Cobb Salad

That Slow Cooker Chicken and Potatoes and even the leftover steak were part of tonight's dinner. I added some hard-boiled eggs and bacon, olives, and tomatoes. No wasted food here. And I have leftovers of this salad for lunch tomorrow.

And Then There Was Salad

Last night's dinner leftovers became tonight's salad.

If It's Sunday...

Have our dinners become too predictable? Yes it is Sunday and yes we are having pizza. But not just any pizza. A leftovers pizza. We had an extra pork chop that no one ate last night and those peppers and onions could not be wasted. Yes I even put the leftover zucchini on the pie. It was delicious! We ate almost the whole thing!

Friday Night Pasta

I am sure could come up with a more clever title to tonight's post but I can barely believe I even made dinner. This week my co-worker was on a much-deserved vacation.  That left me to do her job and mine. Dear God. I feel like I should buy her flowers on Monday welcoming her back. When I got home tonight I had a Vodka Gimlet, thank you Chris, and stood in front of the refrigerator and decided what to make for dinner. There was leftover grilled zucchini and sausage from last night. There were some sliced salami and a small zucchini. The recipe came together quickly.

I diced an onion and sliced the small zucchini. The saute pan was heated up with olive oil and the onion and zucchini were added. I seasoned the pan with salt and pepper. I added a knob of butter, and about a 1/4 of a cup of white wine. Next, I tossed in sliced salami and the grilled zucchini and sausage. I added chopped fresh parsley and fresh oregano.

Meanwhile the homemade, yes homemade, pasta was cooking in salted water. Disclaimer: I made pasta on Sunday and froze it!

I added the cooked pasta to the saute pan along with about 3/4 of pasta water. Some cheese, crushed red pepper. Adjusted the salt and pepper.

We had a hit. It was delicious. The sauce was just spicy enough. All we needed to add was a couple of glasses of wine.

Happy Friday!

Better Than Take-Out Chicken Fried Rice

I thought the best way to use up leftover roasted chicken was Chicken Pot Pie. Well there is a new recipe in our rotation. Chicken Fried Rice. This one is from the Recipe Critic, Better Than Take-Out Chicken Fried Rice. I got home at 6:20. Dinner was on the table by 6:45. I did cut up the Chicken this morning and I made the rice last night but still it was an easy meal to make. And it was tasty!

Ingredients-
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
3 cups cooked rice
2 Tbs sesame oil
1 small white onion, chopped
1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce (more or less to taste)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp chopped green onions (optional)

Method-
Shred the cooked chicken.
Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.
Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
Add the rice and chicken to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.

Pork Fried Rice

Tonight I had book club but before I headed out I whipped up a quick Pork Fried Rice for Chris. Why don't I make this more often?

Ingredients-
1 tablespoon butter
1 (6 ounce) leftover pork or chicken, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 green onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cold cooked rice
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Method-
Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir carrot, celery, and green onion in melted butter, 7 to 10 minutes. Add cooked pork or chicken and heat through. Remove pork mixture to a bowl and return skillet to medium heat.

Scramble egg in the skillet until completely set. Return the pork mixture to the skillet. Stir rice, soy sauce,  and ground ginger into the pork mixture; cook and stir until heated through, 7 to 10 minutes.

Creamy Dijon Turkey Soup

Well we have leftover Turkey and Chris had a request. Dijon Turkey Soup. Perfect. I love anything with Dijon mustard. This is a variation on a recipe I found on the Jennie-O site. I made a large pot of Chicken Broth yesterday so I used that in place of the bullion and reduced the amount of milk.

Ingredients-
3 Tbsp Butter
1 Cup Onion, Chopped
1 Cup Celery, chopped
1 Cup Carrots, chopped
3 Tbsp Flour
2 Cups Roasted Turkey Breast, diced
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper
2 Cups Milk
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Chopped Fresh Thyme

Method-
In large saucepan on medium heat melt butter. Add onion, celery,and carrot. Cook 5 minutes until onion is softened, stirring occasionally.
Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook 1 minute to cook flour.
Remove pan from heat. Slowly add milk and chicken broth, stirring constantly. Return pan to medium-high heat.
Stir in mustard and thyme. Cook 5 to 8 minutes or until mixture is thickened and bubbly, stirring occasionally.
Add turkey; cook, uncovered, for about 2 minutes or until hot.

This was delicious!

What To Do With Leftover Ratatouille?

Yeah on top of a Hot Dog. Only thing is you have to use a fork and knife!

Cold Antipasto

When we were visiting my nephew for the Baptism a couple of weeks ago we had a dinner which was a big antipasto. It never occurred to me to do that for dinner. Tonight that is what I put on the table. Fantastic.

I had seen a recipe using Patty Pan Squash on the Proud Italian blog a couple of nights ago and had to try it. I used the leftover Zucchini Salad from last night, adding the Patty Pan Squash. I adjusted the dressing, olive oil and lemon juice. Nice!

 

I had some Capicola, Olives, Fresh Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Basil. I just added a little olive oil and salt over the Tomatoes and Mozzarella.

Then there was so steak leftover from last night's dinner. Some lettuce, olives, tomatoes and feta cheese. The steak sliced on top. A little vinaigrette dressing. Perfect meal for a hot summer night.

Ravioli with Bacon, Chorizo, Red Peppers, Lentils & Kale

Hey didn't we have Chorizo, Lentils and Kale last night?

Ravioli with Bacon and Red Peppers is something I have been making for a long time. It is an easy meal for nights when you don't have a lot of time. I had the leftovers from last night's dinner and decided that they might be a nice addition to the recipe. Score!* Fantastic addition. 

Ravioli with Bacon, Chorizo, Red Peppers, Lentils and Kale

Ingredients -

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, sliced

2 bacon slices, chopped

1 7 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained, sliced

1/4 cup canned chicken broth

Leftover Chorizo, Lentils and Kale

freshly grated Parmesan

Method -

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bacon and cook until onion is tender and bacon is cooked, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Stir in peppers and broth and simmer for one minute. Add the leftover Chorizo, Lentils and Kale and stir until heated.

Prepare the ravioli according to the package.  Reserve about a cup of the pasta water. Add the cooked ravioli to the saute pan and toss well. Add some pasta water if the dish is too dry. Season with salt and pepper and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

* I sound like someone who has been listening to hockey the last few nights!

Roasted Butternut Squash, Potato and Prosciutto Frittatta

You may remember last Friday night I made roasted butternut squash and potatoes.
I had quite a bit leftover so that was the base for the frittatta. I added onion, prosciutto and Scamorza cheese. Nice combinations. I sauteed the onion and than added the butternut squash and potatoes. Got them a bit crispy and added the eggs and some Parmesan cheese. Topped it with the prosciutto and the Scamorza cheese.

We made panini's and had potato chips as a side, what a treat!

Deviled Bones

Yes once again we had my favorite post Christmas dinner.  Deviled Bones.
Tomorrow night and the following night we will not be eating meat... I just can't.

 

Today would have been my parent's 68th wedding anniversary. I had done a web site for them on their 60th wedding anniversary.  A couple of the images are missing(???), but it's fun to look at the old photos.

French Dip Sandwiches

Yes we have some leftover Roast Beef. I found a recipe for the Au Jus at Food.com.

We had the leftover roasted potatoes too. They were better the second night!

The Best Calzone Recipe Revisited

A week ago I made a calzone that I said was the most delicious calzone I had tasted. Well I made it again for tonight's dinner. This time I used the leftover meat from the Stuffed Flank Steak we had on Saturday. What a great way to use up leftovers. I added ricotta salata cheese and some black olives to the filling. The crust is wonderful.