Mini Meatloaf

I love meatloaf. I know it's the meal in every family movie that people love to hate. But I really like it. It's easy to make, it tastes good, and you get mashed potatoes with it. There's really nothing to hate in my book.

My mom used to make us meatloaf (I'm sure you recognize this) with an egg, some Lipton onion soup mix, and breadcrumbs. This was good meatloaf. Now I'm a little older, and just a hair wiser. This does not make great meatloaf. Don't get me wrong, it tasted fine. I ate it. I enjoyed it. But it wasn't great.

I was devastated when I found out onion soup mix had gluten in it. There are so many recipes in my box that called for this cheap and easy ingredient. Now I'm glad that I got to stretch my culinary muscles a little bit. I don't need onion soup mix! I have a pantry full of organic spices and REAL onions! Seriously! What was I thinking! Down home comfort food, that's what I was thinking. I'm here to tell you it can be done, and it can be done right.

You'll need:
1lb ground beef
1 egg
1 small onion, minced
1/4 c milk (we used unsweetened soy milk and it tasted just fine)
1 c crushed gluten free cereal or gluten free bread
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (We use Lea & Perrins)
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried mustard
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400º

Take everything and put it in a bowl. No particular order. Truly. You also don't need real measuring spoons if you're like me. Every measurement here is an approximation. It should actually say something like "Some milk" and "enough gluten free cereal to hold it together" or "this much kosher salt [insert funny graphic here]".

Now comes the fun part, the part you should let the kids help with. Or the hubby. Since we kick him out of the kitchen for every other frightening gluten free endeavor. Or let him whisk all the flours together so he'll stop asking if he can help and he won't feel useless. This is something he can truly help with. It's hard to mess up meatloaf. Dig your hands into the bowl and mix. Squish the meat between your fingers. Get slimy. Make sure everything gets mixed in completely.

Now make your loaf. Or your mini loaves. Or your giant meat balls. Or your meat bundt. There are so many ways to shape this, it would take forever to list them all. Then top your meat shape with ketchup, or BBQ sauce, or chili sauce. Whatever. Now pop it in the oven.

Your cooking time is going to vary GREATLY depending on what shape your meat is. The important thing is that the internal temperature at the thickest part of your loaf reaches 160º F. I have a fancy probe thermometer that will beep at me when the mini loaves are done. It takes about 30min when you are working with small meatloaves. (I would highly highly recommend getting a probe thermometer like this one. I use mine all the time.)

After it is done cooking serve up with some mashed potatoes and corn, then enjoy! This meal also makes great leftovers.

Happy eating!
Tori