Monday, I wrote about the turning excess buns from barbecue takeout into garlic bread. Well, what about the meat?
We had two rather large containers of chopped beef and barbecue chicken and had consumed more than our fill of both. Yet, plenty more remained! My idea: meatloaf!
I was really glad to have my mom around, because I’ve never actually made a loaf of meat. Not only did she improvise a top layer of leftover potatoes, she made the whole thing, allowing me to focus on ogling my week-old son.
We topped the whole thing with some of the sauce from the barbecue takeout and used bread crumbs salvaged from the end of a loaf. But fear not–the egg was no leftover.
The results were like some sort of culinary alchemy–turning leftovers into a magical, improved dish.
14 Comments
Oooh, kudos to your mom!
Recipe???
Ooo – I lurve leftover creations!
I can even convince MrDB there’s more meat than there actually is by mixing up bulgar wheat or mashed kidney beans with it. Great for creating chillis or ragus with not much leftover meat.
I’ll have to ask my mom if she can hash out a rough recipe…She doesn’t often freelance, but went for broke this time!
The first restaurant I worked at used to save the bread heels and all of their stale bread in a bucket, and then make meatloaf and meatballs with it. So, you know, it’s not just a way to salvage excess meat product, but also your extra bread.
Peace and Love,
Dan
Sounds like your mom is a treasure! Makes me miss my mom even more than usual – she was in take charge mode when I had my first child (26 years ago!) and it was wonderful to be able to concentrate on the new center of our universe.
OK, here’s my mom’s rough estimate of a recipe.
In processor, chopped:
-1 medium onion
-stalk or 2 celery
-I added little bit of shredded carrots (Because my Mom used to put carrot in her meatloaf. Not really enuf for color, so little it disappears.)
-Other L.O. veg’s possible–peppers come to mind.
-1 egg (to bind)
-L.O. meat–cut into small-ish chunks. A mixture is great.
-Small amt. barbeque sauce.
-Since we used “barbeque,” esp sauce, didn’t use other seasoning. If it had been ‘plainer ‘meat, would prob season with garlic powder, s & p, etc.
-I generally use horseradish, hence I added ~2 T sour cream
-I sprinkled homemade breadcrumbs (or cracker crumbs, crumbs at the end of a box of dry cereal, or crushed corn flakes, matza meal, etc. to hold it together.)
Put this into loaf pan, or mound it into another flat pan. (I usually roll meat in breadcrumbs and dip ends too, before putting it in the pan.
Also, add some stock around edges and baste from time to time to keep it moist. See “Joy pf Cooking”)
-Chopped 1 lg over-ripe tomato, and layered that over meat.
-Mashed up LO boiled potatoes w/ little melted butter, s & p, and layered that.
-Poured some barbeque sauce over it all.
-Baked at 350 for 1 hour.
That sounds delicious! Your mom is so clever.
Leftover, chopped meat and a layer of potato on top – sounds almost like a cottage pie! Difference being that those aren’t bound with egg/breadcrumbs, it’s just the chopped meat (or fresh minced meat) & vegetables in a thick gravy.
I’m surprised the previously-cooked meat bind well enough to make anything resembling a loaf, though, even with the egg.
Yeah, I always look forward to some home cooking, even when it’s not at my parents house. My mom said that she was going for a shepherd’s pie (same as a cottage pie) kind of thing with the top layer of spuds. The meat was already saucy, which probably helped it bind. Yum!
One of my tricks for using up any leftover cooked vegetables is to pulse in the food processor and make it into ravioli filling. I use the frozen wonton wrappers and they are so easy. With a sauce of good olive oil or browned butter and some toasted nuts, it’s a great, easy meal.
Your mom’s meatloaf looks great!
Wow, Diane, that’s an awesome idea. And if not ravioli, those leftover cooked veggies will do well in a lasagna.
The meatloaf has been great–just had some more for lunch!
I have had way too many family bbqs with an abundance of leftover hamburger or hot dog buns that go stale within days. I’ve taken to turning them into bread pudding! Last week I turned wheat hamburger buns into a delicious, creamy chocolate chip bread pudding. My family never knew the difference!
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