Mason jars aren’t just for jams and drinks anymore. These three simple recipes will teach you how to make your very own single-serving meals with three layers of deliciousness all baked into one. Each meal contains a side and some type of main with a piece of cornbread baked right on top. Great for picnics or even just a weekday dinner. Enjoy!
Cornbread Topping
1. Scramble egg in a bowl and pour half into your mixing dish.
Photo by Savannah Carter
2. Combine cornmeal, milk, and oil. The consistency should be thick enough that it easily pours out of the bowl with a little help from a spoon. After layering jar, pour batter over the top up to the rim.
Photo by Savannah Carter
4. Set either a piece of aluminum foil on the rack or place jar on top a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until you can poke cornbread through with a toothpick and no batter sticks to it.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Recipe 1: Faux Shepherd’s Pie
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 1
Photo by Savannah Carter
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 head of cauliflower
1 cup cheddar cheese
3/4 cup chopped green onion
1 egg (but you’ll only use 1/2)
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon minced garlic (optional)
Directions:
1. Begin boiling water and chop cauliflower very finely.
Photo by Savannah Carter
2. Begin to cook onions and garlic over medium heat.
Photo by Savannah Carter
3. When the onion and garlic starts getting really fragrant, add the ground beef. Cook until there’s no pink.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Photo by Savannah Carter
4. When water is boiling, add cauliflower, salt, and a little bit of olive oil. Let boil for about 10-15 minutes or until cauliflower is very soft. Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 375°F.
Photo by Savannah Carter
5. Drain cauliflower and mix in cheese, green onion, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Then, mash the mixture all together.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Photo by Savannah Carter
Tip: If you have a food processor or blender use it, it will make the mash smoother. I didn’t have one so I used an old, bent spatula, but a fork works too.
6. Put mixture in a baking dish for 10-ish minutes. This will help eliminate moisture and make the mash more mashed potato-y.
Photo by Savannah Carter
7. After meat is cooked and the cauliflower mixture is mashed up, spoon each into the jar. The ratio should be about ⅓ cauliflower to ⅔ beef and mash. Feel free to add another layer of cheese, green onion, spinach, or anything else in between.
Photo by Savannah Carter
8. Follow the cornbread directions at the top of this page and devour!
Photo by Savannah Carter
Recipe 2. Sriracha-lime shrimp and garlic cheese grits
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 1
Photo by Savannah Carter
Ingredients:
1 egg (but you’ll only use 1/2)
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 ½ cup frozen shrimp
Sriracha
1 lime
3 tablespoons instant grits
3/4 cup cheese
1 cup water
Directions:
1. Brown garlic and oil in a pan on medium heat.
Photo by Savannah Carter
2. Mix together water, instant grits, salt and garlic powder in a bowl. Microwave covered for 3-5 minutes. Mix cheese in when they’re done.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Tip: Consistency of grits depends on personal preference-some like them creamy, some like them soupy, and some thick. Adding water will make them more viscous if that’s how you like ’em.
Photo by Savannah Carter
3. When the garlic is slightly browned, add frozen shrimp, juice from the whole lime, and as much Sriracha as your heart desires. Leave in 1/2 the lime for extra flavor.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Photo by Savannah Carter
Tip: I used pre-cooked frozen shrimp so I thawed them in the fridge the day I made this dinner. If using raw frozen shrimp, no worries, they may just take a little longer to cook!
4. Next, layer cheesy grits and shrimp. I put some spinach in between layers but, again, you can add anything else to break it up.
Photo by Savannah Carter
5. Follow cornbread directions at the top and dig in.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Recipe 3: Spicy honey-glazed mashed potatoes and breaded chicken
Prep Time: 30-40 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 1/2-2 hours
Servings: 1
Step 1: Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
1 large potato
4 slices of bacon
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons pepper flakes (add or subtract based on your spice tolerance)
3 stalks green onion chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F and begin boiling water. Chop potatoes.
Photo by Savannah Carter
2. Cook bacon as directed, either in the pan or the oven. Leave slightly underdone.
Photo by Savannah Carter
3. Once water is boiling, add potatoes and cook for 15-20 minutes or until very soft, then drain.
Photo by Savannah Carter
4. Once bacon is slightly cooked but slightly underdone, pour honey over and sprinkle with pepper flakes. Put back into oven for another 10 minutes or until crispy.
Photo by Savannah Carter
5. Once bacon is done, place honey-side up on a paper towel to absorb grease.
Photo by Savannah Carter
6. Once cooled, chop up bacon and add to potatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, green onion, butter and whatever else you like. Mash everything together by hand or with a food processor.
Photo by Savannah Carter
Photo by Savannah Carter
Step 2: Breaded Chicken
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg lightly beaten
Directions:
1. Put breadcrumbs and garlic powder in one bowl and olive oil (or egg) in another. 1st dredge chicken in olive oil (or egg), then coat generously with bread crumbs.
Photo by Savannah Carter
2. Bake chicken in a foil-lined baking dish at 375°F for 30 minutes or until fully cooked (no pink in the middle.)
Photo by Savannah Carter
3. Let cool and chop chicken.
Photo by Savannah Carter
4. Layer mashed potatoes, chicken and green onions in a jar. Follow cornbread batter directions at the top of this page, add to jar and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
Photo by Savannah Carter