Leftovers in Disguise

I am the leftover Nazi in my house. 

            To the dismay of my husband, I generally advocate that we eat the same thing again and again until all of the leftovers are gone. This is a feat of extraordinary perseverance as I have yet to learn how to cook for only two people. So, for the past almost three years of marriage I cook dinner and the leftovers sit in the fridge until I discover it three months later.

            This simply was not working for our shoestring food budget. Now I am an advocate for eating all parts of the cow ,or the carrot, or the meatloaf, or whatever it is we eat for dinner to prevent waste.

            Therefore, this week I tried something different. This was the only time I was successful, so far, in obliterating all of the leftovers in my fridge, and my husband had no idea I was recycling leftovers.

            I started out with the following recipe from Sharing the Love cookbook by Peggy Washburn Courtright:

                                                              Easy Pleasing Meat Loves

2 lbs Ground Beef (I used ground turkey sausage for $1.89/lb)

1 (6-0oz) pkg Stove Top Stuffing (I used a piece of  very toasted bread, chopped very small and added extra Oregano)

1 c. water

2 eggs, beaten

½ c. Kraft, original barbecue sauce, divided (I used probably twice this much)

            Mix all ingredients except for ¼ cup of the barbeque sauce. Shape meat mixture into 2 oval loaves and place side by side in 13x9 inch baking dish. Top loaves with remaining ¼ cup barbecue sauce. Bake in 375 degree oven for 35 minutes or until center is no longer pink.

            I also made instant mashed potatoes to go with it.

            We barely ate half of it in two days.

            When I realized that the leftovers would go bad before I could finish all of them, I came up with a plan: mini shepherds’ pies. 

            I used a muffin pan and lined the bottom of about 6-8 of the cups with a tablespoon of meatloaf. Next I topped it with about a tablespoon of the leftover mashed potatoes, and sprinkled each with a little sharp cheddar cheese. I baked it in the oven until the cheese was melted. Now, they may not be perfect shepherds’ pies, but all of the leftovers were used, and I didn’t have to make dinner for the third night in a row.

            Seems like a success story to me.