There are other advantages to meatmuffins, even if you don't have old tomato soup lurking in your freezer looking for a use. These things take a lot less time to cook, so the are great if you need to get dinner on the table more quickly or don't want the oven on very long to keep it from heating up the house. Not only that, but they are great for portion control if you are on a diet, or just are trying to limit your meat consumption.
The limited meat consumption was a huge part of why I decided to make these last night. I've been wanting meatloaf, but we are almost out of ground venison, so I need to be using it sparingly. If I made a regular meatloaf, I would have used at least a whole pound and we probably would have eaten it all. I made a half batch of this recipe last night (turned the other half into freezer meatballs), and we ate a total of 10 of them, so there are still a couple in the freezer for next time I want meatloaf or to send with my husband for part of a lunch at work.
Meatmuffins
1 1/2 lbs ground meat2/3 cup dry oats
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 eggs
2/3 cup condensed tomato soup
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If using a lower fat meat such as venison, grease the bottom of 24 muffin cups. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. You may need to use your hands to thoroughly mix (be sure to take of any rings and wash your hands really well and/or wear gloves. Yuck!). Fill muffin cups approximately 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until lightly brown on the outside and no longer pink in the middle. Top with ketchup if desired.
Unused meatmuffins may be frozen in a freezer safe container or bag. To reheat, thaw completely then bake at 350 degrees for 10-20 minutes until heated through.
If you wanna be really fancy shmancy, the dollar store now has these little ceramic "bread pans" that are just perfect for mini-meatloafs. Or mini bread or mini brownies or whatever. We have a couple that we got as housewarming gifts years ago, and the kids *love* cooking in them. While I wouldn't use them all the time, when you have guests coming over or you want to take a one-off meal to a friend or something, it adds a wee bit of class without adding cost. :)
ReplyDeletelooks yummy!Ive never thought of putting oats in my meatloaf, Ill have to try it. I made lentil shepherds pie in muffin pans with biscuits on the bottom once. Kids love personal sized foods dont they?
ReplyDelete