This is a delicious recipe I found in Southern Living magazine many years ago, and its been a regular in our menu rotation ever since. As always, I have made a few changes to make it yummier (IMHO) and healthier. And just because something is healthy doesn’t mean it’s a B food (bland, boring, blah), these little guys are simple but really tasty and full of flavor. I hope you enjoy them!
Add the diced onion, turkey, and oatmeal together. Add a pinch of course sea salt and a liberal amount of fresh ground black pepper. For those who don’t like pepper, add it here, it really helps accentuate the flavors of the apple and the cheddar…you won’t regret it! I promise!
Grate about 1/2cup of cheddar cheese into bowl. I like the tanginess of cheddar, but if I don’t have any in the house, I add whatever I have in the house. If you are avoiding dairy, its fine to leave the cheese out, they are still delish!
Take a large apple and I mean large (I don’t have dainty hands). This, I believe is a Pink Lady apple, but use whatever you have, the sweetness adds a nice balance with the savory.
Use your cheese grater on the large hole side (the small side just takes too long) to grate your apple.
**Quick tip: When you grate cheese it is really sticky and clings to the inside of the grater and is a pain. So grate the cheese 1st, then the apple, because the apple pushes the remaining cheese out and apple is moist and slips right off with a shake or two of the grater. I know not a big deal to most, but for me, it’s the little things that make life awesome!
Next, add your 1/2cup of chicken broth and egg. You can use milk instead of broth here (like in traditional meatloaf recipes) but I think chicken broth adds more flavor.
Mix’er up.
I try to avoid spray cooking oil where I can, but having some kind of anti-sticking oil in muffin tins is a must, so I use coconut oil. It is semi-solid (unlike liquid EVOO) but still soft and spready (unlike butter), so its perfect for this job.
Just take a paper towel or use your fingers and spread it around. It doesn’t have to be a thick coating, but it is important to be thorough. These little guys tend to stick.
The ice cream scooper, one of the most under-appreciated utensils in your kitchen! I use mine all the time! It’s perfect for this, because it provides a perfectly portioned mini-meatloaf. If you don’t have an ice cream scooper, get one…but in the meantime you can just use a large spoon to put the turkey mixture into the muffin pans.
Bake them in a pre-heated 375degree oven for 20-30min, until the are beautifully golden brown. I use a rubber scraper, to gently remove them from the pan. Using a fork will tear them.
Enjoy!
- 1lb ground Turkey
- ½ cup onion, finely diced
- ½ cup grated cheddar cheese (or whatever you have on hand)
- ½ rolled oats
- ½ chicken broth
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 large apple, peeled and grated
- ½ tsp Course Sea Salt (normal sized pinch)
- ¼ tsp Freshly Ground Course black pepper
- Grease two 12 count muffin pans
- Add turkey, onion, salt, pepper, egg and rolled oats to a large mixing bowl
- Using a cheese grater grate cheese directly into mixing bowl.
- Peel apple, then grate directly into the mixing bowl
- Stir mixture and combined; adding chicken broth as you go. May need an extra splash or two of the chicken broth to ensure it is moist enough
- Using standard ice cream scope, scope the turkey mixture until the muffin pan.
- Bake at 375degrees for 20-30minutes; The mini-meatloaves will be brown on top and slightly crispy around the edges
- Enjoy!
- **These work really well frozen. Be sure to cook before freezing.
