I have made Cheesy Meatloaf many, many times during the course of our marriage. It’s a recipe where my husband refuses to budge; all meatloaves made in our house MUST be this exact recipe. One time I tried to put in onions. EH [imagine big buzzer sound here]. Extra Worcestershire sauce? EH. Italian seasoning? EH. EH. EH.
Unfortunately with the whole cheese-less existence right now, I am not making a meatloaf that I cannot eat. And Mr. V is getting itchy for his meatloaf fix. So I decided I could interpret the recipe into meatloaf muffins and make half without cheese.
Bingo!
And since I can’t stop tinkering with recipes, ever, I added a little Dijon mustard and fresh thyme to my muffins. Don’t tell Mr. V, but I think I might like them better than the original.
Not that he’ll ever let me make a whole meatloaf that way.
Cheesy Meatloaf Muffins
1 egg
1 T Worcestershire sauce
8 oz. tomato sauce, divided
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper
1 lb. ground beef
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup sharp shredded cheese
Whisk egg, Worcestershire sauce, and 4 ounces of tomato sauce together in a mixing bowl. Add salt, a few grinds or sprinkles of pepper, and beef to the bowl; combine with hands. Add oats and mix together.
Take fists of mixture and spread out like a small hamburger patty. (About the size of your palm.) Put a sprinkling of cheese in the middle of the patty, then fold in all the edges to cover cheese and make a ball.
Place balls in greased muffin tins and flatten slightly.
Cook at 350 15 minutes. Pour about 2 teaspoons tomato sauce on top of each muffin. Sprinkle more cheese on top of muffins. Cook an additional 7-8 minutes. Let sit for a minute before serving.
Non-Cheesy Meatloaf Muffins Derivation:
To meatloaf mixture, add 1 T Dijon mustard and 1 T fresh thyme leaves. Omit cheese. Just form beef mixture into balls and place in muffin tins. Cook the same, omitting added cheese on top.
Makes 10 muffins.
Added to Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Hunk of Meat Monday, and Ultimate Recipe Swap (freezer friendly) at Life as MOM.
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Meatloaf without onions? blarg. Though I could see that onion flavor might interfere with the cheese.
I make a mini-Italian meatloaf (single serving size) to freeze. Same idea as your muffins, but formed into free-form loaves for baking. With a single person household, it is really nice to be able to take a single serving out to thaw and reheat – otherwise, no matter how small a meatloaf I make, I'm eating it for days.
Thanks for sharing, this sounds like my house so I will have to try these tricks, especially the muffin tin! Great blog!
I need to try meatloaf again. My last attempt failed miserably. I think T might be afraid to try it.
Yours looks (and sounds) great!
Thanks so much for joining my Weekend Bloggy Reading party! Have fun finding some new reads, and I hope you'll stop by Serenity Now again soon.
Rolling them into balls before putting them into the muffin tin is smart. I've just smushed them into the tin before, and they fell apart after they were cooked.
Smart solution! You enjoy your meatloaves, he enjoys his. Win-win if you ask me!
Love these! I can't imagine how you are surviving without cheese! Love my cheese. Thanks for linking up to Hunk of Meat Monday.