Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

 Last night I made Rachael Ray Meatloaf Muffins with Barbecue Sauce.  Because of all of the great reviews on this recipe, I thought that it was going to be great. The recipe was moist and the salsa BBQ mix was great but overall I was a little disappointed. I did use ground turkey, instead of beef, and added a clove of garlic, but this was not the problem in the recipe.  Because of the short cooking time, in some bites there was an obnoxiously strong onion or celery flavor, along with a crunch.  That is not personally something I like in a meatloaf. Although I like the idea of a muffin, along with a shorter cooking time, the oil the coat the muffin tin was unnecessary. The oil made a huge mess bubbling over into my oven. Next time I would definitely use a cooking spray instead. See the changes I would make next time, noted below!

• 1 2/3 to 1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin (I used ground turkey)
• 1 medium onion, cut into chunks
• 2 ribs celery from the heart of the stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper
•  3 Garlic cloves (not used in original version)
• 1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
• 1 cup smoky barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup tomato salsa
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2.  Put onion and celery into a food processor. Cut the bell pepper in half, rip out the seeds and throw them into your garbage bowl. Cut the pepper into a few pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces.  (I would change this next time.  I would saute the vegetable before adding them to the mix)

 3.  Add vegetables, meat, egg beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning into a big bowl.

4.  Next, mix together the smoky barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. (yummy!)
5.  Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix.
6.  Mix the meatloaf together with your hands.

7.  Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. (I would use Pam next time, because the EVOO made such a mess!!)
8.  Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into a each tin.

9.  Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce.

10.  Bake about 20 minutes. (It took me 30) Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through. (or if using ground turkey, cook until 180 degrees)

I would definitely try this recipe again with the few changes listed!