March 8, 2010

Mini Skillet Meatloaves + Leftover Recipe

I like meatloaf, but I’m picky about it. It has to be moist and have a lot of flavor (not too “meaty”). My mom makes really good meatloaf.But meatloaf takes, like, over an hour to cook. If you have a hankering for a loaf o’ meat, but don’t want to wait that long, try these mini ones out. They cook in about 20 minutes and they taste like . . . meatloaf. (ta da!) No really. I was afraid they’d taste like a glorified hamburger, but they really don’t.

AND if you don’t eat them all you can make quesadillas later in the week! (Recipe also below) I love two-fer recipes. Cook once, eat twice. Love it.

I mentioned this in the recipe, but be sure not to overwork the meat. When you mix the seasonings into the meat, gently “toss” it around with your fingers. Don’t take handfuls and squish. You may end with mushy, mealy meat. Not a good thing.

Another tip, one that I only recently started doing, is when you’re portioning out meat for things like this (like hamburger patties, meatballs and such) divide it up beforeyou begin taking meat out of the bowl. Then you won’t have a runt leftover. I know, genius, huh? See the bottom left photo up there in that collage? That’s what I’m talking about. (One of the many gems I gleaned from watching Food Network.)

Another great thing about this recipe is the glaze that goes over top. I like ketchup on meatloaf (perhaps the only place I use it), but this is like ketchup taken to a whole new level. I loved it. And despite how it looks above, the meatloaves don’t fall apart in the skillet if you portion them tightly. I just broke mine up with a fork so you could see the insides.

Mini Skillet Meatloaves

Ingredients:

1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large egg
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, finely minced (about 1/2 c)
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
1 1/2 pounds ground meat (ground beef, pork and/or veal)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup ketchup
1 to 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Mix the breadcrumbs, milk, parsley, egg, Worcestershire sauce, onion, chili powder and garlic in a large bowl. Add the meat, season with salt and pepper and mix with your hands until combined. Be sure not to squeeze the meat between your fingers - be gentle or else you'll end up with squishy, mealy meat. Shape into six 3-to-4-inch oval loaves. Set aside. (Can be done ahead of time.)

Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the loaves and brown about 3 minutes per side.

In a small bowl, whisk the ketchup, sugar and vinegar and brush a few tablespoonfuls over the meat. Add 1/2 cup water to the skillet, cover and simmer over low heat until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Transfer the loaves to a plate. Add the remaining ketchup mixture to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring, until thick, 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve 4 meatloaves with the hot glaze, reserving 2 for quesadillas.

from Food Network Magazine December 2009

These were really good, but I was slightly disappointed that the filling tasted like mere taco meat. It would have been good to reserve some of the glaze for the quesadillas and up the meatloaf flavor.

Meatloaf Quesadillas with Cilantro Cream
From Food Network Magazine December 2009

For the Cilantro Cream:
½ cup sour cream
½ cup fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 teaspoons green hot sauce

For the Quesadillas:
2 cups leftover Mini Skillet Meatloaves, crumbled
1 14.5-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 scallion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 8-inch flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

For the cilantro cream, puree the sour cream, cilantro, lime juice and hot sauce in a blender or food processor until smooth. Chill until ready to serve. (Can be made ahead of time.)

Prepare the quesadillas: Mix the meatloaf, beans, scallion, cumin, cayenne, and salt and black pepper to taste in a bowl.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan, sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese, then top with one-quarter of the meat mixture and another 1/4 cup cheese. Top with another tortilla and cook until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter, tortillas and filling. Cut the quesadillas into wedges and serve with the cilantro cream.

Nat’s Notes:
1. When I cooked the these, I placed a heavy cast-iron frying pan on top to help everything melt together better.

Print Recipe Text Only

Main Dish Beef, Mexican/Southwest, Paleo/Primal, Sandwiches and Wraps

2 comments »

2 Responses to “Mini Skillet Meatloaves + Leftover Recipe”

1

Jodi — March 9, 2010 @ 4:32 pm

I'm also picky about my meatloaf. I make it pretty regularly and my kids love it. It does take an hour to cook, which is why we usually have baked potatoes with it…they can cook side by side. But, I've been wanting to try a smaller version. These look cute an just right!

[Reply]
2

Erin F — April 10, 2012 @ 7:31 pm

Just had this for dinner… and it was GREAT! Thanks! =)

[Reply]