It has been pointed out to me recently that I haven’t made meatloaf in over 5 years. It’s probably been far longer than that actually but I don’t really think about it, I like hamburger, I just never think of meatloaf as something one should really make. But while we were in Vegas PC ordered meatloaf in a restaurant and I was stunned. Why would anyone ever order this? I just don’t get it… and that’s when it was pointed out to me that I never make meatloaf…. so here it is… meatloaf… with a little twist of course… because I think that ground beef shaped into a loaf is less than exciting.
I’m the only one living in the house now that likes mushrooms so I took advantage of this individualized way of having meatloaf and included them… in a few of the loafs. You… can leave them out if you want…. take something out…. put something else in… or not… all up to you… I like to have these this way because I put everything that I love into a few and what everyone else loves into some of the others… and you can too… make them your own.
First, I fried up some onions, two of them in fact because we all really love caramelized onions and once they were nicely browned I set them aside… next I fried up some chopped bacon… until it was nice and crispy and set it aside… (once cooked in the loafs it softens up and is amazing… just as an aside) then I fried up some fresh mushrooms with garlic butter and set them aside… lastly I chopped up some cheese into about 1 inch cubes.
Then mix up your hamburger with all your favourite seasonings. I started with about 1 1/2 Kilograms of beef, 1/2 regular and 1/2 extra lean and this made a dozen muffins nicely… then I added garlic, mustard, some hot sauce, salt and pepper, some mixed seasonings (I like to use Keg seasoning mix, reduced salt), … a couple of eggs… a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and mix it all together.
Now fill the muffin tins halfway and press a little dip inside, pile that dip full of your favourite stuff… the bacon, onions, mushrooms, and a chunk of cheese and press another ball of meat mixture on top of the base pinching it in around the sides as best as you can. Don’t worry if it opens a bit in the baking, I think it was really appetizing to have some cheese oozing out of the loafs.
Lastly, mix 2 parts ketchup, 1 part mustard and a splash of your favourite steak sauce and dab that on top of the mini-loafs and then place some of the fried mushrooms on top (I only placed mushrooms on the ones that had mushrooms inside… so that we could tell the difference). Bake in the oven at 350 for about a half hour. I put the loafs in a hot oven and turned on the potatoes to cook… by the time I was done with my mashed potatoes the loafs were perfect.
Serve with mashed potatoes, corn, and a bit of the sauce that you used to top the loafs… enjoy!