Sun-dried Tomato Meat Muffins (mini meat loaves)

If I were an outsider watching me come and go from work I would think I was a lazy, undedicated person just going to work because I have to and leaving the second I have done my time to get a paycheck. I would have thought that about me before I had a family, before I really understood what running a household takes. It's true, I get to work with the kids, three years ago I was at my desk by 6am.... it's true I leave at 3pm, taking nothing with me, three years ago I would have had a bag of papers to grade at home. What people don't see is that I am up at 4:30am so I can get ready, pack my lunch, lesson plan and then get another person ready; they don't see me drive the 30+ minutes to work, they don't see that after daycare drop-off I need to fight school traffic to get to work, they don't see the effort I put in with every one of my students- making sure the lessons are engaging and meaningful and that I feel guilty I am not putting in the time I used to, they don't see that at 3pm I am rushing off to see my kid I have missed all day because I feel guilty about that too, they don't see that I still try to fit in a workout for my own sanity- sometimes at 9pm, they don't see that I have a house to take care of on my own, dinner to prepare for us, laundry to do, and by the time I finally sit down for the night it's late and I am exhausted. Yes- I would have judged me- I would have thought, "I'm busy too, why is she doing the minimum?" Yes, I was busy before life as I now know it, but I was selfishly busy. I was out with friends, at the gym for hours, I was browsing various things online, watching my favorite shows, sleeping 8+ hours, working on my masters degree, shopping, etc.- and there's anything wrong with that, I'm jealous of that old me sometimes.  I also don't blame the old me for judging the new me, I just wish the old me understood that I am doing far more behind the scenes than meets the eye and that one day I might be that person struggling to compromise work and family. I had no idea how being a mom changes you, when I leave work I may not be a teacher anymore, but I am now the most important person to my ittle one who needs me to take on the job known as mom. 

I am trying to mix up our dinner routine this week, and I did two different meals out of muffin tins! One of them is from Nom Nom Paleo - Spicy Tuna Cakes .The tuna cakes are soooo good!

I made my own spicy mayo as a dipping sauce and roasted some of my frozen green beans in the oven at 450 degrees with a little olive oil and seasoning salt as a side. 

The other meal I made was these mini meat loaves... I am going to call them meat muffins! 

I made them into little stacks for charlie and I and she loved them. 

Sun-dried Tomato Meat Muffins

(Printable Version)

(makes 12 muffins)

- 1 lb Lean Grass-fed Ground Beef
- 1 Large Shallot, minced (or 1/2 a sweet onion and a clove of garlic)
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1/4 Cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1/4 Cup Sundried Tomatoes, chopped, I used about 5-6
- 1 Egg
- Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. In a bowl, mix everything except the meat. Add the meat and mix until just combined- use your hands, they are the best tool. :)

2. Press about 1/4 cup of the mixture into an ungreased muffin tin. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Since I used lean beef I didn't have a grease problem, but if you do, drain it gently. 

** To make my potatoes, I baked 4 sweet potatoes at 375 degrees for an hour and then when they were cool enough to handle, removed the peel. I didn't add any butter or milk- just salt and pepper and they were so soft I mashed them with my spatula.