cute, mini & skinny meatloaf

I have been craving comfort food lately.  You know what I am talking about a cheesy hamburger macaroni bake, or maybe some loaded mashed potatoes  or even better how about a salisbury steak with a rich gravy…boy oh boy I could get myself in trouble with all those for sure.  As much as I would love to have any of those delicious dinners I decided to take a little different route…I wanted to make one of The Hubby’s favorite comfort foods but with it lightened-up a bit but still delicious and everything he loves about the original and then my mini skinny meatloaf was created.  

The Hubby’s mom made meatloaf a lot for him and his brother when they were growing up and my mom never made it so over the last 10 years I have learned the art of meatloaf, and really what about it we both liked and how to make it into one that we both LOVE.  First off the meatloaf has to be tender, not tough like when the meat is over worked.  Secondly I like some veggies in my meatloaf, something to give it a little body. Thirdly I like a combo of meat, I just think it adds to the texture and tenderness.  Lastly there has to be a topping of some sort, and for The Hubby and I we like it a little sweet and a little spicy to give it a little extra kick.  

To make our loved meatloaf skinny I decided to focus on our 4 must haves and I knew we would have a winner lightned-up meatloaf that we would both love.  For the veggies I went with some traditional ones like onions, and garlic but I also added in some chopped bell peppers and grated carrots, both of which add great flavor and body to the meatloaf.  For the combo of meats I went with extra lean ground beef and lean ground turkey and honestly it was just as delicious and just as tender as the not so skinny combo of ground pork and ground beef.  To keep everything tender I made sure to not over mix the meats, just mixing them enough to make sure everything is well distributed and combined well and then topped them with a tangy, sweet & spicy glaze.  Then to make them even better I divided them into 8 little mini loaves, not only are they super cute but it is also great for portion control and also perfect for the leftover sandwich that I know you are already dreaming about.    

[mpprecipe-recipe:82]

If you do not have a mini loaf pan but want one (I use mine for mini bread loaves and mini pound cakes) you can find the one I have here.

Trust me this skinny version of a classic dish is just as good as the not so skinny version…it has become my go to recipe for one of The Hubby’s must haves.

Make everyday sparkle – MJ