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.

American Style Meatloaf

Take one recipe you find on line and start to follow it, then begin your own modifications. You think you have only made a few small changes until you see your notes.... I like to call it “being creative”.

Serves 4-6

Syn free on Extra Easy*

* providing you use the bread as part of your Healthy Extra B

3 slices wholemeal bread from a 400g loaf, roughly torn

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp celery salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp dried thyme

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 red pepper, roughly chopped

500g of 5% fat minced beef

1 egg, beaten

500g passata

1 tbsp sweetener

½ tsp mustard powder

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp bouillon powder

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

dash Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp ground cumin

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Whizz the bread to rough crumbs in a food processor and place in a large bowl. Pulse the red pepper in the same way, followed by the onion, but do them separately, making sure they are finely chopped but not processed to a pulp. Mix in with the breadcrumbs and add the cumin, paprika, smoked paprika, ginger, white pepper, garlic powder, celery salt, nutmeg and beef. Mix very well together, then add the egg and continue stirring until everything is very well combined, but avoid squeezing the meat.

Grease a loaf tin and pack the meat mixture into it. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and invert the loaf onto it. Place near the bottom of the oven. 

Combine the passata. Sweetener, mustard powder, paprika, smoked paprika, bouillon powder, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and cumin. When the meatloaf has been in the oven for about ten minutes, brush the glaze over it and continue cooking for 35-45 minutes until it id cooked through.

Serve the remaining glaze as a sauce to accompany the meatloaf. 

  

Leftover Lunch

Today has been an easy day so far for the cook (me) – I had breakfast made for me, and lunch was leftovers.

He is anything but a cook, but my husband makes yummy bacon butties.

Leftover Meatloaf Hash with Jersey Royals

I can't really offer a recipe here, as I mostly used leftovers. I fried up a chopped onion in some Fry Light, then added the rest of the chopped meatloaf, a tin of tomatoes, the rest of a tube of tomato purée residing in the fridge and some garlic masala. Meanwhile I boiled some Jersey Royals, and lunch was done! Voilà!

I was glad to be able to use the garlic masala, as it has been bugging me ever since we bought it on our trip to Rajasthan. On hearing that I am a keen cook and love spices, our driver took us to a very touristy spice shop which mostly dealt in blended spices. I am not one for using pre-mixed spices, much preferring to combine my own according to my mood, but I was persuaded to buy a few packets of various masalas by the very friendly salesman. I was, however, dismayed to find that they were way more expensive than I could have bought them for back in Bristol at Bristol Sweetmart. Oh well, you live and learn. The masala was to be fair, very tasty. 

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Black Bean Salad

If you are using dried beans, remember to soak them overnight and cook according to the packet. This recipe called for half a red pepper but my personal shopper (AKA husband) seemed to have somehow missed that. He swears black and blue that he bought it, he must have left it behind in the shop. Oh well, just a slight variation. Anyway, while looking for the absent pepper, I came across an orange, and thought that would go well with the black beans. I was right. I also had a lone tomato hanging around, and as it was the same colour as the missing pepper, I decided to include that too.

Black Bean salad

1 cup of cooked black beans

Juice of 1 lime

2 tsp sweetener

2 tsp samal oelek

1 green chilli

1 orange

1 large tomato

small handful of coriander leaves

handful of rocket leaves

handful of baby spinach

½ red onion

In a large bow, mix together the cooked beans, finely chopped green chilli, finely chopped tomato, rocket and spinach leaves and the thinly sliced red onion. Peel the orange, divide into segments and cut each segment in two. Add to the salad bowl. Mix the lime juice, sambal oelek and sweetener and toss into the salad with the chopped coriander leaves.

My main purpose of making this salad was to go with a cold slice of the leftover meatloaf. I still have three slices left, so I will have to put my thinking cap on again for another meal involving some variation of meatloaf. 

Despite the green chilli and the sambal ealek, it was hardly spicy at all. Personally I would have preferred it with a bit more kick, so if I make it again I will add more chilli. 

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Pitta Pizza

Normally pizza and diets don't go terribly well together, but I have found a way that I can have my cake - or rather pizza – and eat it. And even better, I was able to use up some more leftovers. They don't call me the leftover queen for nothing!

When asked about the type of pizza he wanted, my husband's answer was 'Texan Spicy BBQ', so I was tasked with trying to recreate the flavour of his favourite pizza from the take-away.

Spicy Texan BBQ Pitta Pizza

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy, providing you use the bread and cheese as your Healthy Extra A & B.

2 pitta breads*

1 slice leftover meatloaf

8 cherry tomatoes, sliced

½ onion, thinly sliced

small handful of rocket leaves

½ red pepper, thinly sliced

½ cup leftover BBQ sauce

1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 tsp sweetener

45g of reduced fat cheese, grated**

Heat the oven to 190°C and grease a baking tray. Mix the BBQ sauce with the chilli and sweetener and add the chopped meatloaf. Split the pitta breads open and place all the other ingredients on top, starting with the rocket leaves and finishing with the grated cheese. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is nicely browned on top. Serve with a salad of your choice.

*The Slimming World book says that only Co-Op 60g wholemeal pitta bread is permissible as a Healthy Extra B, but after I had my husband drive half way around the South West looking for a Co-Op which sold them, but to no avail, I decided to use a 60g Sainsbury's wholemeal pitta instead. Seeing as I'm not having any other syns today, I am willing to risk it.

** I used a mixture of mozzarella and low fat cheddar.

OK, so it wasn't quite the same as the take-away pizzas, but the taste was very similar. The pitta breads made a good substitute for normal pizza base, and best of all, I can have it on my plan. Definitely one to repeat.  

Entertaining Dad

It's always difficult to think of what to serve when my dad comes over for dinner. Although he will always eat what's put in front of him (apart from spicy food – my dad thinks soured cream pretzels 'burn his mouth' - and fish, to which he is allergic), the proud chef in me wants him to enjoy his food too. He is not generally very keen on tomatoes, mushrooms, rice, couscous, Yorkshire puddings, yogurt, lentils or lamb to name a few, which does rather narrow the choice down. Then comes the list of foods he is not supposed to eat because of using Warfarin, which includes most dark green vegetables, cranberries, garlic and grapefruit.

We love our food spicy, so trying to think of bland food that fits in with most of the categories above, as well as my Slimming World plan, twice a week does pose some challenges. Of course, my pride doesn't allow me to repeat dishes too often either.

Meatloaf isn't something that has featured heavily on our menu over the years, and I don't think I have ever made it for my dad, so that's what I decided to do tonight. Had it been just for the two of us, the spice level would have increased tenfold for the recipe, but as it was I had to tone it down a little (lot) for my dad.

Meatloaf with barbecue sauce

Serves 4-6 (I cut it in to 10 slices)

Syn Free on Extra easy providing you use the bread as your Healthy Extra B.

500g extra lean beef mince

500g extra lean pork mince

2 small onions

3 garlic cloves

2 slices wholemeal bread

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp sweetener

salt and pepper top taste

8 slices of bacon

500 ml passata

1 tsp mustard powder

2 tsp bouillon powder

1 tsp sweetener

a few drops Worcestershire sauce

The easiest way to make the meat loaf is in a food processor – start with the onions and garlic and whizz until finely chopped. Add the bread and ensure it is just fine breadcrumbs before adding the meats, egg, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and sweetener. Pulse until mixed. Mix together the passata, mustard powder, bouillon powder, sweetener and Worcestershire sauce until smooth and mix 100 ml of it in with the meat.

Stretch the bacon slices with the back of knife and line a loaf tin making sure all sides and the bottom are covered, reserving two for placing over the top. Press the meat into the tin and cover with the bacon pieces, wrapping any overlapping pieces over the top. Cover with tin foil and place in a large roasting tin. Fill boiling water to half way up the tin – I find the easiest and safest way of doing this is to put the roasting tin in the oven fist and then adding water from the kettle. That way I am less at risk of spilling boiling water over myself when I move it.

Bake at 150°C for 2 hours. Check that the meat is done by inserting a skewer into the meat and pressing down slightly to ensure that the juices are running clear. If so, remove from the oven and let it rest for 20-30 minutes, still covered with foil before turning it on to a board and cutting into slices and serving it with the rest of the BBQ sauce. 

I served it with whole roasted Apache potatoes, tomatoes stuffed with some leftover risotto, leeks in white sauce and fine green beans. 

Dinner service from John Lewis, tablecloth was my mum's. 

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