Meat Cupcakes with Jalapeño Butternut Squash Icing

I first heard rumors about Meat Cupcakes from a few of our athletes around the gym. Upon googling, I found this recipe on seasidekitchen.blogspot.com. They were a big hit at the last family dinner hosted at my house!

For the cupcakes:

1 lb ground turkey

1 lb ground pork sausage

1 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup almond meal

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a muffin tin with olive oil, or grease with coconut oil. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl (using your hands works the best) and place meat mixture in to a muffin tin. You can fill up the cups to the brim as the meat won't expand out and up. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until cooked thoroughly.

For the "icing":

1 small butternut squash

1 tbs coconut oil

2 tbs pickled jalapeños (plus extras for garnish)

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Wrap each 1/2 in foil and bake until tender. Scoop out the roasted flesh and pulse in a food processor with the coconut oil (easier to work with if you warm it up) and jalapenos until you have a smooth paste. Frost away!

Notes:

• I used 1lb of grass finished ground beef and 1 lb of ground pork. I left out the cilantro as I have some cilantro-hating family.
• My easy cooking tip for the butternut squash (or any squash) is to place the whole thing in the microwave and hit the "baked potato" auto sensor cook button. It comes out perfect every time in about 10-12 minutes!
• I wasn't sure how many jalapeños "2 tbs" would really be, so I used about 15 slices. It has the tangy sweetness, but wasn't too spicy. Oh and I used butter in the icing instead of coconut oil... cause, ya know.. butter makes everything delicious