Mini Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf Cupcakes

More garlic!!! So in my mind, you can never have too much garlic in anything. Well, almost anything. I don't think I would ever try garlic ice cream (sorry Gilroy people). Anyway, that was my main take on this recipe. Great idea and execution wasn't that hard. It just needed a little more flavor and for me that flavor is garlic.
 

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1 lb ground chicken breast
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 6 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1 pinch salt and pepper
• 16 small mozzarella cubes, cut from a block
• 2 cups marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, half the Parmesan cheese and the olive oil. Using your fingers, combine the mixture until it's evenly coated. Set aside.

In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg. Then add the chicken, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, oregano, the remaining Parmesan, basil and salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands.

Lightly coat a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Place a couple tablespoons of the chicken mixture in each well. Nestle a cube of mozzarella in the center of the mixture. Pat the chicken over the cheese to completely cover it. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of each chicken mound, lightly pressing it into the meat.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. If needed, you may broil the cupcakes to further brown it. Let rest 5 minutes. Then using a knife, lightly loosen each cupcake from the muffin tin.

In the meantime, warm the marinara sauce in a small saucepan. Serve the meatloaf cupcakes with warmed marinara.

Serves: 16 (1 cupcake per person)
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 50 min

Recipe from www.Tablespoon.com