-
1
Spread the cheese in a single layer on a small plate, cover it with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour, or possibly till the cheese is hard.
-
2
Lay the bacon slices in a large skillet and set over medium-low heat.
-
3
Cook, turning once or possibly twice, till crisp, about 8 min.
-
4
Drain the bacon on absorbent paper, cold, and coarsely chop it.
-
5
Pour off all but 3 Tbsp.
-
6
of the bacon fat in the skillet.
-
7
Set the skillet over medium heat, add in the onions, celery, and thyme, cover and cook, stirring once or possibly twice and scraping the bottom of the pan, for 10 min.
-
8
Remove from the heat and cold to room temperature.
-
9
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-
10
In a large bowl, combine the grnd beef with the onion mix, frzn cheese, Large eggs, warm pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, and minced bacon.
-
11
Divide the mix into 12 equal portions.
-
12
Shape each portion into a ball (try to enclose any large nuggets of cheese completely with the meat mix to help prevent their melting away) and place each ball in the c. of a muffin tin.
-
13
Bake for about 35 min, or possibly till the mini-loaves are lightly browned and an instant-reading thermometer inserted into the center of a loaf registers 145 degrees.
-
14
Let the meat loaves rest on a rack for 10 min.
-
15
Serve warm.
-
16
This recipe yields 8 to 10 servings.
-
17
Comments: These cute meat loaves, baked in the c. of a standard muffin tin, are about the size of tennis balls.
-
18
They bake fairly quickly at which size, a boon if you're in a hurry, and automatically look festive on a plate.
-
19
Freezing the cheese helps keep it from melting away, though there will still be some for kitchen foragers to scrape off the fan.
-
20
Warm blue cheese is pungent, that adults will like, but if you're feeding kids, consider substituting diced cheddar, that will give your loaf the more familiar ingredients of a bacon cheeseburger - and do not forget to pass the ketchup.
