Meatloaf ‘Cupcakes’

with mashed sweet potatoes / lemony green beans

Sweet potatoes / Green beans / Onions / Carrots / Garlic / Thyme - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating first.) Prep as directed. (Be sure that the onions, carrots, and garlic are very finely chopped; if you prefer not to do this by hand, use a food processor to chop them into small pea-sized pieces.) Store sweet potatoes and green beans each in their own containers. Combine onions, carrots, garlic, and thyme leaves in a third container. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)

Saute vegetables - Heat butter (portion for meatloaf) in a skillet over medium-high heat. When shimmering, add onions, carrots, garlic, and thyme and cook, stirring frequently, until everything is tender, 4 to 7 minutes. Season with some salt. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)

Heat oven to 350F / 177C degrees.

Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or brush with some oil.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sauteed vegetables, beef, aminos, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Mix with your hands or a wooden spoon just until ingredients are roughly combined (don't overmix as that can result in a tougher meatloaf).

Divide meatloaf between spaces in the muffin tin, filling them all the way to the top and gently shaping the meatloaf to round them on the surface. (Note: This makes 6 individual meatloaves for 4 servings, so you should have 1 ½ per person.)

Bake meatloaf until a thermometer inserted in the middle registers 155F / 68C degrees, 16 to 22 minutes.

Next, toss green beans with oil, red pepper flakes, and some salt and pepper. Spread out on a sheet pan and transfer to oven with meatloaf. Roast green beans until tender and lightly browned, shaking the pan halfway through, 18 to 22 minutes.

While meatloaf is cooking, place sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Season water generously with some salt. Cover and bring to a boil.

Remove lid from sweet potatoes and simmer until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, ~15 minutes.

Drain sweet potatoes and let sit in a colander for ~5 minutes to allow steam to escape (this creates creamier potatoes vs. liquidy potatoes).

Use a masher to mash sweet potatoes with butter (portion for mashed potatoes) and some salt. (Note: If you want to pipe some of mashed potatoes onto the meatloaf for that ‘cupcake’ look, the mashed sweet potatoes need to be extra smooth and creamy. Add some stock or water until they reach a smooth, spreadable consistency.)

Optional step: If you want to pipe some of the mashed sweet potatoes onto the meatloaf, transfer about ⅓ of the mashed potatoes to a piping bag or plastic bag. When the meatloaf comes out of the oven, snip the end off the piping bag and pipe the mashed sweet potatoes onto each individual 'cupcake'. Top with a cherry tomato.

Squeeze lemon juice over green beans.

Serve meatloaf with green beans and any extra mashed sweet potatoes on the side. Enjoy!