The Odds & Ends Challenge: Meatloaf & Veggies

So you’re off on your holidays. The packing is done, the passports are ready, but there is always that nagging feeling that you’ve forgotten something….

EEEEEP!

The tons of food left in the fridge *facepalm* How do you still have so much left when you leave in two days? Sure, you could donate your half empty pack of mushrooms and that pesky tupperware of leftovers to willing friends and family – but you’ve still gotta eat, right? The plane doesn’t take off for another 48 hours, so something quick and tasty that keeps everyone happy is the order of the day.

Of course – how you tackle this problem depends largely on what you have left to use in the fridge, but many people will have ingredients similar to these knocking about somewhere in their kitchen so you can afford to be as inventive as you like. I just so happened to have a pack of turkey mince that I’d defrosted the day before, so that could only mean one thing…meatloaf! I also had some odds and ends of veg, a half-empty jar of pesto, some dried herbs in the cupboard plus that pesky tupperware crammed with leftover potatoes and green beans. But the best part? You don’t have to be going away to give this a whirl…although it would be lovely, wouldn’t it?

Ingredients – (this quantity of mince served the three of us comfortably)

Meatloaf

450g Turkey mince
1tbsp barbecue sauce (plus extra for drizzling on top)
1tsp dried oregano
1tsp dried basil
A pinch of salt
A crack or two of pepper
1/2 cup of porridge oats

Pesto Veggies and Potatoes

The measurements here are approximations of what I had left on the day, but this is where you can go to town and be creative: you love courgettes? Add more! You hate green beans? Leave them out! This part is entirely up to you, but here’s what I had:

1 courgette
2 large tomatoes (chopped small)
150g green beans
2 tbsp pesto
6 closed-cup mushrooms
150g Charlotte potatoes (Jazzy potatoes would also be fab)
1 tbsp olive oil

Method

My potatoes and green beans were pre-cooked, but if you don’t have any ready to go you’ll want to cut the potatoes into halves/quarters and have these boiling or steaming while you prepare your mince
Place your sauce, dried herbs, porridge oats, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl (I don’t own a meatloaf tin so I just used my trusty red silicone baking dish…saves on the washing up)
Add the turkey mince and squish the ingredients together, being careful to really work those dried herbs, oats and sauce into the meat
Transfer the mixture to a meatloaf tin…or work the meat mixture into a shape vaguely resembling a meatloaf
Drizzle some barbecue sauce on top; you don’t need to do this step but I just love some extra BBQ goodness
It’s art I tells ye!
Cover with tin foil and cook at 180degrees for 35 mins; this will vary depending on your oven, but mine being electric and fan assisted means that meat seems to cook super quickly. If in doubt, you can either cut it in half when cooking time is nearly up and see how it’s doing, or you could use a meat thermometer. If all is going according to plan, remove the foil after 35mins and cook for a further 5mins
Now onto our veggie pesto goodness! Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and start cooking the mushrooms and courgettes until they’re nice and soft
Add the tomatoes, cooked potatoes and green beans and season to taste. You may be tempted to add some more oil at this point, but I’d suggest not to just yet
Mix in the pesto, and cook them on a medium/low heat while you wait for your meatloaf. If you feel that it needs more moisture you could add a dash more oil, alternatively you can just add more pesto to give an even stronger flavour
It’s like the holiday has already begun!
Once your meatloaf is cooked through, take it out of the oven and re-cover the tin in some foil and let it rest for a few minutes
A meatloaf to make The King himself proud

Voila!