Yesterday was my birthday. I’m not big on celebrations, and really want nothing more these days than to sleep in, have a few quiet hours to myself, and a nice meal at the end of the day. A nice meal might entail my favorite food of all time (which might be a tad surprising), meatloaf.

There’s something perfect about its simplicity and the outright ridiculousness of shaping a large quantity of ground meat into a football shaped loaf, that makes it my ideal food. Ketchup is my preferred condiment of choice, and it should always, always, be served with potatoes.

My birthday gift to you, and also myself, are these meatloaf meatballs with horseradish cheddar mash. The meatballs are baked with a ketchup/bbq sauce and topped with crispy fried shallots-all on a bed of creamy, cheesy, tangy horseradish mashed potatoes. They are so delicious it’s hard to put it into words. You’ll just have to make them for yourself to find out.

Cheers to another meatball, and to another trip around the sun. This is 38.

Meatloaf Meatballs with Horseradish Cheddar Mash

Ingredients:

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, woody stems removed and roughly chopped

7 Tbsp avocado oil

2 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 C onion, finely diced

2 Tbsp garlic, minced

2 Tbsp + 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp dijon mustard

2/3 C ketchup

1 egg

1/2 C panko breadcrumbs

pepper

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

1/3 C bbq sauce

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/3 C shallots, sliced

2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1” pieces

3/4 C half & half

1 1/4 tsp sour cream horseradish

1 C cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a frying pan heat 3 Tbsp of avocado oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes, or until brown and crisping around the edges. Season with a small pinch of kosher salt, and stir to evenly distribute. Remove from pan and let cool. Finely chop the mushrooms and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Add the onion, garlic, 2 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, 1/3 C ketchup, egg, panko breadcrumbs, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and a few grinds of pepper to the bowl. Mix everything together with a fork until fully combined.

Add the beef and pork to the bowl and mix together with your hands until everything is combined. Be careful not to over mix the meat, you really just want to mix until it comes together

Spray a large sheet pan with nonstick spray. Roll meatloaf mixture into 1 1/2-2” balls and space 2” apart on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce.

In a small saucepan combine 1/3 C ketchup, bbq sauce, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium low until sauce just begins to simmer. Spoon sauce over meatballs and place back in the oven to cook for 10 minutes.

While the meatballs are finishing in the oven, fry the shallots. Cook shallots in 4 Tbsp avocado oil over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Drain from oil on a paper towel lined plate and season with a pinch of salt.

Make the mashed potatoes by placing diced potatoes in a large pot with 2 Tbsp of kosher salt. Fill pot with cold water just until the potatoes are covered. Bring to a boil and cook until a knife comes out easily. Drain potatoes and place back in pot. Add half & half and butter, and mash potatoes until smooth. Stir in horseradish and cheddar cheese, and season to taste with salt, and more horseradish if you want to up the kick. I kept the horseradish flavor on the milder side to appease to my small human overlord.

To serve, place a scoop of mashed potatoes on a plate, spoon meatballs over the top and sprinkle the fried shallots over the meatballs. I like to serve this with roasted broccolini to feel like I’m doing something good for my body.