If you have leftover meatloaf and want a delicious way to reinvent a fresh meal out of it then you are going to love my meat and cheese wraps. This recipe will stretch a little meat further. Instead, they will think that you worked very hard with this meal when it is basically making a small batch of dough and then assembling some chopped meatloaf into these folded pockets of homemade dough spiked with plenty of Cheddar cheese and delicately seasoned with basil and red pepper flakes before topping with American cheese and gently moistened with spaghetti sauce.
The beauty of this recipe is you don’t need very much meat. I used about two cups of meatloaf once I cut it into small pieces. You can use more or less. The reason that you don’t need all that much is because there is ample Cheddar cheese in the dough itself and each wrap gets a slice of American cheese as well.
Another great thing about using my recipe for cheesy meat wraps is that you can adapt this to please cheeseburger lovers by substituting catsup and mustard in place of the spaghetti sauce in the filling with or without some cut pickle.
You also turn your leftover meatloaf for this recipe into a mini pizza filling by adding some mozzarella cheese and whatever else you prefer on pizza from pepperoni, pineapple, anchovies, etc.
Though you don’t have to paint your finished filled cheesy meat wraps with egg white or yolk if you prefer or sprinkling with caraway seeds, I like the shine and extra golden brown beauty it provides. However, I am trying not to waste my ingredients because eggs where I live harder to find besides more expensive when I finally found them. Therefore, I wanted to conserve most of the egg and use only a part of the egg white. What I did was to take out a tablespoon of the egg white at a time in a cup for painting the tops with my silicone brush, which was enough to do the entire recipe. The rest that was never touched, I saved in a separate container for another recipe.
What I am saying is that there are lots of tasty ways that you can enjoy eating leftover meatloaf than just reheating it or by slicing it cold for your sandwich. You’ll save money utilizing the food that you have on hand and lighten your cooking chores while adding more variety to your usual recipes. I hope that you decide this easy and satisfying recipe since it is a real family pleaser here.
Meat and Cheese Wraps Recipe
- Cheesy Dough
- 1-1/4 cups of warm water not scalding hot
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1-1/4 tablespoons of sugar
- 3 ½- 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons of salt
- 1 ½ cups grated Cheddar cheese
- ½ teaspoons of dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- Filling:
- 2 cups of leftover meatloaf
- 6 slices of American cheese
- 1/4 cup of spaghetti sauce
- egg white
- caraway seeds optional
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To Prepare the Cheesy Dough:
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Mix the warm water with some of the sugar and then add the yeast. Stir until it dissolves. The yeast will take a few minutes to start bubbling. This is your sign that your dough will rise.
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Next, slowly start adding the flour, salt, cheese, basil, red pepper flakes, and oil to incorporate. You want soft, pliable dough. Depending on the weather and humidity, you may need to add just little more flour. You will know how to judge this by noticing how sticky the dough feels. If it wants to still cling to your fingers, you just want to add a tiny bit more.
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After you shape the dough into a pliable ball, cover with a lid or a moistened dish cloth and allow to grow in a warm spot for about two hours.
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Afterwards, you will divide the dough into six balls of the size I made in my photo. You can make your balls bigger or smaller.
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Roll each ball into a large circle that will have ample room to fill before flipping it over to seal.
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Paint the dough inside of each circle with spaghetti sauce.
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Distribute the chopped meatloaf filling toward one half of each of your six dough circles. Top each evenly with a slice of American cheese.
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Now paint the edges of each filled circle with water. Flip the dough over and press with your fingers. You can use a fork or just crumple the dough as you go.
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Place your filled sealed cheesy meat wraps on a well-greased baking pan before painting each again with egg white and then sprinkling with caraway seeds.
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Finally, stab the top of each with your fork or a slit with a knife in a few places to allow air through.
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Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
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ENJOY!
