Anyway, when I was thinking about what I could for Mini Mondays this month, I was really at a loss. So I was thinking, and thinking, and thinking and I finally came up with a stroke of genius. I'm know, I know, I'm totally modest, right? Well, my stroke of genius was mini meatloaf! I can't take any credit for this really; Cole's mom used to make meatloaf this way. I'll admit when he first suggested baking meatloaf in a bell pepper I was pretty skeptical. I have had one experience with stuff bell peppers in my life, and let's just say it was not a good one (think mushy rice filling and even mushier peppers; yuck). These are nothing like that. The peppers stay nice crisp and are the perfect vessel for the meatloaf.
Mini Meatloaf
What you need:
1 lb ground beet
4 whole bell peppers
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 egg
1 small yellow or white onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 tsp. Salt
3 tsp. Pepper
1 T Garlic powder
1 T Cayenne pepper
1/2 T Chili powder
1/2 T Thyme
3 T Ketchup
2 T yellow mustard
1 1/2 T dijon mustard
What you do:
Preheat oven to 350*
Cut the bell peppers in half and remove the seeds and core inside. Then saute the onion and garlic until the onions are barely translucent. I like mine with still a little bit of bite, but if you want them really soft go ahead and knock yourself out. Then mix the hamburger together with the onions, garlic, and the rest of the listed ingredients. The amounts listed are more of guidelines, season the meatloaf to your taste (or if you have your own recipe, by all means use that). A good way to test if you've seasoned it enough is to take a little piece and cook it on the stove real quick. There is nothing worse than underseasoned meatloaf (believe me, I made that mistake last time I made this). Divide the meatloaf into equal sized portions and stuff it in each pepper half. Bake for 30 minutes. I served mine with mashed potatoes and salad. Next time I think I'll make it with mashed potatoes and corn because that's what I always had with meatloaf growing up (and plus it's corn season, and I'd eat corn on the cob 3 times a day if I could).
Look how cute these are! And they are the perfect serving size. I usually eat 1-2, Cole will eat 3 and then I'll have a few to take to work for lunch for the next few days.
