Is It Meatloaf or Chili?

That is the question of the day. The recipe is called Individual Chili Meatloaf, but the actual mixture could be a meatloaf, or it could be a chili. At any rate, this was dinner. It was good. Of course, almost all the recipes from Weight Watchers are good. I haven't found too many that aren't tasty. This had meat, but it also had all the elements for chili. The best of both worlds I suppose!

First off, I would like to say that this recipe lies a little. It says it serves 12. Well, I suppose that would be true if you baked the mixture in mini-loaf pans like it says, but who really has that many mini loaf pans lying around? I most certainly don't. But, the recipe did also say you could use muffin cups. Right on! I have plenty of those. Well, even after the mixture went into the pan, I had way more than 12 servings. I had almost 18. Oh well. Jason likes meat, so he will get the leftovers for a while. Also, the recipe doesn't tell you what to do with the veggies or beans. So, I assume you dice them and drain and rinse them. I added those instructions below.

Do yourself a favor. Don't be an idiot like me. I had never handled Poblano peppers before. I am wiser now, but I wasn't three hours ago. Don't cut a Poblano pepper and than not wash your hands afterwards. Better yet, use gloves! I still have the burn under my fingernails. It's not pleasant. Even after washing my hands, it still hurts.

Here is what the mixture looks like before adding the ground beef. See what I mean about chili vs. meatloaf?

Add some mashed potatoes, a vegetable and a salad, and your meal is complete. I prepared our's ahead of time since I had late errands to run tonight. So, I called Jason a few minutes before I was going to get home to preheat the oven. That way, I could stick them in when I got home.

They were tasty! Pretty spicy, so if you don't like a lot of heat, cut the peppers out completely, or maybe only use one.

Individual Chili Meatloaf

from: Weight Watchers

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 medium garlic cloves

2 cups onion, diced

2 large poblano peppers, small diced

29 oz. canned diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

15 oz. canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz. canned black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cups cilantro, chopped

2 pounds uncooked lean ground beef

sour cream and scallions, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 12 mini loaf pans (or large muffin tins) with cooking spray.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds (do not allow garlic to burn). Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes, lime juice, chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, both beans and cilantro; reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring mixture to incorporate flavors from bottom and sides of pan, about 10 minutes. Allow mixture to cool.

3. Place beef in large bowl and add chili mixture; mix thoroughly to combine. Place about 1 cup of the meatloaf in each prepared pan (or muffin tin). Bake until the juices run clear, about 35 to 45 minutes; let stand 10 minutes before turning out of pans. Top each meatloaf with 2 teaspoons each of sour cream and scallions.

These fell apart when I tried to take them out of the pan. Follow the directions and let them sit for 10 minutes before removing them. Of course, I am never one to follow directions.