BBQ Cheddar Mini Meatloaves

It’s International Cook with your Kids day! I absolutely love cooking with kids and have done endless cooking projects with all the kids in my life … both mine and my sister’s kids. If I had other kids in my life, chances are I’d pull them into the kitchen with me too. Kids make cooking even more fun, in my book. They are endlessly curious, and eager to help.

So when I did a Cooking with Kids class at work to help celebrate National Work & Family Month, I thought of these little meatloaves. They come from my friend Sonali’s (a.k.a., the Foodie Physician) Natural Baby Food cookbook which is totally awesome and totally not just for babies! I thought of these meatloaves because when I took this cookbook to work and let my friend look through it, this was the recipe she chose to make out of the book and she told me her daughters both LOVED them!

Well, that meant they would be just perfect for our Cooking with Kids cooking class, right? Because kids naturally love anything kid-sized and because barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese are pretty much universal kid food in America. Hey, how could you go wrong with these?

I was seriously surprised that for how easy these little meatloaves are to make and how few ingredients there are in them, how amazing they taste.

When you pull them out of the oven and the cheese is just oozing out the sides of the meatloaves, you’d swear that there’s no way these little babies could be healthy, but they are! They’re delectable, too … everyone in the cooking class (including me!) absolutely loved them.

My only addition to the recipe was to sneak in a little bit of shredded zucchini and carrot, because I love to sneak veggies in wherever I can. Oh and I added just a bit of salt because I felt they needed it. Other than that, this easy recipe is perfection … and so quick to make, you could make it with your kids on a school night. Once they’ve washed their hands, let the kids get their fingers in and help mix the meatloaf up and then divide the mixture into five pieces and shape the meatloaves … and then brush them with BBQ sauce too. It’s just like painting, right?

Make sure everyone washes their hands well afterwards, though, to get any germs from the raw meat off their hands!

BBQ Cheddar Mini Meatloaves

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 5 mini meatloaves 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup finely shredded (or chopped) carrot
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/4 of a medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tablespoons barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup (2 oz.) small-diced cheddar cheese
• For the top: 4 – 5 Tablespoons barbecue sauce

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Place the zucchini, carrots, ground beef, onion, egg, 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, oats, salt, pepper and cheese together in a large bowl and mix until combined.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Divide the mixture into five equal portions and form them into loaves on the baking sheet. Brush each meatloaf with about 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce.
4. Bake 22–25 minutes until cooked through. Cool meatloaves slightly before serving.

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Notes

For gluten free meatloaves, use certified gluten free oats and make sure your barbecue sauce is gluten free too.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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This recipe was shared at Foodie FriDIY, Gluten Free Friday, Weekend Potluck and Pretty Pintastic Party.