Mince, meatloaf and padding it out

[nkf]

Have some mince which I want to use up today. Was thinking meat loaf but don't have quite enough. What would happen if I added peppers and red lentils? And if I added red lentils, should I cook them a bit first? Big online shop coming but not in time for either lunch/dinner so have to work with what's here. Any thoughts?

You'd want to cook the lentils first as they'd need to be soft going into the loaf.

You could also add some breadcrumbs to pad it out a bit too.

Veggies would also be great - I'd prob fry them off first though -- peppers, mushrooms, onions, carrot, celery etc - you don't want too much moisture to come out of them in the loaf.

Doradoos advice spot on. Cook the lentils and fry the veg, and lob a beaten up egg into the mix which will help bind it together.

Its ages since we had meat loaf... I'm going to dig up my recipe

Ok. Will rummage around for veg. Cook veg and lentils. But mix that with uncooked meat?

Yes - cook the lentils and veg - then follow your recipe as normal - adding the extras when you mix the meat.

Then cook as normal.

It worked out perfectly. So much so that I might use lentils again.

Sorry, posted too soon. Thanks everyone. Dinner was eaten in about 10 minutes flat with everyone wanting seconds.

Can you bear to post the recipe when you've got a mo? I've never done meatloaf - would like to add it to my repertoire

It's not really a recipe. Basically, I mix minced minced beef with chopped onions and pat the mixture into a loaf shape. You can put the mixture into a bowl/loaf tin and then turn it out on a flat baking tray.

Extras I've added include:

• peppers
• minced pork
• lentils (as of today)

I usually use something like Italian seasoning in the mix. And salt and pepper. And, when it's sitting on the baking tray, I usually pour some red wine over it.

Another good thing to do is cut up potatoes and put them round the edge to cook.

Sorry, I probably did get it from a recipe many years ago but that's what I do now.

About an hour in the oven.

It's jolly good though and very popular in my house.

Thanks for that. I'm going to give it a go.

OOh roasting potatoes whilst cooking the meatloaf. GOOD PLAN. I like it.

Did you use new potatoes or regular?

BTW - padding it out.

I have previously used spinach and mushrooms.

Ordinary potatoes though you could use new. Mashed potato is good too. The only thing it lacks as a dish is a gravy. You need to make some kind of sauce. I'm very useless at sauces so I use ready made gravy. Loads of mustard. Yum.