Yeh, sure – most folk have more than likely turned leftover meatloaf into a spaghetti sauce of some sort, but…
What about if we start with the meatloaf mixin’s to make a sauce?
The original version of this recipe, from the nice folk at myrecipes.com, called for a toasted breadcrumb topping – kindof like a deconstructed Johnny Mazetti Spaghetti – but I skipped that, and ended up adding extra veggies and stuff.
In the end, this made a pretty nice sauce, even with the brown sugar (!) and it worked as nicely on pasta as leftovers did in a Detroit-Style Pizza.
INGREDIENTS
•Olive oil
•1-1/2 lb meatloaf mix
•4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
•1-1/2 cup diced onion
•1 cup shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix)
•4 garlic cloves, minced
•1-1/2 cup ketchup
•1 can (11.5 oz) veggie juice (low sodium)
•1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
•6 oz can tomato paste
•16 oz tomato sauce
•2 tbsp brown sugar
•1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce – or your fave hot sauce, to taste
•2 tsp cider vinegar
•1 bay leaf
•1 tsp Seasoned Salt
•1 tsp black pepper
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1/2 tsp dried basil
•1/2 tsp dried oregano
•1/4 tsp ground sage
•1/4 tsp dried thyme
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Warm one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat, then add the ground meatloaf mix and cook, breaking up the meat, until cooked through and most pan juices are cooked off.
Transfer the cooked meat to a colander to drain and wipe out the pan.
Warm one more tablespoon of olive oil in the pan over medium high heat, add the onion and cabbage, and cook until tender, about ten minutes.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, then add the remaining ingredients and reduce the heat to medium low.
Simmer, stirring often, for 45 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit and the flavors have fully blended.
Give it a taste.
Pretty nice, yeah?
I went with egg noodles instead of spaghetti, and air fryer garlic toast on the side.