Deviled Meat Muffins

 My recipe today comes from Meat Stretchers, a 48 page booklet written in 1943 by Gladys Blair.  It was, of course, written during World War II and addressed the war effort.  The beginning of the book reads

The American homemaker has a grave responsibility in our all-out war effort!  There is no more important task than that of providing the families of this country with appetizing and nourishing meals that make for strength, health and morale.

The war is making tremendous demand upon our food supplies, for food is a weapon in this war.  Of special importance is the unprecedented demand for meat.  Secretary of Agriculture Wickard has made the statement, "In this war meat is the great food weapon."

The preface goes on to say that a fighting soldier needed twice as much meat on the battlefield as he did at home and that it was necessary to make better use of the meat available to those on the homefront by using every little bit wisely, making use of the variety meats (organ meats) and utilizing strategies to "extend" the meat.

I recently made Deviled Meat Muffins with Cream Gravy and it was so well-received that it will become a regular dinner menu around here.  It is essentially a meatloaf, with an interesting twist in the cream gravy,  the meat stretching component to this recipe.  I like the cup shapes, too--they cook so much faster than a regular meatloaf.

Deviled Meat Muffins

1 pound ground beef

1 c. soft bread crumbs

3 T. prepared mustard

2 T. prepared horseradish (the shredded kind, not the processed, mayonnaise-like variety)

2 t. chopped onion

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2- 2 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

3/4 c. milk

As with all meatloaf recipes, combine all ingredients together.

Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  (It filled 9 muffin cups for me.)  Remove from pans and reserve the liquid for the cream gravy.

Cream Gravy

4 T. flour

1 1/2 c. milk

salt and pepper

reserved meat juice

Mix the flour and a little of the milk to a smooth paste.  Add the remaining milk gradually and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened  Stir in the liquid from the meat and season with salt and pepper.  (I had very little meat juice left in the muffin tin, so I added a glug or two of chicken broth that I had in the fridge.)

I really liked the horseradish in these mini meatloaves and the creamy gravy, albeit simple, was a lovely touch, making it more elegant than plain ol' meatloaf. 

This post has been shared on Simple Lives Thursday.