£7.00 per week - menu ideas

Meatloaf is easy and really versatile depending on what you have in!

As much minced beef as you have (doesn't need to be loads) mixed with an onion and some tomato ketchup. Add either oats, breadcrumbs or red lentils or a combo of the 3 into the mix to make the volume up to fill your loaf tin. (If you have hardly any meat and lots of oats, crumble in a beef stock cube to make it blend a bit better but otherwise you don't need it). Season well with salt and pepper. If you don't have any ketchup, use an egg. A dash of herbs will be nice if you have them but its fine if you don't.

Pack into a loaf tin if you have one, if you don't pat it into a firm log shape and put on a baking sheet. Cook for about 40 minutes at around 180 (a bit longer or shorter at a higher or lower temp won't do any harm if you are using the oven for something else).

You can serve with with gravy, or a tomato sauce made from tinned tomatoes, or just plain depending on what you are eating with it. We sometimes have it with cauli cheese so don't add anything wet over the loaf.

Just to chip in with a hint on dumplings for soup/stew. Mix together some self raising flour with a llittle milk and salt and pepper to a fairly soft dough, roll into balls and put into boiling soup or stew, continue at a boil for 5mins then reduce to a simmer for a further 10.

Good rib stickers and makes the soup/stew a bit thicker too.
Quite cheap as no suet needed, but must be SR flour.

emmad5689 wrote: »

Thanks all, I used to have a recipe in one of the Annabel Karmel books but lent the book to a friend and never got it back - from all your recipes I am remembering more that was in it - it was mince, onion, grated carrot, breadcrumbs and tomatoe sauce I seem to remember so will give it a go with your advice above I should be able to concoct one!!! Another question i'm afraid if I made it on thursday as I am going to have half a pack of mince to use would it still be ok to eat saturday teat time?? xx

Are you asking about the mince or the meatloaf ?

I've read that Meatloaf's (?) are usually good for freezing.

If you've already cooked it ... then it should be fine for keeping in fridge & eating a couple of days later. Not sure about it uncooked.

emmad5689 wrote: »

Thanks all, I used to have a recipe in one of the Annabel Karmel books but lent the book to a friend and never got it back - from all your recipes I am remembering more that was in it - it was mince, onion, grated carrot, breadcrumbs and tomatoe sauce I seem to remember so will give it a go with your advice above I should be able to concoct one!!! Another question i'm afraid if I made it on thursday as I am going to have half a pack of mince to use would it still be ok to eat saturday teat time?? xx

is the mince fresh? of so just halve it and put in the freezer if not could you cook it into summat else eg chilli spag bol etc and freeze it then you just reheat on saturday

This is such a brilliant thread, thanks to all contributors, and a happy New Year to you all.