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Made a spag bol yesterday with extra lean mince, chopped onions, carrots, tomatoes garlic etc. Have quite a bit of it left and want to make something for tea tonight - unfortunately my 5 year old has decided that he doesn't like mash potato anymore - so out goes cottage pie!

He does like roast potatoes and boiled potatoes so was wondering about maybe layering some sliced potatoes over the mince and cooking it in the oven for a while. Anyone got any tips on how I would do this?

For instance, would I slice the spuds up and parboil them and then simply layer them over the cold mince and put them in the oven? What temp should I put the oven on? Or should I heat the mince up in a pan and then put it in a shallow casserole dish, layer the par-boiled spuds and stick it in the oven for less time? Or do I totally cook the potatoes and just crisp them up in the oven? Also, would I need to pour some extra stock/gravy over the mince? Or brush the spuds with oil? Really basic stuff that I should really know but am the first to confess that I struggle a little when it comes to cooking!

Of course if anyone else has any other suggestions, I'm all ears.

Right, off to site stuff now to ask them why it's sooo hard to type this message - It's showing a letter per line at the top and when that resolves it randomly starts another line in the centre of the box - wierd pagination and quite hard to concentrate!!

Roast some potatoes.

Serve some mince leftover stew stuff next to some roast potatoes.

Make extra gravy for poring over.

no hassle at all.

No idea about the mince but OMG I thought I was the only one getting that weird posting thing....

My mum used to make rissoles & they were delish (despite horrible sounding name ) - will see if I can find a recipe

You could definitely do a sliced potato top, like a hot pot type thing. I would slice them really thin, put them over the mince, brush with butter and cook at about 180 for about 50 minutes.
Alternatively you can make it into chilli by adding some spice, some beans, some cubes of sweet potato if you fancy, and serving with sour cream and rice or tortillas?
Or you could make it into a filling for stuffed peppers. Mix it with some other veg like mushroom/courgette etc. mix in some cheese, or even some cooked rice. Fill scooped out peppers and bake for about an hour. Serve with salad.

Burgers? Meatballs?

this is lamb but you could do it with beef - they were always made with leftover roast meat which was then minced but I think it would work with cooked mince (if it's not too sloppy)

Ours were shaped into flat patties, not balls, & fried until they had a crusty outside.

Or turn into mild chilli by adding a tin of chilli beans and serve it with rice and garlic bread!

do hotpot thing as Lula says.
Add extra liquid if it looks dry, but honestly, if you don't, it doesn't matter - just serve with gravy (or a bit of stock in a jug).
If it's too wet just serve with a bit of bread to mop up juices.

Tacos
Fahitas
Cheesy, mincy pasta bake

Great! Thanks everybody for all those suggestions. Lots of good ideas that I will store away till next time. As I've fixated somewhat on this layered potato thang I think I will go with Lulabellarama's idea. If you're still around, would you suggest making the slices as thin as they would be if you used a mandolin veg peeler - or would that be TOO thin? And I take it you don't need to par boil them in your suggested method? Would I do just a single layer of spuds or could I do a double layer (and presumably brush with butter/oil in between?)

I haven't got any beans in the house and am not planning on going to the shops but the chilli ideas are very welcome for future reference. I was also pondering just doing some wedges or roast potatoes but rather like the idea of amalgamating the potates and the mince together.

And fruitbatlings, regarding the wierd typing, I am glad to hear it isn't just me! I have just posted in site stuff and it was REALLY difficult trying to explain what the problem is! Actually it's not doing it now - curiouser and curiouser!

I used to wrap the meat in cabbage leaves, cover with a tomato sauce and simmer for a while - was yummy. Might want to steam the cabbage leaves first.

They don't have to be super thin, just not more than 5mm. I would overlap them a lot but not actually double layer as it will be hard to get them evenly cooked. And no, you don't need to parboil. Perhaps cover the dish with foil for the first half an hour so that they steam a bit, then uncover for another 20 mins to crisp up.

my mum used to make Battered Mince, which sounds awful but was glorious - basically toad in the hole with mince (or any old leftovers) underneath the yorkshire pudding instead of the sausages

Thanks lulabellarama! KiwiKat, again that's one I'll put by for future use

chilli con carne with rice for next time?

wrap it in some puff pastry and put it in the oven for about 40 mins. serve with veg and gravy. this has to be my fav mince dish. and its very filling.

Thought I'd report back. I think 2 things went wrong. 1. our oven is shite 2. there was not enough mince to really make a proper hotpot.

I ended up slicing the potato thinly and layering it - very consciously not trying to overlap the slices very much. Brushed it with olive oil and sprinkled on a few dried herbs. I also found a tin of butter beans and put them in with the mince mixture along with a chopped up courgette and a bit of water with tomato puree. The oven was pre-heated to gas mark 4 (which I'd looked online to find matched 180 degrees) but because it's such an old thing I allowed for longer cooking times. So I put foil over it for 40 mins and then allowed another 20 mins with it off to roast them a bit more.

They were still hard!! In a panic I put some pasta on and then removed each potato slice, drizzled them with more olive oil and put them in the oven again in a roasting dish at a higher temperature for another 15/20 mins. It was a bit of a potch but in the end my children ate most of it (except the butter beans).

I think that perhaps there was maybe not enough mince mixture to create enough steam to cook the spuds? I cooked it in a medium sized oval casserole dish and it only came about two thirds up the sides. I think also that I have THE most ancient oven in Scotland. It's a Parkinson Cowan and I can't even find a model number - white enamel that's all flaking away on the door. I live in rented accommodation and we've nagged and nagged for a new one (the oven also sometimes turns itself off mid cooking BUT THE GAS KEEPS GOING!!!)to no avail.

Anyway, I like the idea of the dish and will probably make it from scratch the next time I buy some mince. Cook it in a larger square dish (so I can get more spuds in the finished article!) and maybe even parboil the spuds before layering them.

So thanks everyone for your help and thanks Moocowme for that puff pastry idea - sounds delicious!

glasjam - not related to cooking but re. the oven - do you have a landlords gas safety certifificate? In England it is a legal requirement, should be done annually. I cannot believe the oven would pass the test involved in getting the certificate - that would force your landlord to do something.

Yes Fimble - it took me about 3 months but I did eventually get the gas certificate and it said that it had failed - but this was because it had not been fitted or secured properly - they secured it so it didn't wobble about (great when you've pans on the hob!) - I spoke to the Gas fitter who did the check and he said that it was not fitted with a safety device that would cut out the gas if the flame went out (an FSD). BUT apparantly this is not a necessity when you are renting a house. IF we were in a bedsit/flat situation apparantly it is a legal requirement but not in a whole house situation.

This beggars belief - I mean even if it isn't a legal requirement, as a letting agent you would surely make sure all your tenants had the safest appliances?

Anyway, we are living with it and being vigilant because our 6 month contract ends on Jan 1st and then we are out of here. We will leave it in writing with them that the cooker should be replaced - we've requested this at least 3 times now. They're complete shysters

have you thought of getting an oven thermometer? i was in your situation once and it took me a while to figure out that the ocen did not cook at the temperature that it said it was. it was about 50' less so no wonder nothing cooked properly.

Hey, here in california, we use mince to do tacos. Buy the ready made shells at supermarket (you can get the in the uk). Warm them up and let the kids make their own tacos. Kids love it!!!! You do bowls with the following (1 item per bowl): mince, chopped tomatoes, chopped lettuce, grated cheese (I use cheddar), salsa (premade in jar from store), sour cream (Important...kids love it). Kids/adults then spoon ingredients in order and amounts they wish into tacos. Eating them is messy, but it's always popular and gets a bit of all the food groups. My kids usually start with a balance of everything and then degenerate by the 3rd or 4th taco to salsa and sour cream.