Mini Meatloaves

Abigail participated on Saturday in the County 4-H Favorite Food contest and won first place with her Mother's Day Mini Meatloaves. She had to plan a menu for a whole day with all the proper nutrition, create a place setting with a centerpiece, linens, and the proper dishes and utensils to serve the food on the menu. Then she had to actually make the highlighted food during the contest. She faced two judges who questioned her about the nutrition in the food and how these nutrients function in her body and about food safety, how to prepare the food and then they tasted the food. Plus, there was a kitchen monitor who watched for food safety, independence in the kitchen, getting the food to the table at the right time, etc. It can be pretty rigorous, but she seems to have fun! This is her third year and she has won first place at the county level each time.










Kerry doesn't really care for corn in his meatloaf, but he graciously ate it 4 times with only a chicken burrito in between while she was practicing! :o) Here's the recipe:

Mini-Meatloaves Serves 6

1 sm. onion, chopped
1 C whole kernel corn
1 large egg
1 ½ # lean ground beef
½ C chili sauce
½ C dry bread crumbs
1 ½ t. chili powder
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a six-cup muffin pan and set aside. Crack the egg into a small bowl; discard the shells. Put the onion, corn, egg, ground beef, chili sauce, bread crumbs, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix the ground meat mixture until it is well combined. Then divide it into 6 even portions. Wet your hands with cold water and shape each portion of ground meat mixture into a large meatball. Place each meatball in a muffin cup. Use hot pads to place the muffin pan in the oven. Put a piece of aluminum foil on the rack below to catch drips. Set the timer and bake the meat loaves for 40 minutes. When the timer goes off, test the meat loaves for doneness. They are fully baked when the temperature on the thermometer reads at least 165 degrees, or when they have lost their pink color. Turn off the oven. Serve the mini-meatloaves right away.