Life Made Delicious: Gluten Free Layered Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes, & Grilled Pesto Parmesan Tomatoes

First things first:  I am SO excited to tell you that I've been accepted as a 'Life Made Delicious' Ambassador!

This means that General Mills will share with me & other Ambassadors new products, upcoming promotions, and great recipes & ideas - which I, in turn, will share with you!  It's truly a 'share the wealth' situation - if you noticed, a few posts ago, I got a free box of cereal in the mail, and then I got to share with you the opportunity to grab your own free box!

While I was perusing Life Made Delicious' Pinterest boards, I found this fun version of meatloaf that combines the potatoes right into it!  This is perfect for me, because I need to prepare supper during afternoon naps or The Witching Hour turns into exactly that when it falls before dinner.  Not having to make the mashed potatoes right before dinner is a huge plus for me - not to mention the fact that the pots and prep pans can get washed & put away so I don't have to deal with them after the kids go to bed!

Once that recipe had my attention, I realized that it was GF - and called for crushed Chex instead of bread crumbs - genius!  We have Chex in our cupboard ALL THE TIME because H-man is wheat-sensitive, but I've NEVER thought of subbing it for bread crumbs!  I don't know about other GF moms, but I just get so excited when I find another GF sub for recipes - and it makes life so much easier when it's something that's already in the house!

Also.  Did you know that you can bake meatloaf in the BBQ?!  I thought I'd give it a try after baking last night's Eggplant Parm in there - and it really works! And it's so easy!  And keeps the house cool!  Baking casseroles in the BBQ has opened up a whole new chapter in my summer cookbook!

I'm sorry.  Is it possible to make meatloaf look good in a photo?

Head over to the Life Made Delicious website for the meatloaf recipe!  Here are my notes:

• I used 1 sweet potato & one white potato - not only does it add great flavour, but it ups the nutritional value substantially!  
• I added greek seasoning to the meat mixture.
• I added a layer of mozza cheese after the potatoes & before the other layer of meat - it was leftover from last night's Eggplant Parm, and who doesn't love extra cheese?
• Instead of using ketchup on the top, I just used about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce - it's sweet enough, and my husband isn't so much a fan of ketchup.
• I cooked it in the BBQ - after I lit the BBQ, I set it on low and let it heat for about 10 minutes - that brought it up to about 375, and then I set the meatloaf on the top rack and let it be.  The corners got a little 'crispy', but IMHO, the crusty parts of meatloaf are extra tasty!  :)

I paired this recipe with grilled tomatoes.  I've done these a few times before, and they're really delicious especially if you have fresh tomatoes.  Hot house tomatoes are not bad, but freshness DOES make a difference here.  

Grilling tomatoes is simple.  Cut your tomatoes in half horizontally (they'll keep from rolling over this way), and brush with oil.  I used olive oil infused with garlic.  (Actually, after I did that I realized that I wanted to put pesto on it as well.  I could have skipped the brushing with olive oil. Oh well.) Sprinkle with sea salt, and add your toppings.  I added pesto (see not above re: brushing with oil) and then sprinkled with shaved Parmesan.  Set on a grillable dish (we keep disposable pie plates for such purposes), and place onto your pre-heated grill.  Cook @ med heat for 15 min, or low heat for 20-25 min.

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.