Meatloaf - mini or otherwise

On Sunday, I ventured into the supermarket.

This is not something I do lightly or, out of choice, accompanied - especially not by the children who drive me completely bonkers in the supermarket, so on this occasion at least, the odds were in my favour.

One of the reasons I actually attended my local hall of over-consumption was to get some steak sauce. The other one was because in the holidays, I become totally disorganised - and what with weeks away here and there - scout camp, a week at mum's etc, I find it hard to focus on doing a sensible online shop.

Anyway, that's quite enough about my inadequacies (for the moment, at least). I needed steak sauce to make Nigella's mini meatloaves out of Express. The recipe is conveniently on Nigella.com so I've added the link there. I've made them before, mini style, and used them to add delight to Blue's lunch boxes. When I saw the August challenge for Forever Nigella, Fridge Raider Snacks, I knew this was the recipe to make. Would the Goddess eat these picking from the fridge in a silky dressing gown - I have an inkling that she would.

However - disaster! No steak sauce to be had. Not to be deterred, I decided to go off piste and selected a bottle of Mr Levi Roots Reggae Reggae sauce - of the mild variety, given that the kids would be eating the resulting meatloaf. Then, when I was preparing the mixture, I decided that what it also needed was some spring onions (I had some left over from out of the garden). And I didn't have quite the right amount of sausage meat. Finally, to make the fridge raider element more likely, I decided to make one big meatloaf, rather than minis - my reasoning being that if I made the mini ones, I would be sensible and freeze the ones we didn't eat this evening. However, with a big one, the leftovers, should there be any, will go in the fridge, to be picked at, if not in a slinky silk dressing gown, then in a pair of tatty PJs.

Meatloaf

500g beef mince

400g high meat content sausages

80g oats

bunch of spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

70g mild Reggae Reggae Sauce

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

1tsp seasalt

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/gas 6, and line a loaf tin with foil.

In a bowl, squeeze the sausagemeat out of the skins, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with a fork.

Spoon the mixture into the lined loaf tin, smooth down with a fork and pop in the oven for about 45 minutes. Check that the middle is piping hot before removing from the oven.

I shall be serving it up with green salad from the garden, potato salad and, if he'll let me, the Husband's pickled onions, and unlike last night where all I had to look forward to in the middle of the night was a wake up from Pink worried about a giant spider, tonight, I may just sneak downstairs for a little midnight snack...

Forever Nigella #18 is hosted by Karen at Lavender and Loveage, for Sarah at Maison Cupcake.