Using up Leftovers

My mother came to visit last weekend, and while she was here, she bought us a cooked rotisserie chicken from my grocer's deli department. It was $3.99 for a whole, cooked chicken! I can't do much better on raw chicken! I created this recipe to use up the rest of the chicken leftover from her visit. Also, she takes 1/2 & 1/2 in her coffee, so I had leftovers of that as well. Feel free to use milk in its place in this recipe.

Chicken & Pepper Pasta

What You Need:

• 2 cups leftover, cooked chicken, skin and bones removed
• 2 cups pepper strips (I used sweet banana peppers, but bell peppers would add more flavor)
• 1 large onion, sliced into thin strips
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup 1/2 & 1/2
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 cups cooked pasta (I used torchiette)
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions for serving (optional)

How it's Done:

1. Heat oil over medium heat on stove top. Add peppers and onion and saute until the vegetables are soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Once heated through, stir in the 1/2 & 1/2 and shredded mozzarella. Cook and stir until melted and thickened.
2. Serve over pasta, topping with scallions if desired.

This post is linked to Tuesday Tag-Along and Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

Freezing Veggie Scraps Works for Me!

Here's something new I'll participate in: Works for Me Wednesday. Basically, it's about sharing tried and true techniques for...well...everything under the sun. Since mine is a cooking blog, I'll keep my tips in the kitchen. Or at least about food.

Today, I'd like to tell you about how I get rich vegetable stock from scraps. And I do it in my sleep.

Summertime is quickly approaching. While I love soups, summertime just isn't a good time of year to enjoy them. However, many recipes still require broth or stock, and those cans and boxes of broth and stock at the grocery store are just...bad. Salty and bland. Who wants that? Not me.

Instead, I make my own stocks and broths. Not long ago, I wrote about making chicken stock using the oven and stove top. But again: Do you want to heat up your house for it? I don't. Enter the slow cooker. This marvelous piece of chicken brilliance saves energy and doesn't heat up your kitchen like a simmering pot of stock would.

Here's how I make vegetable stock in my sleep"

1. I keep a freezer bag in my freezer for collecting vegetable scraps. Almost anything goes: onion skins, broccoli stalks, cabbage cores, carrot peels, lettuce leaves, celery leaves...whatever I wouldn't use for a recipe, as long as it was just vegetable (no fats added in cooking), it goes in the bag. It takes me about a week to accumulate enough scraps to make stock.
2. I fill my biggest slow cooker with the scraps, then I fill the rest of the space with water, all the way to the top of the pot. I add a little salt, and some pepper, and some freshly cut herbs.

3. It cooks all night while I'm sound asleep.

4. The next morning, I position a colander over a large bowl or pot and strain the liquid out of the vegetables. The vegetables go in the trash, and the liquid can either be used immediately or stored for future use. If I'm storing it, I like to freeze it in 2 cup portions. It'll keep for 6 months in the freezer.

And there you have it. "Free" vegetable stock, with very little effort. That works for me. :)

A Magical Transformation!

Leftovers have a horrible reputation. Quick: go take a peek in your fridge. Have you stored any leftovers in there? Most of us are really good at storing our leftover foods, but really, really bad at using them up. And who can blame us? Crispy egg rolls go soft. Fresh salads go limp. Breads dry out. Meat loses tenderness and flavor. Cheeses develop weird crusts. Who wants to eat something warmed over and substandard when we can make an entirely new dish instead?

My in-laws left today. They're wonderful about storing leftovers. They always take home doggy bags from the restaurant. But they're never keen on eating what they store. Therefore, a quick inventory of my refrigerator reveals the need for a few back-to-back leftover revivals. This evening, I performed magic as I transformed leftover minute steaks (a horrid cut of beef, avoid it), fettuccine, a bit of cream, a bit of leftover cheese, and a few other ingredients into a dish fit for a romantic dinner for two, complete with salad and bread. I completed the meal with strawberry shortcakes, all from leftover ingredients.

Eat your leftovers. They're practically free foods! And they don't have to be limp and lifeless. See what you can do?

What I had to work with: from left to right: Parmesan cheese, leeks, cream, fettuccine, and steak

More leftover foods: from left to right: Mozzarella, minced onion, tomato, salad, garlic toast

Enough lefotvers for dessert! Fresh whipped cream, strawberries, and little cakes!

Leftover Makeover: Fettuccine with Steak in a Creamy Leek Sauce with Bruschetta
Serves 2

What You Need:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• steak: I used three small minute steaks. These need to be cooked and cut into 1" pieces.
• fettuccine: Cooked. Enough for two people.
• 2 leeks, cut into rings
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh parsely, chopped
• 1/2 tsp each sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• for the bruschetta: sliced garlic bread (1 per person), sliced, seeded tomato (1 slice per toast), shredded mozzarella (1 Tbsp per toast)

How it's Done:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil.
2. Toss in leek rings and saute a couple minutes. Add garlic and stir about 30 seconds. Quickly add cream and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cook and stir until bubbling and thickened, about 15 minutes.
3. Add steak slices and heat through.

4. Meanwhile, prepare bruschetta. Place a tomato slice and a tablespoon of mozzarella on each slice of garlic toast. Broil until browned and bubbling.
5. Back to the main dish: Stir in mozzarella cheese until melted.
6. Toss pasta and parsely with sauce. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese on top.

Super Bowl Sunday

Day 38.

It's Super Bowl Sunday. It's a day of football. And a day of food. Super Bowl food should be portable, scoopable, and not require a utensil. But what rule says it needs to be spicy, cheesy, or even cooked?

Stuffed Strawberries

Ingredients:

• strawberries


• cream cheese frosting

How it's done:

Cut the stem off of the strawberries. Make a flat cut so it will sit straight on a platter. At the pointy end, make a cut 3/4 the way through the berry. If desired, you can make an X in this fashion like I did.

Now, pipe cream cheese frosting into the space until the strawberry is overflowing with it.

Serve chilled.

Potato Broccoli Soup with Parmesan Cheese

Day 26.

Use-it-up week continues. I've said it before: soup is such a frugal thing to eat. It's also a fantastic way to use up (and mask) leftovers at the end of a grocery week. Here's a recipe that helps use up bits of things. I considered adding sour cream or cream cheese at the end. I didn't...but if you do, please write and tell me how it turns out.

Potato Broccoli Soup with Parmesan Cheese

serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 shallot, chopped



• 1 onion, roughly chopped



• 1 Tbsp olive oil



• 2 cloves garlic, minced



• 4 cups water



• 12 oz frozen broccoli



• 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes



• 1 tsp ground nutmeg



• 2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper



• 2 tsp sea salt



• 5 dashes of hot sauce



• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese



• 1 1/2 cups milk

How it's Done:

1. Heat oil in a soup pot. Saute shallot and onion until the onion is clear. Add water and broccoli. Bring to a boil. Add mashed potatoes, stirring to combine. Stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg, and hot sauce.



2. In small batches, puree the soup in your blender or food processor. Return to pot.



3. Add Parmesan cheese and milk. Stir to blend. Heat gently. Serve.
   

Comfort Food

What would you say if I said that I have a recipe to share with you that is delicious, cheap (this meal is practically free!), and quick -- under 20 minutes start to finish?

You'd say, "Stop yer yappin' and get to typin'" wouldn't you? Mmm hmm.

Here you go!

Chicken & Dumplings

serves 4

Ingredients:

• leftover chicken (I used about 2 cups from a rotisserie chicken I cooked a couple days ago)


• 4 cups chicken broth


• fresh, chopped parsley (I used 1/4 cup chopped)


• salt and pepper to taste


• 2 cups flour


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp sea salt


• 2 Tbsp shortening


• 1 cup milk


• 1 cup 1/2 & 1/2 or milk

How it's Done:

1. Put chicken and broth on to boil in a large pot.


2. Meanwhile, mix flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or fingers. Add in milk. Knead until smooth, then roll to 1/4" thickness. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 2" x 1" rectangles.


3. Add dumplings to the broth a few at a time, moving then around and pressing gently to submerge in broth. Don't add any extra water or broth. You won't have much room for dumplings, and that's okay. Keep moving them around and making sure they all get wet.


4. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.


5. Uncover and stir in 1/2 & 1/2 or milk and parsley. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Sandwich Cubano (Cuban Sandwich)

Day Two.

One of the benefits to living in south Florida is the ability to walk into a Cuban restaurant and order a Cuban sandwich, a guava pastry, and a Cuban coffee. If you happen to be in Palm Beach County, I highly recommend Havana for a great meal.

However, if, like me, you're not in the Sunshine State, you can make your own Cuban sandwich at home.

Cuban Sandwich

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of Cuban bread (If you can't find Cuban bread, look for a long loaf like French Bread. You're looking for very crusty outside and soft inside. A baguette will NOT work. It's not wide enough.)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup mustard (I mix 1/2 cup mustard with 3 Tbsp mayonnaise. You're not supposed to use mayo traditionally. I like it.)
• Baby Swiss. How much you use will depend on the size of your loaf of bread. You need enough to make two layers on each serving.
• 1 1/2 cups of leftover roast pork, cut into thin pieces
• Deli-thin ham (again, the amount you need depends on your bread)
• Dill pickle slices. Not rounds. Ovals are good, as are sandwich stackers.
• Butter, softened

Directions:

• Cut your loaf of bread into four equal part. Slice each horizontally, almost all the way through. Leave the halves connected on one edge.
• Spread your mustard (or mustard mayo mix) on both sides of the bread.
• Starting on the bottom slice of bread, layer your ingredients in this order: Swiss cheese, ham, pickles, roast pork, Swiss cheese.Top your sandwich. Spread both pieces of bread with softened butter.
• Place your sandwich on a preheated (to medium-high) griddle. Find something heavy (I use a plate topped with a full tea kettle) and use it to smoosh your sandwich while it toasts. After a couple minutes, flip your sandwich, smoosh it again, and let the other side toast for a minute or two. You're only toasting and smooshing and barely melting cheese. This does not heat the sandwich all the way through. If you want it heated all the way through, heat up your meats ahead of time. Remove your thoroughly smooshed sandwich from the griddle. Cut it on the diagonal into two thin triangles and serve.

Delicioso!