Gianna's Meal Makeovers

Truth be told, Gianna wastes a lot of food. While I’m short-order cooking whatever she fancies (“Oh, can I have mac ‘n cheese tonight?” “I said chicken.” “Where is my pizza?” “Can’t I just have yogurt and apple?). I’m also thinking about the many plates of untouched and picked over food left at the table from one demanding, often-unsatisfied customer.

In order to keep my ‘restaurant’ in business (and my food costs down) I needed to come up with a way to make use of her leftovers. Not for her, of course: She wasn’t going to eat them. But my husband, Brad, and I could. Yesterday’s mac ‘n cheese and sautéed zucchini were about to become the main attractions in tonight’s meatloaf (see recipe below or click here).

I can’t think of an easier meal to prepare than meatloaf. Once you decide on your base (I often use ground turkey or a mix of pork and beef) it’s anyone’s game as to what else goes in. Leftovers are perfect and tonight, Gianna’s food loss will be our gain. Once I put in the mac ‘n cheese and zucchini, I added some shredded mozzarella cheese, frozen spinach, tomato paste and some seasoning. Brad and I had a great meal. I guess you could call it a more sophisticated (and more healthful) version of Hamburger Helper. Gianna doesn’t know what she missed.—Nicole Denis