"I would do anything for love but I won't eat that..."

Why does meatloaf get such a bad rap?  Despite the title of this post I'm not talking about the singer... I mean the food.

Meatloaf is one of my favorite easy meals.  It may be weird that I sometimes crave meatloaf... afterall it is basically a hamburger, right?

Back when my little man was trying table foods, I decided to try making the meatloaf in a cupcake tin.  In the sweet words of my then 3 year old who was still working on his vocabulary, he named them "Meatloaf Pupcakes". 

They're super easy and the kiddos can help customize them.

Preheat oven to 350*
Spray your muffin tin

Mix together:
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 c onion chopped
1/2 c bell pepper chopped (I like the green ones)
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c Old Fashioned Oats
2 egg whites
1t pepper
1t red cayanne/chili powder OR Mrs. Dash Southwest
1 glove minced garlic or 2 tsp of the pre minced stuff you can get in the produce section!

Add to muffin tins & bake for 35-45 minutes.

If you want to get the kiddos involved, leave the veggies out of the initial mix. 
Put the meat/spices/oats/egg white mixture in the cupcake tin.
Kids like ketchup so it can be the "frosting" on top and have them add the veggie "sprinkles" before baking. 

Ketchup has a lot of carbs but Heinz offers a low-card Ketchup advertised as Reduced Sugar.  I eat my Meatloaf Pupcakes with Frank's Thick hot sauce because it only has 10 calories and a ton of flavor =)  I also add a little mustard to it since it is a free food and y'all know my love for mustard!

These have 75 calories, 2g fat, 2g carbs and 9g protein per pupcake.  Pair these with some green beans and mashed cauliflower and you have a wonderful comfort meal with a fraction of the calories!