Cookie Monster's Me-Love-Mini-Meat-Loaves

I'm a glutton for kitchy cookbooks. There's something about the allure of classic shows and movies having recipe collections out there to taunt me with. This is why I own C Is For Cooking: Recipes From the Street. Not because I was a huge fan as a kid (I was on Team Muppets) or because I have children (which I don't). I had to buy it for the campy, cheesiness of it. And I don't regret it for one minute! I have found some great recipes from the book, like this meatloaf recipe. This cookbook also gave me the idea of topping off scrambled eggs with strawberry jam.....who'd a thunk?

So Joe hates meatloaf. He said his mom made it too often while they were growing up. I am the opposite. I love it because I never had it growing up! I literally didn't taste meatloaf until I was 22 and now I'm a huge fan. I was initially drawn to this recipe because of the addition of oatmeal and also because it was in muffin form. Being the great wife that I am, I made these meatloaf muffins but told Joe that they were called "dinner muffins" so that he'd eat them. Don't worry, after he ate three of them I revealed their true name and repented of my ways. He's now a lover of meatloaf again, but not a lover of my tricky ways. It was for his own good, right?

COOKIE MONSTER'S ME-LOVE-MINI-MEAT-LOAVES

• 1 egg
• 1 lb. ground meat for meatloaf (I prefer turkey but some like a mix of beef, pork, and veal)
• 1 cup uncooked old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1 onion, grated
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/3 cup ketchup (I substitute BBQ sauce for a spicy kick)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 8 muffin cups with vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. With clean hands or a wooden spoon, mix until well blended. Divide the mixture into 8 equal-size balls. Place a ball of meat into each muffin cup and press down lightly. Bake until meatloaves are no longer pink in the center, 20-25 minutes.