Cheesy Salsa Mini Meatloaves

Creepy, of Tiptoeing Through the Tulips sent me to Rachel, at A Southern Fairytale, for this easy-yet-wonderful recipe for miniature Mexican meatloaves. They were a big hit at our house tonight. A fun way to serve meatloaf, these are sure to please adults and kids alike. (Kendall even liked hers a lot, in spite of the fact that there were onions in it!)

This recipe is so easy, I'll bet I can record it all here from memory, without even looking at the recipe. (Yeah, yeah, I'll need the pics, but I never said I was Carnack the Great!)

Ingredients:1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion (more, if you like)
12 saltine crackers
1 egg
1 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese (divided)
1 cup salsa

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.
Mix the ground beef and onion...
crackers... (Who knew crackers could look so artistic?!)
and egg...Stir it up well. Then add 1 cup of the cheese and 1/2 cup of the salsa. I like ChiChi's, obviously, but you can be a rebel and use what you like.)
Mix well...
Now, if you know me well, you know that I'd sooner scoop my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon than touch raw hamburger, so I put a sandwich bag on my hand before dividing the mixture into the twelve "cups."
Next, use a teaspoon to make a little "well" in the center of each loaf.
Place on foil-lined baking sheet, but don't use this kind, because I HATE it! (I always forget that it's too wide for my oven until right as I'm trying to shove it in there!)
Rachel recommends just letting it "sit" for a while, to let the flavors meld. You could certainly put it in the fridge for a few hours, or you could leave it on the counter and take care of this...
And this....
And then remember how much you love this stuff and need to add it to your grocery list...(Seriously, I have never given two hoots about the scent of my dishwashing liquid, until I smelled Dawn botanicals Honeysuckle and Rain scent.)

Then, have a brainstorm about a future blog post about "Favorite Things."

Okay, when you're ready, pop them in the oven and bake "20-22" minutes. Rachel's oven only took 18 minutes. Mine took 22. (I used a meat thermometer to make sure they were at least 180 degrees, since I was making them for the first time and didn't want any trips to the ER for ecoli poisoning.)

Then, take them out, top with remaining salsa and cheese, and return to the oven for three minutes.
The recipe makes 12, but I ate three before I remembered to take this photo!
These would be great for individual meals in the freezer (if they last that long!) Everyone loved them!

Visit A Southern Fairytale for many, many other terrific recipes!