BBQ Meatloaf Muffins

Meatloaf is one of my comfort foods.  It makes me feel full and nourished after I eat it which is always a good thing.  Meatloaf was one of my favorite dishes that my mom made while I was growing up.  It wasn't anything like this recipe but it did always feel like love and home.  I started using BBQ sauce in my meatloaf about half a year ago when I stopped eating eggs and that is when this recipe started being developed.  I had mostly made it in a traditional loaf pan up until a couple weeks ago when I was just trying to throw together dinner quickly because it was getting late.  I knew I still wanted to stick to my plan of making meatloaf, but a full meatloaf takes about an hour just to bake. That is when these little guys were created.  They are delicious and I actually prefer them to loaf form because who doesn't like cuter, littler, and more compact foods (it also makes for great portioning so it's easier to pack for say a lunch or just a meat muffin snack haha!).  Something that is special about this meatloaf is that it is packed with veggies that give it even more flavor. I also make it with my special homemade BBQ sauce recipe that I posted a day ago on this blog so make sure to check that out.

B B Q  M E A T L O A F  M U F F I N S         R E C I P E
[Makes 20 muffins]

Ingredients
☂ 3 medium carrots, shredded
☂ ½ onion, shredded
☂ 3 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
☂ 2 Tbsp. honey
☂ 1½ cups BBQ sauce (I use homemade BBQ sauce which I posted in my previous recipe post and I would really recommend making it with that recipe!  It's super simple and adds a lot more flavor than a bottled BBQ sauce)
☂ 5 rice crackers, crushed until like breadcrumb consistency 
☂ 2 tsp. salt
☂ 1 tsp. black pepper
☂ 3 Tbsp. plain soy milk
☂ 2 lbs. lean ground beef (at least 90% lean)
☂ 20 muffin liners

Directions
☂ Preheat oven to 425 F and line muffin trays with 20 liners.
☂ In a large bowl combine shredded carrots, shredded onion, whole grain mustard, honey, 1 cup. of BBQ sauce (save the other half cup to top the meatloaf muffins with), rice cracker crumbs, salt, black pepper, and plain soy milk.  Mix well until all ingredients are well incorporated.
☂ Now to the bowl add ground beef and mix until it is just combined (making sure not to over mix because the meat will get tough.)
☂ Once the meatloaf mixture is combined shape it into 20 meatballs and place them into the muffins liners.  
☂ Place the meatloaf muffin trays into the oven to bake for 25 minutes.
☂ To serve the meatloaf muffins take them out of the liner (at the bottom of the liner will be the extra grease that cooked out of them and you want to remove them from that and discard the liner) and serve them with the remaining BBQ sauce to top them off.
☂ I enjoy these with either baked/mashed potatoes and spinach sauteed with garlic.
☂ WALAH!  Enjoy and start feeling nourished♥