My inspiration was a friend, Jenifer, who had posted a pic of this a while back. I just happened to have purchased the Cheddar Jack and Bacon Fresh Take mix at the store that morning, and I decided it must make great meatloaf! I quickly found I this recipe and then modified it according to the family's tastes. (I'm really just writing this down here so that I remember how I made it for the next time.)
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| {Cupcakes for Dinner? Why not?} |
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 pkg Kraft Fresh Take Cheddar Jack and Bacon
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 Tbs ketchup
- 1 pkg instant garlic mashed potatoes (plus water, milk, and butter)
- carrot
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350*.
- In a bowl, combine turkey, Fresh Take mix, an egg, and ketchup.
- Line muffin tin with silicone baking liners (or spray well). Spoon meatloaf mixture into cups, pressing down firmly. Makes about 12 meatloaf "cupcakes."
- Bake at 350* for about 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165*. Let rest for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make a package of instant potatoes according to package directions. Place potatoes into a pastry bag and then pipe onto the meatloaf "cupcakes" to make frosting. (Note: You can mash your own potatoes if you prefer. I was doing it this way to save time.)
- Garnish "cupcakes" with carrot curls and serve. (Green beans were a natural side dish for this meal.)
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| {Whaddya mean this "cupcake" is healthy?} |
For dessert, I copied my friend Kim and served a pan of fresh-made "brownies." Mine were made from card stock weight kraft paper and cut using my Cricut machine. In retrospect, I didn't need to make nearly as many. A single brown E per person would have done the trick, but I felt it would be extra fun if I made an assortment of E's in different fonts and sizes. Then, I just put a few on each plate.
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| {"Brownies" for Dessert!} |
Logan was less than thrilled. He whined, "I don't want to eat cardboard." (Although, that did not stopping him from taking a bite before I cut and served him an actual brownie.) Mia, however, was amused by this trick saying, "Brown E's... I get it! Good one, Mom!"
To make my real brownies, I used this recipe, which I have made only one small addition to: The frosting was very dry so I added some milk.
Ingredients for Brownies:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
Directions for Making Brownies:
- Preheat oven to 350*. Grease the pan. Mine was 9" x 7".
- Melt butter in microwave. (You can also do this over the stove, but microwave is obviously faster.) Place melted butter into the bowl of a stand mixer (or big mixing bowl, if mixing by hand) and beat in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat until well-combined. Pour into the greased pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- While baking, make frosting. (I just combined all the ingredients in my stand mixer and beat until they were well-mixed, stopping and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.) Spread onto brownies while they are warm from the oven. Enjoy!
Ingredients for Frosting:
- 3 Tbs butter, softened
- 3 Tbs cocoa powder
- 1 Tbs honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 Tbs milk
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| {Would you like a brown E?} |
