Kid's Week: Meatloaf Cupcakes

For the last day of Kid's Week, I thought I should post my ultimate "tasty fake" recipe: meatloaf cupcakes!
This is a perfect April Fool’s joke, or even just a good prank to pull on an unsuspecting friend. I made these one night as a prank to my husband. He came home from work, asking what was for dinner. "Cupcakes!" I replied. I placed the tray of meatloaf cupcakes in front of him. He stared at them, sniffed them, and then looked at me utterly confused. "I think my sense are broken!" he said, looking at me worried. I died laughing. The meatloaf cupcakes looked just like regular cupcakes, except that they smelt like meatloaf! They turned out to be quite delicious! So if you ever want to pull a fun prank on someone and share a good laugh, try this recipe out. As a way of involving your kids in the fun, have them help you make the cupcakes so you can trick another unsuspecting family member. Not only will your kids enjoy a good shared laugh, but it makes for great bonding time in the kitchen.

Meatloaf Cupcakes

"Cupcake" ingredients:
2 pound ground pork (or beef)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 carrot, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
1/2 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped spinach
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners. I suggest doubling up on the liners or use tinfoil liners if you can find them, since the meatloaf will be a bit juicy.

Set the ground pork out at room temperature to warm slightly.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the carrot, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and spinach in the heated oil until soft; set aside to cool.

Mix together the pork, bread crumbs, eggs, 2 tablespoons ketchup, garlic salt, pepper, chili powder, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Add the vegetable mixture and continue to mix until evenly combined.

Divide the meatloaf mixture evenly among the lined cups.

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the middle; about 15-25 minutes or until cooked through.

"Frosting" ingredients:
3-4 cups mashed potatoes
Food coloring

Divide the mashed potatoes among three small bowls and stir a few drops of food coloring into each batch to create blue, yellow, and pink pastel frostings. Spread a generous dollop on each cupcake after the cupcakes have cooled for a few minutes out of the oven.

Serve hot.