meatloaf in a mug with cinnamon sweet potato and brussel sprouts

So, I am a believer that everything tastes better when eaten out of a mug/cup. I eat lots of things from mugs and teacups – cereal, yoghurt, ice cream, peas – and I got thinking “how can I cook a dinner in a mug?” and the answer came to me in the form of mini meatloaf in a mug! And what could be more perfect for the solo diner?

There are lots of recipes out there on the internet for meatloaf in a mug but they all use a microwave for cooking the meatloaf. Yes this would be a quicker way of doing things but to me cooking meat in the microwave seems extremely wrong! All I get is visions of that grey meat you get when you try to defrost meat in the m-wave too quickly. So here is my own recipe which I recommend cooking in the oven.

Now I know what you are all thinking, "eeewww, brussel sprouts!" but I think that brussel sprouts really cop a bad wrap and I am here to fight for their right to be tasty!! Yes, you probably hated them when you were a kid but that is your parents fault, not the fault of the sprouts. When overcooked (as most of our parents cooked the majority of our veges) they can be quite distasteful but follow the below instructions and I swear you will love these crunchy little guys.

150g lean beef mince
1/4 small onion, diced finely
2 tablespoons of oats
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon of barbecue sauce
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon of mixed herbs
1/2 teaspoon of stock powder (any flavour)
1/4 cup of tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons of dijon mustard (additional)
1 teaspoon of honey
1/2 medium red sweet potato
2 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of butter
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
5 brussel sprouts
Dash of olive oil
S&P 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Mix mince, onion, oats, Worcestershire Sauce, barbecue sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard, mixed herbs, stock powder and a pinch of salt and pepper together in a bowl and combine well. Separately mix the tomato sauce, additional dijon mustard and honey together. Take an oven proof mug and smear with oil. Add a dollop of the tomato sauce mixture into the bottom of the mug and then place the meatloaf mixture on top. Spoon the remaining sauce over the meat and pop into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Peel and dice your sweet potato and boil until soft and mash together with the milk, butter and cinnamon.

Place a pot of water on to boil. Cut the bottoms off your brussel sprouts, remove a couple of the outside leaves and slice in half longways and then add to your pot of boiling water. Boil for 5 minutes and then drain and return to the pot. Add a splash of olive oil and a good pinch of salt and cook for another minute on a really high heat, continuously stirring.

Remove meatloaf from the oven, remembering that the mug will be very hot. There will be a lot of excess liquid which you can carefully drain off. You should be able to just turn the mug over and the loaf will pop out on to the plate ready for you to enjoy with your mash and sprouts.