Pizza Mini Meat Loaf Cups

This recipe is from the book "Taste of Home Freezer Pleasers".  Aside from this being a freezer friendly recipe (I know I didn't really need a book to figure out that you can freeze meatloaf, but I know this particular recipe has been tested and proven to taste the same after freezing) there is also no chopping involved.  Yay!

Makes 12 muffins

1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c pizza sauce
1/4 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 1/2 c shredded cheese (6 oz)

Preheat oven to 375.  In a bowl, combine first four ingredients; mix well.  Add ground beef and mix well.  Divide mixture among 12 muffin cups.  Bake for 15-18 minutes until meat is no longer pink.  Top with cheese immediately and serve.

To freeze...Do not sprinkle with cheese on top; cool muffins.  Freeze in freezer bags.  To use, thaw in fridge for 24 hours.  Sprinkle cheese on top of muffin.  Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes till heated through.

I used ground turkey, and I also threw in a small amount of leftover shredded carrot we had, in part to use it up and in part to help keep the moisture content because I used turkey and not beef.  I did not measure the Italian seasoning and I'm sure I used more than 1/2 tsp. You can also bake the cheese inside the meatloaf muffin, but I used an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups and didn't want to mess with re-shaping the muffin. 

I make my own pizza sauce...I heated the same amount of tomato sauce and threw in Italian seasoning (which I once again did not measure).

I made mashed potatoes to go with the meat muffins.  I used Yukon golds, unpeeled, and mashed them with garlic powder, chicken buillon granules, pepper, and sour cream.  I admit I don't measure anything when I make them, but I will guestimate I use about 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder, a couple tablespoons of the granules, a few grinds of the pepper mill, and about 1/2 c of sour cream.