Mason Jar BBQ Meat Loaf

With our first home game this weekend, I’m back with another recipe perfect for tailgating/homegating; Mason Jar BBQ Meat Loaf. 

Hear me out when I say “meat loaf”. It’s not just any meatloaf. BBQ meat loaf layered with mashed potatoes. BBQ meat loaf topped with green onions. And BBQ meat loaf, layered with mashed potatoes, topped with green onions…..and in a mason jar.

If there’s one thing I love to serve food in, it’s the mason jar. There’s just something so very appealing about having individual servings for your guests. Appetizers, main courses, desserts- oh don’t get me started on how I love a good mason jar dessert.

Mason jars make it easy to serve and let’s face it, they’re incredibly cute to dress up.

An attached fork tied neatly with twine?

I mean, really, is there anything sweeter?

Nope. I don’t think there is.

(Disclaimer: My husband freaks out when I make tailgating food in glass jars. Glass containers aren’t allowed on game day on LSU’s campus. Know the rules (and if you can bend them- hee hee) for your particular school before you head out with your fancy meatloaf mason jars).

Recently, I was sent a copy of Taste of Home’s newest cookbook: Easy Weeknight Dinners.

Of course I was super excited to peruse the 300+ family favorites created by BUSY home cooks for BUSY home cooks.

Oh, hey, that’s me! I’m busy!

What’s even better is that most of the recipes are complete in less than 30 minutes. Dangle that in front of me and I’m sold.

The  Skillet Lasagna had me wanting to lick the page.

And these Parmesan Chicken Nuggets couldn’t be easier and more pleasing for a weeknight meal with kiddos.

For a limited time, the cookbook is available with not only a $5 discount but also FREE SHIPPING making it yours for less than $20.

Here’s the link to the cookbook: Easy Weeknight Dinners

Upon the very first page of the cookbook, I spotted the BBQ Meat Loaf Minis and fell in love.

Bite size meat loaf?

Yes, please.

Baked in a muffin tin, these little meat loaf bites are incredibly easy and incredibly delicious on their own, but I knew I wanted to use them for game day and rather than serving them muffin style, I wanted to layer them in mason jars.

Because, well, I’m obsessed with putting my food in mason jars.

Let’s chat about how I made them, shall we?

For starters you want the Easy Weeknight Dinners recipe for BBQ Meat Loaf Minis. Here’s a similar recipe if you don’t purchase the Easy Weeknight Dinners cookbook:  meatloaf minis

You’ll see in the instructions that I skipped adding the cheese. If you were serving these as intended, you’d probably want to add the cheese. Yum. I knew I was adding the mashed potatoes and wanted to stay away from it being too shepard-pie-ish with the cheese.

Once your muffins are completely cooled, slice off the top (the domed part) of each muffin and drop into an 8 ounce mason jar.

Place your prepared mashed potatoes into a piping bag. Trust me when I say it’s a lot easier to control your neat layers if you put it in a piping bag first.

Pipe a layer of potatoes on your meat loaf.

Now, chop off the top of another meat loaf muffin and add it on top.

Finish with a swirl of potatoes on top- you know, kinda like a cupcake.

Garnish with chopped green onions.

Tie a disposable fork on your jar with twine and serve with extra barbecue sauce.

Delicious. Not too time consuming. Easy on the eyes.

All the components of earning a spot on the Tailgate Tuesday rotation.