Guest Post: More Tips from The Kitchen Counselor!

The following post was written by my good friend, fellow blogger, and Kitchen Counselor, Lori Hollander.  In case you missed her first post on making food fun for toddlers, make sure you go back and check it out.  After the last post I begged asked Lori to come back and share a recipe or two.  I hope she will become a regular fixture around here.  Make sure to keep up with Lori by visiting her at The Kitchen Counselor or check out her personal blog Hey…It’s Jet Here, a fun blog written from her dog’s perspective.  Thank you Lori!

When I guest blogged for Diary of a Working Mom a few weeks ago, Jennifer asked if I would provide a specific muffin tin recipe to try.  This recipe worked with children 7-9, 9-12, and 13-17 when I taught at the local community college Kids and Teens Camp.  Supervised of course, my students enjoyed mixing the ingredients with their (clean) hands.  Try allowing your toddler to mix with you, if they like Play-Doh, they will love Muffin Tin Meatloaf preparation!  When you remove the mini-meatloaves, one serving fits the toddler-sized tummy.  Ssh…Between us, notice the hidden zucchini.  A triple win!

Let me know how your mini-meatloaves turn out.

Muffin Tin Meat Loaf – from Skinny Beef Cookbook

1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef

1 ½ cups shredded zucchini

1 c. soft breadcrumbs

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

½ tsp salt

½ c. Ketchup or BBQ sauce

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except ketchup, mixing lightly but thoroughly.  Place approximately 1/3 cup beef mixture into each muffin cup pressing lightly.  (12 cup muffin tin.)  Spread ketchup over tops.  Bake in oven 20 minutes or until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Serves 6.

Prep time            : 15 min.

Cooking time      : 20 min.

Total Time           : 45 min.

To make soft bread crumbs, place torn bread slices in food processor fitted with steel blade, or blender container. Cover, process 30 seconds, pulsing on and off until fine crumbs. One and a half slices will yield 1 cup soft breadcrumbs.