Date Night Dinners - Cupcakes For Dinner

9/19/2014 tringel 0 Comments

The frosting is smooth, light and fluffy, with the slightest hint of creaminess. The cupcake itself is moist, flavorful, and perfectly cooked, emitting the most wonderful aroma. My mouth waters as I go to take a bite. I taste the butter, milk, and seasonings that have been combined to the potato base of the frosting, perfectly complementing the mixture of barbecue sauce, cheese, and ground beef that the frosting is secured to... Have I lost you yet?


You may be thinking that this sounds like the weirdest and most disgusting cupcake invented. But I promise you, it is far from it. That is, if you are expecting a dinner of meatloaf with mashed potatoes. That is right, Brenden and I took a rather traditional American meal and put quite a spin on it. We have done simple so many times for our date night dinners, and this week we wanted to give you something to get excited about, even if it is just the look of the food. Presentation is half the battle after all.



This display of meatloaf cupcakes and mashed potato icing was of course inspired by Betty Crocker, but we used our own meatloaf recipe. Brenden has a secret family meatloaf recipe that is to die for (it is one of the only times my mom will eat red meat), so of course we couldn't stray from the dish when making these individual versions. And yes when I say secret, I mean secret, sorry to disappoint. All you get to know is what I mentioned above; it incorporates ground beef, cheese, and barbecue sauce. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is!
Not only were these cupcake-esq meatloaves adorable and fun to look at (and photograph), they were rather practical as well. How you might ask. Well, to begin with, they were a lot quicker to make then a typical meatloaf that usually takes at least an hour to bake in the oven. Then, once the meatloaf was ready to be eaten, we already had perfect individualized servings. And they are easy to pack away for easy lunches the next day. No false promises that the next cut of meatloaf and scoop of mashed potatoes will be the last. No trying to pack up a crumbling slice of meatloaf or find the right tupperware lid that hasn't been warped by the dishwasher to keep the mountain of left over potatoes safe. It is all right there, perfectly sized and put together to enjoy meal after meal until your left overs are gone.

Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Cupcakes
http://www.bettycrocker.com, Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Icing

Ingredients

• Meatloaf (cupcake)
• Ground beef, uncooked, mixed with your favorite meatloaf recipe ingredients 
• Mashed Potatoes (icing)
• 4 large Potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp chives
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp garlic
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray 12 regular size muffin cups with cooking spray.
3. Divide your prepared meatloaf mixture evenly among the muffin sups, pressing the mixture down firmly.
4. Bake 30-35 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees Farenheit when inserted into the center of meatloaf cupcakes.
5. Cool slightly when done
6. While the meatloaf cupcakes are baking, place potatoes in a large saucepan filled with water.
7. Heat water with potatoes until the water comes to a boil.
8. Reduce heat and cook until potatoes are tender with a fork, about 15-20 minutes.
9. When potatoes are cooked, drain and place potaoes back into the saucepan.
10. Mash the potatoes and combine with mashed potato ingredients (butter, chives, thyme, garlic, milk, salt, and pepper), until thoroughly mixed and the potatoes are creamy and smooth. Note: more milk and/or butter can be added if necessary to make potatoes creamier.
11. Place the mashed potatoes in a decorating bag without a tip or a ziplock bag, cutting off the corner to pipe.
12. Starting on the outside of the meatloaf cupcake and in a circular motion, pipe the potatoes onto each. If desired, sprinkle additional seasonings on top (to act as sprinkles).
13. Remove meatloaf cupcakes from muffin tin, serve, and enjoy your dessert for dinner...or is it dinner for dessert?!