Veggie Meatloaf "Cupcakes"

Yes, if you dig back to 2014 you can find another version of Meatloaf "Cupcakes" that I made with ground turkey but I'll promise you they weren't as good as these and they didn't have veggies in them! This is also a great recipe for moms who try to sneak veggies into foods. These can also be Gluten and Dairy FREE!

Makes 8 "Cupcakes"
35 Minute Cooktime

Ingredients:
*1 tsp olive oil
*1/4 cup diced mixed peppers
*1 cup diced onion
*1 tsp garlic
*1 cup carrot, finely diced
*1/4 cup cilantro (I used 2 cubes of the frozen cilantro and a dump of freeze dried cilantro)
*1 cup panko breadcrumbs (sub for 1 cup of cornmeal for gluten free)
*1 lb lean ground beef
*2 eggs
*3 tbs ketchup (I was running low on ketchup so I eyeballed it) + more if you want it for topping
*1/4 cup milk (almond milk for dairy free)
* Olive oil cooking spray

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Spray 8 muffin tins with olive oil cooking spray.
3. Finely chop peppers, onion, and carrot in a food processor.
4. Heat a medium sized skillet and olive oil to medium heat.
5. Cook finely chopped veggies and garlic (and cilantro if using frozen cubes) for about 10 minutes or until veggies are cooked to tender and onions are translucent.
6. Pour cooked veggies into a mixing bowl with breadcrumbs (or cornmeal), cilantro, ground beef, eggs, ketchup, and milk.
7. Mix well. (Using your hands is probably the most effective but I don't like to get my hands that messy.)
8. Spoon mixture into sprayed muffin tins. Fill to the top as they will not rise much. Top with ketchup if desired.
9. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until center muffin is cooked through.
10. Top with mashed potatoes. (I used instant because this mama "ain't got time for that." That is also why I served with Steam in Bag veggies. :)

Other Tips:
-I keep a bag of frozen mixed peppers and frozen diced onions in my freezer at all times and that is what I used for this recipe.
-Use as much or as little ketchup as you want. I didn't bake it with any but use a little to dip.
-I also forgot but I wanted to add some cheddar cheese "sprinkles" on top of the potatoes. YUM!
-I used Steam in Bag veggies and instant mashed potatoes to speed things along and feed my HANGRY toddler.