Leftover Meatloaf Hash

Mondays are nearly always leftover days, and today I managed to empty no less than eight containers when cooking our lunch – not bad going eh? 

 

This is not a recipe as such, more of an idea of what to do with leftovers. Using the remains of the meatloaf as a base, I added nearly all the leftovers I had in the fridge. The list looks like this:

meatloaf

cooked Jersey Royal potatoes

cooked carrots

cooked baby sweetcorn

cooked tenderstem broccoli

cooked sugarsnap peas

grilled cherry tomatoes

I also had containers with Oriental coleslaw and Vietnamese pickled vegetables which I mixed together, and half a box of salad leaves which I served alongside the hash. 

 

I started off by crushing the potatoes between two palms, then tearing them roughly with my hands. In a large pan sprayed with some Fry Light, I sautéed the potatoes for a few minutes before adding everything else. I found it to be a little dry, so I added some water to make it a smoother consistency and some chilli flakes to zest it up a little. 

I do love leftovers, and the challenge of creating something that tastes good.

Hoi Sin Turkey with Noodles

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

300g lean turkey meat, diced

2 onions, sliced

150g baby sweetcorn, halved lengthways

4 baby courgettes, quartered

150g noodles, cooked

4 tbsp hoi sin sauce

4 tbsp soy sauce

Stir fry the turkey and onions in Fry Light for ca five minutes, then add the sweetcorn and courgettes. Continue cooking until the turkey is cooked through and the vegetables are done to your liking. Add the hoi sin and soy sauce, and the noodles and cook, stirring, until everything is well mixed and heated through.

Beef Larb with Baby Sweetcorn and Spinach

Larb – the traditional dish of Laos – is one of my all time favourite comfort foods. It also has to be one of the quickest and easiest dinners ever. There are as many versions of this dish as there are cooks, so feel free to experiment with your own ingredients.

I used sambal oelek in this recipe for laziness, but you can substitute with a chopped fresh chilli or even chilli flakes. You may wish to vary the amount of chilli used to suit your own taste as we like our food spicy. I used a combination of iceberg lettuce and watercress to serve, but any lettuce or salad leaves will do. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

250g extra lean minced beef

150g baby sweetcorn

100g spinach

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp sweetener

2 tbsp sambal oelek

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

shredded lettuce to serve

Sauté the beef with the baby sweetcorn until cooked through. Add the soy sauce, sweetener, vinegar and sambal oelek. Stir well to mix, then add the spinach. Simmer gently until the spinach has wilted. Serve over shredded lettuce. 

 

Lime Prawn Stir Fry

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

300g cooked king prawns

1 small courgette, sliced

5-6 baby sweetcorn, sliced

1 small carrot, sliced

4-5 asparagus, sliced

1 onion, chopped

pkt rocket, watercress and spinach

1 tbsp soy sauce

juice of 2 limes

1 small chilli, chopped

1 tbsp sweetener

Sauté the onion in Fry Light for a few minutes, then add the carrot, asparagus, babycorn and courgette. Continue stir frying for a few more minutes, then add the soy sauce, lime juice, chilli and sweetener. Stir well, then add the rocket, watercress and spinach. Stir until the salad vegetables are just beginning to wilt. Serve immediately. 

 

Chateaubriand with Pepper Sauce

We decided to have a date night in on Saturday night, and popped to Morrison's for a steak. I love their meat and fish usually, but this time they really excelled themselves – the steak was one of the best we've ever had! It was meltingly tender and beautifully tasty. Heavenly.

Chateaubriand is a lot of hassle and work, but oh so worth it in the end. I would usually make a sauce with lots of cream and sherry to go with it, but as that does not fit in with the Slimming World plan, I decided to try out the Coleman's Pepper sauce. It was nice, but I could probably make my own just as easily with just as few syns. Oh well, it was nice to have one less thing to do as the whole meal was quite labour intensive. 

 

Serves 2

3 syns on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the milk as part of your Healthy Extra A.

1 whole piece end fillet steak

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

½ tsp whole black pepper

1 tsp whole coriander

½ tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp celery powder

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

1 pkt Coleman's Pepper Sauce

300ml skimmed milk

Grind all the spices to a fine powder using a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar. Spray the fillet with Fry Light and coat with the spice powder. Use your hands to massage the spices into the meat, making sure that all exposed surfaces are covered. Leave to marinate for a couple of hours or more. 

 

Heat a pan with Fry Light until very hot. Place the whole fillet in the pan and sear on all sides. The outside is supposed to be almost burnt and crusty, so don't worry if it seems overdone at this stage. Lower the heat and fry, turning regularly (you may have to support the steak with something when cooking the end sides) for around ten minutes or so. This may seem like a long time for a steak, and of course it does depend on the thickness of the meat, but the inside will still be pink after that time. My piece was rather large, and I cooked it for around 15 minutes, and it was still rare in the middle.

Meanwhile make up the sauce according to packet instructions.

Leave to rest for a few minutes before carving in thick slices and serve with the pepper sauce, potatoes and vegetables of your choice.

 

Swordfish with Orange, Ginger and Baby Sweetcorn Salsa

I went a little mad in Sainsbury's the other week, stocking up on lots of different fish for the freezer. Fish I wouldn't necessarily normally choose, such as swordfish. This recipe is adapted from a Ready Steady Cook dish, to fit in with the Slimming World plan.

The orange and ginger went extremely well with the rich, meaty fish, and a green couscous completed the meal. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 sword fish steaks

2 cloves garlic

juice and zest of 1 lime

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

½ green chilli, finely chopped

2 oranges

small knob of ginger

125g baby sweetcorn

small handful coriander leaves, chopped

1 cup couscous

1 courgette, finely grated

1 tsp bouillon powder

Finely chop the garlic and mix with the lime juice and zest, soy sauce and chilli. Place the fish steaks in a shallow bowl and pour over the marinade. Turn to coat and leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Remove the skin, pith and membranes of the oranges and cut into segments. Cut the ginger into thin julienne strips. Halve the baby sweetcorn lengthways, then halve again crossways. Lay cut side down on a greased baking sheet, and spray with Fry Light. Grill on a high heat for a few minutes until beginning to go soft and slightly charred on the edges. Leave to cool. Mix together the orange segments, ginger, baby sweetcorn and coriander leaves.

Cook the couscous in plenty of water with the the bouillon powder according to packet instructions. Mix in the grated courgette. I find this is much easier to do before draining.

Remove the swordfish steaks from the marinade and fry over a high heat for a few minutes on each side until cooked through. Drain the couscous and place on two plates. Put the salsa on top of the couscous and finally top with the swordfish steaks. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing.