Cupcakes for dinner!!!!

Well sort of!! Every cooking momma (and daddy) is faced with the age old question..."What's for dinner?" I like to let the boys tell me what they are in the mood for, I get tired of fighting with them to eat!! I asked them this morning and they said they wanted cupcakes for dinner!! I told them we had a deal! Cupcakes for dinner! I remembered seeing an actual cupcake made to look like a tv dinner in one of my cake books.  I thought why not make dinner food into a cupcake! This was my creation and it was a hit with the boys and daddy!! I made my meatloaf and pressed it into a foil lined cupcake tin.  I made some creamy mashed potatoes for the icing.  I served them with creamed peas and yeast rolls! 

Meatloaf Cupcakes

• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 2 cups bread, torn into small pieces
• 8ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• ¼ cups tomato sauce
• ¼ cups ketchup
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Meatloaf Sauce

• ½ cups tomato sauce
• ½ cups ketchup
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp brown sugar

Creamy Potatoes

• 3 pounds potatoes peeled and cubed
• ½ sticks butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoons black pepper
• ¼ cups sour cream
• ¼ cups evaporated milk (use more if needed to make potatoes creamy and smooth)

Meatloaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line cupcake trays with 24 aluminum foil baking cup liners.

Mix ground chuck, bread pieces, cheese, onion, eggs, salt, pepper and tomato sauce.

Fill each cup with meatloaf mixture. Press into aluminum baking cups and fill tops above the liners in a mounded shape simulating the finished cupcake shape since the mixture won’t rise.

Bake for 1hour or until done.

SAUCE

About halfway through baking, mix together ingredients for the sauce and spoon it on the tops of the meatloaf cupcakes.

CREAMY POTATOES

While meatloaves are baking, prepare potatoes.

Boil peeled and cubed potatoes for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain completely.   Add butter, salt, pepper, sour cream and evaporated milk.  Mix until completley smooth and creamy. 

ASSEMBLY

When meatloaves are done, remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Remove the foil liners from the trays. The meat will have shrunk a little and some grease will be in the bottom of the liners so be careful.

Spoon potatoes into a large ziploc bag with the corner cut off and pipe potatoes on top of meatloaves in a swirling motion.

Use leftover sauce when serving if you like.

Creamed Peas

2 cups frozen green peas, thawed

2/3 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon white sugar

 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

	In a medium saucepan, combine peas, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then stir in butter.
	In a small bowl, whisk together cream, flour, and sugar. Stir mixture into peas. Cook over medium-high heat until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes.  Stir in Parmesan cheese.  Serve hot.