Mini Meat Loaves

     One thing that I love is comfort food.  I can go to Cracker Barrel and get a "vegetable plate" which consists of nothing but fried okra, mashed potatoes,  squash casserole.........you know, all the healthy vegetables.  And when it comes to comfort food one of my all time favorites is meatloaf.  My mom makes the BEST meatloaf and she gave me her recipe.  I make it a lot, but I found another a few years ago that was a little healthier, so I created a hybrid meatloaf recipe out of the two!  That's where my mini meat loaves were born.  They are the perfect portion size so you feel full and satisfied....and you may have leftovers for lunch the next day!

Here's what you need:

1lb of Lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey

1/2 Onion

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

7oz Spinach

1 Slice of Bread

1/2 Cup of Low Fat Milk (I use this lo-carb version)

Splash of Worcestershire

Splash of Steak Sauce

Salt/Pepper

Ketchup (not shown)

Franks Hot Sauce (not shown)

 

 

First, chop up your bell pepper and onion.  Crumble your slice of bread into a bowl and add all of the ingredients together EXCEPT the ketchup and hot sauce..........we will save those for later.

 

      Mix it up really good so you have a nice consistency.  I used canned spinach for this batch but I have used frozen and fresh as well.  I actually think I like the canned version better because it saves you a cooking step by not having to cook the spinach before you mix it in.  Do what you like best.

     Now, take a 1 cup measuring cup and pack the meatloaf mixture into it firmly.

 

 

     Now one step you don't want to forget is lining your baking sheet with some tin foil.  I got in a hurry this time and didn't and now I think I may need to toss that baking sheet............it's super gross.  Once your foil is in place, turn the cup upside down and tap it on the sheet so the meatloaf comes out in a cup shape.  Don't worry, it should hold it's shape just fine.

 

     Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.  About half way through take them out and brush the tops with a ketchup/hot sauce mixture.  If you don't want them to have a little flavor kick, leave out the hot sauce.  I use these......

 

     Now when you take these out half way through to brush the tops with the sauce, they may have a weird puddle of yucky fatty stuff around them.......it's just the fat from the meat cooking out.  Even when I have used ground turkey this happens a little bit.  I usually just take a spoon and kind of spoon it off from around them before I put them back in.  Or you can wait till they are done and just pull them off the foil and put them on another plate.  When you make meatloaf in a baking dish, that's what rises to the top and you can pour it off.  Since these are individual ones, it's coming out around the bottoms.  No worries.



 

     And there you go!  A perfect portion of meatloaf ready to eat or save for lunch another day.  I paired this one with some brown rice and it was a very filling meal.  Each mini meat loaf is approximately 290 calories and 8 carbs.  If you are eating it with a side, you probably wont need to eat more than one.....but you can if you want!  This recipe will make four meat loaves.  See, you can sneak in some veggies and still have that comfort food you love!

Happy eating!