Eclectic Red Barn: 3+ Ingredient Meatloaf Minis

Monday, October 5, 2015

3+ Ingredient Meatloaf Minis

I was craving meatloaf so when I saw this recipe for meatloaf minis in Food & Family I decided to give it a try. It was an easy recipe and you could make the meatloaf centers any way you want.

Only three ingredients; four if you want to add a filling to the centers. I liked mine plain but my husband preferred BBQ sauce in his.

meatloaf minis and vegetables @Eclectic Red Barn

I have made these twice. Once with very lean ground meat and the second time with regular ground meat. Although they were both good, the regular ground meat resulted in a lot of grease in the pan after they had cooked. I would like to try them with ground turkey, but that's for another day.

With only three ingredients, you can't get easier than this. Mix the ground meat with the Stove Top and add water. Shape into balls and place in prepared muffin pans. If you want to add a filling in the center, make an indentation with your thumb and pour in the filling of your choice. Cook and then add the cheese for another 5 minutes.

The first time I made them, I put the cheese on at the beginning (didn't follow directions). It kind of created this coating around them which was good.

meatloaf minis in pan @Eclectic Red Barn

It was almost papery, if that is a word. You can see the stuffing in these. I had a little less ground meat for this version.

I think you loose a little of the cheese this way, but the flavor was great.

On the second batch, I didn't add the cheese until the end like the recipe called for. The cheese is only on the top. I also used regular ground meat in this version. You can see the difference.

My family liked both. So if you are like me and add the cheese in the beginning, don't worry, it will still work out fine. After all isn't that the fun part about cooking - experimenting?

Recipe Print

Meatloaf Minis

Ingredients:

1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef (Lean ground beef is best)

1 (120 g) package Stove Top stuffing mix

1 cup water

Fillings you can add: BBQ sauce, salsa, pasta sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix meat, stuffing mix,and water until well blended.
Press evenly into 12 greased muffin tins.
Make a small indentation in the middle of each meatloaf with the back of a spoon or your finger, or bake as is.
Fill the indentation with your choice of filling. (Choose one: pasta sauce OR salsa OR BBQ sauce ).
Bake for 30 minutes or until loaves are cooked through. Top with the cheese and bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Let stand 10 minutes before removing from baking pan.
For freezing: Remove from baking pan and let cool. Flash freeze on a cookie sheet until firm. Transfer to a labeled ziploc bag. To serve: Defrost overnight, then reheat in oven or microwave until heated through.