Recently, I found myself craving fresh homemade meatloaf.

That’s not all that unusual. Women throughout my family have made meatloaves for generations, so it’s a dish I’ve eaten plenty in my lifetime. (And my mother-in-law’s recipe has become one of my very favorites.)

But I wanted something a little different this time. I’ve been thinking about individual-serving-size meatloaves. In the mound of cookbooks on a shelf in our home, I found multiple recipes for meatloaf miniatures. However, I took an issue with one step included in each recipe.

I don’t like microwaving ground beef.

If I’m knocking the chill off it to then chop it up, season it, cook it and stash it in a taco, then I’m okay with sticking beef in the microwave for a bit. If the meat’s already been cooked, and I’m just thawing it, then I’m generally okay with microwaving it. When the whole cooking process is done in the microwave, I’m not a fan, mostly because it impacts the taste and texture for me.

So as I so often do with recipes you find here on #FoodieScore, I put my own spin on the recipes I found. The result takes a little more time, but my wife Molly and I found it to be quite tasty! (I believe she actually said something like, “If there’s a perfect meatloaf, this is it.” Wow!)

With the proportions in the prescribed manner I present them here, you might not even feel a need to add ketchup to the meatloaf servings, if you’re a ketchup on your meatloaf kind of eater to begin with.

Meatloaf minis are a great way to make a main dish you won’t have to cut at the dinner table, and they make serving leftovers, if you have any, easier, too! Just mix, cook, slide a spatula underneath each loaf to serve and dig right in!

 

Meatloaf Minis

What You Need:

1 pound ground hamburger meat

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup quick-cook oats

1 egg

half onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix all ingredients with hands until blended well.

3. Divide into four or five pieces, then form each into a small loaf.

4. Butter, lightly oil or spray (your choice) the bottom of a baking dish, such as an 8×8 or 9×13.

5. Bake for about 45 minutes, until beef is fully cooked and juices run clear.

Yield: 4 to 5 loaves, depending on the size of each

Calories: 250 (5 loaves) to 310 (4 loaves) per serving