A different kind of muffin

A few years ago, I had a friend who had difficulty getting her son to eat meat of any kind, but he would eat anything in a muffin. So, I started looking to see if there was anything out there that might help, and discovered the following recipe. Unfortunately this discovery wasn't so helpful for my friend at the time, but this has become a staple in our house!

Why do I love this one so much? Because I nearly always have everything I need for it, even when I haven't planned for it, it is quick to assemble, is wonderfully moist and doesn't require the hour or so of cook time that a meatloaf requires. If you have convection, it requires even less cooking time. (You'll have to figure that part out yourself, I'm not so good at remembering the conversion formula).

Also? My kids love that it is a "muffin". They KNOW it's meatloaf. But it's a MUFFIN. And it makes portioning easy, looks a little more interesting on the plate than a slice of loaf. Who doesn't like a muffin? Why do you think everyone knows "The Muffin Man"? Yeah, okay, I couldn't resist that last sentence. I tried. Even deleted it once. And then I put it back. :)

The Smashed Potatoes (also from Rachel Ray) is a great complement and works well in the time prep frame. Start the water boiling and get the potatoes in the pot before you start prep for the muffins, finish it while the muffins cook, and voila! both parts done when you are ready to serve!

I typically throw some frozen peas or corn in the microwave to serve with the meatloaf muffins and potatoes; add whatever your favorite veggie is. Use fresh, use frozen, do whatever makes you happy. I'm just saying.

I haven't tried this yet, but how fun would it be to cook these as mini-muffins? (Remember that the cooking time will need to be reduced---I'm guessing to less than 10 minutes; convection folks, you are on your own for this one!). Drop a dollop of smashed potatoes on top, and sprinkle some peas or stick an asparagus top in it, and you've got appetizer size portions! OR get your fancy on and stick a sprig of rosemary in it instead of a veggie! You know that everyone loves a good meatloaf!

Meatloaf Muffins with Barbecue Sauce
Recipe from Rachael Ray (my adaption in italics)
Prep Time: 10 min, Cook Time: 20 min, Serves: 6

Ingredients
1 2/3 to 1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin --meatloaf mix is yummy too, if you happen to have it...I usually always have ground beef in the freezer
1 medium onion, cut into chunks --I often use 1 TBSP dried minced onion instead
2 ribs celery from the heart of the stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces --I often omit
1 green bell pepper --I often omit
1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick) --I use Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic, if you need a rep, let me know.
1 cup smoky barbecue sauce --or non-smoky barbecue sauce, doesn't matter much
1/2 cup tomato salsa --I use ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Put ground beef into a big bowl. Put onion and celery into a food processor. Cut the bell pepper in half, rip out the seeds and throw them into your garbage bowl. Cut the pepper into a few pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then add them to the meat bowl. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl. Next, mix together the smoky barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix. Mix the meatloaf together with your hands. Wash up. Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into a each tin. Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce. Bake about 20 minutes. Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through.

While meatloaf muffins bake, finish making Smashed Potatoes and Cream Cheese:

Smashed Potatoes and Cream Cheese:

2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes or baby Yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup half-and-half or whole milk
8 ounces plain cream cheese or veggie cream cheese, cut into pieces
10 chives or 2 scallions, chopped or snipped with kitchen scissors --leave out if you don't have them on hand, still delicious!
Salt and pepper

Boil potatoes until tender, 15 minutes. While the water boils and when the potatoes are cooking, you can be working on the meatloaf recipe. When the potatoes are tender, drain them and return them to the hot pot to let them dry out a bit. Mash potatoes with half-and-half or milk using a potato masher. Add in the cream cheese and smash until the cheese melts into the potatoes. Then add chives and scallions and season with salt and pepper, to your taste.