Another Night of Cooking

I love meatloaf. It's easy to make and there's enough variations to it that's hard to get bored with it. I usually stick with a meatloaf recipe I came across several years ago, back when I was in college and writing a "Kitchen Korner" column for a monthly agency on aging newsletter. :) But a couple weeks ago, I got my usual mailing from Kroger, with coupons and recipes, and I saw this meatloaf version and knew it was time to try something new.

Mini Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaves

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves: 6

--Kroger Canola Oil Cooking Spray
--1 egg, beaten
--3/4 cup milk
--Kroger Quick 1 Minute 100% Whole Grain Oats, uncooked (I actually used Saltine cracker crumbs here)
--1 tsp salt (left this out but added some garlic powder instead)
--1 lb lean Kroger ground beef, or ground turkey
--12 cubes Kroger Mild Cheddar Cheese Cubes
--2/3 cup Kroger Tomato Ketchup
--1/4 cup Kroger Light Brown Sugar, packed

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 12 muffin tins with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the beaten egg, milk, uncooked oats, and salt. Add the ground beef, mixing well. Divide mixture into 12 equal portions. Insert one cheese cube into center of meat and roll in hands to form the meat around the cheese into a ball. Place into muffin tin and continue with remaining meat and cheese.

In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup and brown sugar. Stir thoroughly and spread over each mini meatloaf. Bake uncovered on center oven rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate any leftovers.

I had just gotten a set of silicone cupcake liners from my mom about a week before so it was time to try them out. I was a little skeptical because I hadn't had much success with those silicone baking things whenever I'd try them out. But the Wilton ones that Mom sent were great! The meatloaves baked perfectly and came out of the liners without any problems at all.

We actually had a friend over for supper that night, another meatloaf fan, so I made more than what the recipe called for, so we would have leftover for ourselves and for Bob, if wanted some. I made more meatloaves than I had liners for, so I popped some out onto some cookie cooling racks so I could use the liners again, which worked ou