meatloaf

yup. meatloaf.

i've never been a huge fan- i liked meatloaf okay on the evenings my mother prepared it: fresh, hot, a tiny bit crispy on the edges, but soft & juicy on the inside.

however, she (ever the loving mother who packed my lunches for me for 17 years!) tended to pack a cold piece of meatloaf between 2 pieces of bread the next day for my lunch.

not my favorite.

sorry mom!

so i have avoided meatloaf in my married life/motherhood cooking adventures for the most part.

then last night i had 1 lb of nice ground beef staring at me- needing to be used. i dug into my recipe file for something that my kids might eat.

Berry Mini Meatloaf. Perfect!

cute little muffin size meat loaves with yummy berries poured over the top- easy, yummy, fun!

i highly recommend it- make a batch of your favorite (preferably NOT spicy) meatloaf recipe, then divide it into a muffin tin. cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

while those are cooking, put 1 cup of frozen berries (i used some fabulous local blackberries that i froze last summer) and 1 cup of orange juice on the stove to simmer.

when you're ready to serve, just pour 1-2 tbsp of berry sauce over each mini meatloaf! seriously- how easy & tasty is that?

did my kids eat it?

well, no.

julia picked at it & ate some of the beans & rice i served with it.

caroline stood on her chair & sat in time out for most of dinner.

(by the way, the beans & rice were supposed to be dinner the evening before, but i didn't get the beans soaked early enough & they were still crunchy at dinner time. BUT- they tasted fabulous with this meal!

red beans cooked in lightly salted water, drained, then seasoned with a bit of rosemary & reheated in hot olive oil. the long grain white rice was cooked with roasted garlic & olive oil. simple & yummy!)