No Waste Tastes Great / Leftover Lasagne

It’s Friday Guys – Time for No Waste Tastes Great!

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Simply Being Mum’s Friday Fridge

My Fridge had a mid-week tidy. By Wednesday it was a little chaotic. This week’s meal plan didn’t quite go to plan. It’s all explained here.

There was mid-week food waste.

But on the bright side, no further waste to report this Food Waste Friday.

Most likely due to the wake-up call I had Wednesday. Seeing how my fridge was progressing I took action. Extra vigilant on using items up, today’s fridge isn’t looking too bad. Every item has a destination in mind. Do you see the fresh rolled pizza dough from Aldi? I love this dough. Previously I always handmade the dough for Saturday night pizza. But this really is a time-saver.

What you cannot see in the fridge are these items – my leftovers…

I didn’t really have a plan for the leftover slow cooked ham, chicken and one lonely leek.

Until, that is, I flicked through a free Asda magazine. Seek and ye shall find.

There was this recipe. Obviously the title caught my eye. I love cooking, but at the same time I’m the queen of shortcuts. Anything with ‘easiest’ in the title is sure to get me reading.

As always, I didn’t follow the recipe closely. But rather took the principle and adapted it to what leftovers I had to use up.

Simply Being Mum’s Leftover Lasagne

Wash and dice the leek (or any other suitable vegetable that you have to use up. Courgette/zucchini, onion, aubergine/eggplant, tomato, pepper etc…)

(I’m a little obsessed with leeks at the moment…they have featured a lot on my Instagram)

Heat in a pan with a little oil.

Whilst the leek is softening, make the cheese sauce.

My simple cheese sauce recipe is here. Remember to increase the cornflour and maybe reduce heating time slightly when making a lasagne sauce. A thicker cheese sauce may only need 5 minutes of heating in total. Keep an eye on your jug as it heats to avoid it boiling over.

Dice the cooked ham and chicken into pea-sized pieces. I didn’t use all the ham I had leftover. Half went back in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. You need about the same amount of ham as the size of a breast of chicken.

Once leeks have softened, turn off the heat and add the meat to the pan. Then pour over a jar of pasta sauce, ragu or chopped tomatoes – depending on what you typically use.

I had an emergency jar of Aldi pasta sauce in the cupboard, so that’s what went in!

In a lasagne dish layer the bottom with no-pre-cook lasagne sheets.

Pour in half of the mixture from the pan and smooth down.

Add a second pasta layer and cover with half the cheese sauce.

Repeat the process for a second layer and sprinkle grated cheese on the top to cover.

In a pre-heated oven cook for 40 minutes on 190°C/170°C Fan (375°F or Gas Mark 5)

My leftover lasagne hasn’t been cooked yet. As the meat has already been cooked I prefer to only reheat once. It’ll be cooked tonight. It’ll feature on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! Go check it out. Just click on the links to my accounts on the right-hand side of my blog page.

Any top tips on another variation of leftover lasagne? Please share!

Thanks as always to Kristen, The Frugal Girl, (the founder of Food Waste Friday and the inspiration behind No Waste Tastes Great)…Don’t forget to head on over to her’s to link up your Food Waste Friday post!