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Bethanial
Lovin' The Homestead
Not a huge fan, but if you really promise it kinda takes on the meat flavor, I'll try the cauliflower. 
Tortoise - meat strecher ideas! Please share more :-)
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journey11
Almost Self-Reliant
Legumes are a great substitute for meat and are nutritionally a good substitute too. I make a killer veggie lasagne using kidney beans instead of ground beef. I like this with some spinach layered in there too. Otherwise, it is about the same recipe as regular lasagne.
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Bethanial
Lovin' The Homestead
VERY interesting, and yummy sounding too! I always stretch taco meat with either kidney or refried beands!
tortoise
Wild Hare
Tacos and taco salad are awesome meat stretchers.
Grilled cheese sandwich with meat. Forget deli meat. Since the cheese holds it together, you can use scraps of last night's roast.
Chili with beans - very filling.
Pizza stretches sausage beautifully!
Another stretcher if you have ham is chef's salad with heard boiled eggs and ham.
You can get away without meat with a good egg salad for sandwiches.
Grilled cheese sandwich with meat. Forget deli meat. Since the cheese holds it together, you can use scraps of last night's roast.
Chili with beans - very filling.
Pizza stretches sausage beautifully!
Another stretcher if you have ham is chef's salad with heard boiled eggs and ham.
You can get away without meat with a good egg salad for sandwiches.
AnnaRaven
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Okay, just gotta say, as a newbie... I thought you were talking about stretching tortoise-meat.Bethanial said:
AnnaRaven
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We have to be really careful of that here because DH is diabetic. Legumes are a great protein source for nondiabetics, but they are carby.journey11 said:
Roasted eggplant is also really good as a way to stretch meats. Yum. Most vegetables can be roasted to add a good rich flavor and then used for meatless or low-meat dishes. Mushrooms, especially dried, add a meaty richness as well.
Unless we're having a chunk of meat (steak, roast, ribs), I rarely use more than 1/4 pound of meat for a meal for 3. Meat can work well as a flavoring rather than as the main "bulk" of a meal.
AnnaRaven
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Yum.tortoise said:
Frittatas are also good ways to use leftover bits of meat. If you have backyard chickens, you don't have to pay for the eggs... ;-)
patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
It's "stretching" only in a psychological sense not in a nutritional sense, but cutting the meat into thinner slices makes it seem like there is a lot more of it on your plate (also takes more time to eat it).
So, unless there is a compelling reason not to (like, *don't* try to grill thin steaks
) it is worth slicing roasts thinner, butterflying breasts or chops, that sort of thing. Butterflied chops or breasts can be stuffed with a Tbsp or two of something savory, btw, like a mixture with nuts or cheese or spinach or veggies or such, which is very easy and makes them a bit "fancier".
I think I recently mentioned this on another thread but since it is at the top of my head at the moment I'll say it again: a good way to stretch boneless chicken breasts (not that I often use those, but this can be done with some other meats too) is to slice them in half or even thirds flat-wise, so you have two or three times as many pieces. Then egg-dip and bread them, pan-fry til almost done, put a dollop of seasoned tomato sauce on them and a piece of mozzarella, and cover the pan for a minute or two til the sauce heats thru and the cheese melts.
Pat
So, unless there is a compelling reason not to (like, *don't* try to grill thin steaks
) it is worth slicing roasts thinner, butterflying breasts or chops, that sort of thing. Butterflied chops or breasts can be stuffed with a Tbsp or two of something savory, btw, like a mixture with nuts or cheese or spinach or veggies or such, which is very easy and makes them a bit "fancier".I think I recently mentioned this on another thread but since it is at the top of my head at the moment I'll say it again: a good way to stretch boneless chicken breasts (not that I often use those, but this can be done with some other meats too) is to slice them in half or even thirds flat-wise, so you have two or three times as many pieces. Then egg-dip and bread them, pan-fry til almost done, put a dollop of seasoned tomato sauce on them and a piece of mozzarella, and cover the pan for a minute or two til the sauce heats thru and the cheese melts.
Pat
Jen-pi
Lovin' The Homestead
Tortoise-
I use TVP (textured vegetable protien) to stretch ground beef. I think it is dried soybean meal or something. You just reconstitute it with water (a put a little beef bullion in mine) and add it to the ground beef you are frying. I use about a 50-50 mixture of ground beef to TVP.
Schools and prisions and such use it because it is economical. It takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking it with. My family has not noticed yet!
I use TVP (textured vegetable protien) to stretch ground beef. I think it is dried soybean meal or something. You just reconstitute it with water (a put a little beef bullion in mine) and add it to the ground beef you are frying. I use about a 50-50 mixture of ground beef to TVP.
Schools and prisions and such use it because it is economical. It takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking it with. My family has not noticed yet!
