Cleaning the Pan is Disgusting but.....

....the dinner turned out very yummy!

I was recently given a recipe by a friend (hi Tara!) that I thought sounded really yucky. (Yes, she already knows this...). I will start out by saying, I am not a meatloaf kind of girl. I find the whole concept of meatloaf pretty disgusting....ground meat formed into a huge loaf and baked (gag), but I decided to give this recipe a try because I was desperate for a dinner idea and I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand.

I must admit, the result was quite tasty, although as mentioned in the title of this post....cleaning the pan afterwards is revolting. Hopefully you have someone who does clean up duty for you on the nights when you cook...you know what I mean...gender equal households where they share the domestic duties....whoever cooks doesn't have to clean....yadda, yadda, yadda. Yeah, I understand...it doesn't work that way in my house either. A girl can dream though!

Anyways, enough chit chat. Here is the recipe!

Mini Meatloaves

2 tbsp. Italian salad dressing
1 cup finely chopped portobello mushrooms
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup jarred pasta sauce (divided in half)
2 egg whites, beaten
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
1 lb extra lean ground beef (or ground chicken)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the salad dressing over medium.
Saute the mushrooms, onions, carrots and garlic for about 5 minutes. Cool slightly.
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl reserving 1/2 cup pasta sauce.
Make into 8 balls and place in a muffin tin, patting down.
Make a little well in the middle of each and spoon some sauce into each one.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the centers are 160 degrees.

Enjoy...and have fun washing that pan! :)

Colleen