Meatloaf Cupcakes

Our last night of E.C.F.E. was on April 1st. We had a potluck and gym night and everyone had a blast! For the potluck, I originally was planning on bringing this easy linguine casserole, but then realized... hey - you are better then that - you have to do something for April Fool's Day!! So, a "day of" search began! :) I knew that I wanted to make meatloaf cupcakes, since most kids like meatloaf and they would eat it and most kids like cupcakes, so they will definitely fall for the gag! I'm so mean!! So, I mixed these up, asked my own kids what color "frosting" they wanted on the cupcakes we were having for supper and away we went. I ended up fooling a few kids that had the most hilarious faces when they took a lick of the frosting and were a little grossed out for a second! Ha, Ha! :) They were just as good for lunch with the daycare kids the next day and they appreciated the trick, even if it wasn't still April Fool's Day...

The unfrosted cupcakes

The "frosted" version!

Meatloaf Cupcakes
(recipe found on pinterest via meetthedubiens.com)

For the “cupcake”:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup mixed vegetables, if using frozen, thaw first
1/2 small onion, diced
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
2 eggs
Salt and pepper

For the “frosting”:
1 box instant mashed potatoes (2 pouches)
Milk, per package instructions
Butter, per package instructions
Beet juice from canned beets

(I chose to use homemade mashed potatoes for the frosting and since it was a spur of the moment "day of" decision, I didn't have beets, so I just colored with food coloring.)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients for the cupcake in a large bowl until an even consistency is reached. Place meat mixture in greased muffin tins and bake until brown and shrunken away from the sides, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from tin and cool on rack. (I used cupcake liners to make these more portable. I would definitely suggest using the foil wrappers for this recipe. The grease from the ground beef soaked through my wrappers and made them kind of disgusting! I had a few foil ones that I used and they definitely turned out less slimy to handle!)

For the “frosting”, Prepare one sachet of instant mashed potatoes according to package instructions. To prepare the other, substitute beet juice from canned beets for the water called for in the instructions. Allow to cool. If using fresh mashed potatoes, prepare as usual, whipping to smooth texture and color as desired. Transfer each batch of mashed potato into a separate pastry bag (or Ziploc bag with a snipped-off corner) with your favorite pastry tip. Pipe onto cupcakes and decorate.