and blend them in your food processor until its smooth.

Then take your favorite instant or scratch made mashed potato recipe and prepare 4 servings worth of it with slightly less liquid than you normally would. (If its too loose, it won't pipe onto the meatloaf cupcake.)

Fold the two together until fully incorporated. Let it cool a little or you will burn the crap out of your hand when you fill the piping bag...trust me!!

Once your meatloaf is done you are going to want to take them out and let them rest for about 5 minutes. You always want to let your meat rest, this will help it retain all its juices!

Fill your piping bag (or ziploc bag with a corner cut off) with your mashed potatoes and pipe a swirl on top. Add some carrot shred sprinkles and voila meatloaf cupcakes.

When I was taking this picture my oldest son screamed "Cupcakes for dinner???" and as you can see he was happy with the results. This was his "dinner rocks" face. And even the picky one cleared his plate! 

Meatloaf 

1.5lb ground beef or turkey

1 cup of milk

1 tbl. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. rubbed sage 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1/2 tsp. ground mustard (dry)

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 large egg

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup diced red pepper 

ketchup, chili sauce, or barbecue sauce to top