I love after holiday sales! I went to Dollar General the other day and I got these 3 Chocolate Bunnies for ten cents apiece. What a savings! Andy's cousins moved into a new house so I made these Chocolate Bunny Bars for them for a housewarming gift. They were oooey gooey chocolate goodness and easy to make! Enjoy :)
Chocolate Bunny Bars
Ingredients:
For the Base:
1 Devils Food Cake Mix
3 Chocolate Bunnies (I used the hollow ones)
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup of Vegetable Oil
1/4 Cup of Milk
For the Top:
1/2 Cup Cake Mixture
1/2 Chopped Chocolate Bunnies
3/4 Package Cream Cheese, chopped into small cubes
1&1/4 Cup Coconut
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 glass baking pan.
2. Chop Chocolate Bunnies into small pieces, then set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil and milk. Add 1/2 of the chopped bunnies.
4. Set aside 1/2 Cup of the mixture in another bowl for the topping. Spread the rest of the cake mixture onto the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan.
5. In the other bowl, add the rest of the chocolate bunnies, coconut and creme cheese cubes. Mix together with 1/2 cup of cake mixture. When mixed, drop onto base in small dobs. Make sure to dob evenly across cake base.
6. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Good Evening!!! I can't believe it's already the end of September. This school year is really flying by. It has been a challenge keeping up my posting and working full-time. But, have no fear, I have a pile of What's for Leftovers recipes that I need to post. They're just waiting for some spare time!
Here's a new recipe that you can use with leftover tuna salad. My husband, Andy, only like a few types of fish: fried catfish, tuna fish and shrimp. A little while ago, I made a speedy dinner of tuna fish. I made a large batch, so we had quite a bit leftover. Since tuna fish salad doesn't last very long, I wanted to have it again the next day, but didn't want to have tuna salad sandwiches again. Soooo, I baked it. It turned out fantastic! Enjoy!
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10 to 11 inch baking pan with Pam.
2. Mix all ingredients together. Pour into baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes. Baked Tuna Salad is finished when the top is lightly browned and bubbly.
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I love to make rice salad. It's so easy, a little of this, a little of that, some cheese and Italian dressing and voila, ready to eat. Unfortunately, I'm the only one in our family who really loves rice salad, so I either need to be making it for a party or be prepared to eat it every night for a week. Last week I got tired of eating leftover rice salad, so I snuck it into a dish for dinner. Wouldn't you know, my family loved the dish, so I now know what I can do with leftover rice salad. Enjoy!
Chicken Vino
Ingredients:
6 Chicken Breast or Thighs, thawed
1 Can Cream of Mushroom
1 & 1/2 to 2 Cups of Rice Salad
1/2 Can Black Olives, Sliced
1/2 Green Pepper, Chopped
1/2 Onion, Chopped
1/4 Cup Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Red Wine
(*My rice salad had peas and tomatoes in it, if yours doesn't you can also add these to your dish.)
Put your chicken into a large slow cooker. Pour all other ingredients on top. Cook on High for 1 &1/2 to 2 hours until chicken is done. Check periodically and stir, add a little water or milk if sauce starts to dry up.
Celia and Charlie LOVE corn on the cob, but after they eat so many pieces I have to draw the line. Celia has eaten leftover corn on the cob for breakfast many times. Over the holiday weekend, we found ourselves with 4 halves of corn on the cob leftover and I was tired of serving it that way. The corn found itself in a great corn and bean salad. The first night we at it as a side dish salad, the second night I used it on steak tostados, the third night I topped nachos with it and brought them to our neighbors for dinner. Needless to say this is a very delicious and versatile dish. Let me know how you use it!
Corn and Black Bean Salad
Ingredients:
1 Can Black Beans Drained
1 Can Rotel, Mexican Lime & Cilantro Style, Drained
2 Cups Cooked Corn (about 2 ears, corn on the cob)
4 oz Chive and Onion Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Diced Vidalia Onion
1/2 Tsp Taco Seasoning
2 & 1/2 TBSP Guacamole Dip (the pre-made dip style)
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Refrigerate until ready to eat or use.
This is my last week of work for the summer, so I'm breaking out some summertime dessert recipes. I made these bars a week ago for a family dinner. They are creamy and cool, in addition to being delicious! 
CheeseCake Layer Bars
Layer 1- Crust
25 Large Marshmallows
1 TBSP Butter
4 Cups Cornflakes
Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, microwave marshmallows and butter in 30 second increments. When marshmallows have puffed up, stir in cornflakes. Spread out on the bottom of your pan. Let sit for 30 minutes and smash down.
Layer 2- Chocolate
3 Chocolate Bunnies
6 Squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
Break up chocolate bunnies into a bowl. Mix in baking chocolate squares. Microwave in 10 second increments, stirring in between. When melted, spread chocolate over cornflake crust. Let sit 10-15 minutes.
Layer 3- Cheesecake Layer
1 Bar Cream Cheese
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Boxes Pudding, Chocolate or Vanilla
1 Can Evaporated Milk
Soften cream cheese. Mix all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour over chocolate layer. Put in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Happy rainy Monday!
Last weekend we had a really fun engagement party for my sister Jen and her fiance Austin. As with most parties, there was a ton of food leftover. Lucky for us, my mom brought a whole bunch of the leftovers to my house. Jen had made this really fantastic tasting, simple to make, Pesto Dip for the party. I added some half and half to it to turn it into a creamy dressing for a pasta salad. The pasta salad can be served warm or cold, depending upon what your family likes. Here's the dip recipe, plus the Pesto Pasta Salad recipe. This way you can plan your leftover meal in advance! Enjoy!
Jen's Pesto Dip
Ingredients:
Half a Jar of Pesto
1/2 cup (or so) chopped roasted red pepper
1 Bar of Cream Cheese
3/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts
Combine pesto and cream cheese, add peppers and walnuts.
Serve with crackers or french bread
Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 and 1/8 Cup of Pesto Dip
3/8 Cup Half & Half
1 TBSP Dried Minced Onion
4 Cups Cooked Pasta
3 Roma Tomatoes, Chopped
2 oz Mozzarella Cheese (shredded or cubed)
1/2 Cup Turkey or Ham Lunchmeat, Chopped
2 and 1/2 Cups Cooked Cauliflower, Chopped*
1. Mix together pesto dip, half & half and minced onion until creamy.
2. In large bowl, stir together cooked pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, lunchmeat and cauliflower. Pour dressing on top and mix.
*If your family does not like cauliflower, substitute 2 and 1/2 cups of peas and chopped green peppers.
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Happy Cinco de Mayo What's for Leftovers readers! We love tacos in our household, however sometimes I get tired of making them the "regular" way. This recipe is a great way to use up roasted chicken or leftover chicken breasts and celebrate Cinco de Mayo! Serve this with What's for Leftovers' Sangria and you'll have an instant party!
Crispy Chicken and Corn Tacos
Ingredients:
3 Cups Cooked Chicken
1 Cup Corn
½ Cup Plain Yogurt
½ Cup Cream Cheese
½ Cup Water
2 Tsp Dried Green Pepper
2 Tsp Dried Red Pepper
1 TBSP Dried Onions
8 to 10 Flour Tortillas
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Lettuce
Fresh Cilantro
Chopped Tomatoes
1. If chicken is still on the bone, take it off and cut it up into small pieces. There needs to be 3 cups after you take it off the bone.
2. Wash lettuce, cilantro and tomatoes. Chop, mix together and put aside to use to stuff your tacos.
3. In a large sauce pan, mix togetherchicken, corn, yogurt, cream cheese and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add peppers and onions to pan. Cook until a creamy sauce begins to form and everything is heated thoroughly, about 10 minutes.
4. Turn stove top on medium heat. Spray a large frying pan with non-stick spray. When pan is hot, put a tortilla in pan. Spray side facing up with non-stick spray. Heat bottom of tortilla for 15 to 30 seconds. Flip tortilla. Before putting tortilla back down, spray pan again. Put a large spoonful of chicken and corn filling on half of taco. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on the other side. When cheese is melted, fold one side of taco over the other. Cook both sides until light brown and crispy. Continue with other tortillas.
5. Stuff tacos with lettuce, cilantro and tomatoes and serve. Ole!
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I love the weekends. It's so fun to make my family new and interesting breakfast dishes. This weekend I stuffed regular canned biscuits to make something different. They must've been a big hit because a couple of hours later Celia came up to me and said she wanted some more of those biscuit balls. Sadly, I had to tell her she had ate them all. Next weekend I'm going to stuff the biscuits with ham and cheese. I can't wait to see if everyone will like that version as much. I was able to figure out the calories and fat for this dish. Each biscuit has about 70 calories and 2 fat grams (I rounded up a bit), so you can enjoy more than one :)
**If you want to double this recipe, don't double the egg. One egg is enough to dip two cans of biscuits in. I used black currant jelly, but feel free to use any kind of jelly your family likes. Or, stuff the biscuits with ham and cheddar cheese, or mushrooms and goat cheese if you want to get fancy. The possibilities are endless, yet so easy to make!
Black Currant Stuffed Biscuits
Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 Oz Cream Cheese (I used neufchatel cream cheese)
1 Tube Small Biscuits
1 Egg
Jelly (I used Black Currant Jelly)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg.
3. Cut cream cheese into the same number of small squares as your biscuits. (My tube of biscuits had 10, so I cut my cheese into 10 small squares.)
4. Put 2 biscuits between a piece of wax paper. Roll them out flat with a rolling pin. Put a piece of cream cheese in the middle of the biscuit. Put a spoonfull of jelly (1/4 to 1/2 tsp) on top of cream cheese. Roll biscuit up. Then fold sides up to form a little ball. See pictures of how to do this. Try to close seam as tightly as possible so jelly doesn't ooze
out too much.
I love when the unexpected turns out great. Yesterday Andy and I wanted to have an easy dinner without a lot of fuss. He was talking about Taco Bell, but I had just gone major grocery shopping the other day. Plus, ever since we've made friends with our neighbor Mathilde, Taco Bell just doesn't sound that great. Mathilde's authentic Mexican food is to die for! So I talked Andy out of Taco Bell and set out to make something easy. I knew I needed to use up some ham, but I was tired of my regular leftover ham recipes. Instead, I looked around and came up with this curry noodle dish. It was amazing: one of the best pastas I've ever made and oh so simple. The egg noodles have great substance and the scent of the curry powder will make your house smell great! If you want yours to have a little more bite, add some red pepper to your dish. Enjoy!
Curry Noodles with Summer Squash
Ingredients:
8 oz Egg Noodles*
2 Cups Chopped Ham
1 Medium Yellow Squash
1 Medium Zucchini
1 and 1/2 Cups Water
1 TBSP Dried Minced Onion
1/2 TBSP Curry Powder
1 and 1/2 TBSP Cream Cheese
3 Oz Plain Yogurt
2 Chopped Roma Tomatoes
1. Put water in a medium sized soup pan on stove top and bring to a boil.
2. While water is starting to boil, chop ham, squash and zucchini. Put in a separate medium sized soup pan. Add water, dried onion, cream cheese, yogurt and curry powder to pan. Turn heat on high right before putting egg noodles into boiling water. Bring to a boil and turn down to medium heat. Continue stirring while cooking so sauce won't burn on the bottom.
3. Follow directions on egg noodles. Cook until al dente. When finished cooking, drain water and put back into pan. Turn stove off under noodles.
4. Right before mixing sauce in with noodles, take out a large spoon full of sauce and mix a teaspoon of flour with liquid to form a paste. Pour paste back into sauce and bring sauce to a boil, stirring frequently. (This will thicken your sauce up a bit.) Pour sauce over noodles, turn heat back on and bring to a boil, stirring. Turn off heat and let sit covered for 5 to 10 minutes.
* I used specialty, dried egg noodles (from Aldis). If you don't have these, I reccomend the type you buy from the freezer.
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We had some awesome enchiladas at the birthday party we went to this past weekend. Our host, Kimberly, sent us home with some, but they're never as good reheated as they are originally. Instead, I made them into a really creamy casserole. Your family won't even know that this dish has leftovers in it, if you don't tell them!
Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients:
4 Large Enchiladas
1 Can Beans, drained (I used black eye peas, but any kind of beans would work)
1/2 Cup Mexican Rice
1/2 Cup Salsa
1/3 Cup Cream Cheese
1 Egg
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 and 1/2 TBSP Taco Seasoning
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
3 to 4 Roma Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Chopped Onion
1/2 to 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese
Lettuce
Fresh Cilantro
Diced Tomatoes
1. Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Spray a square (8x8 or 9x9) glass baking pan with non-stick spray.
2. Cut enchiladas into 1/2" circles. Place circles on bottom of baking pan, touching each other.
3. In separate bowl, mix together beans, rice, salsa, cream cheese, egg, cream of mushroom soup, taco seasoning and mayo. When finished, pour on top of enchilada circles.
4. Cut tomatoes into thin slices. Sprinkle onions on top of casserole. Put tomato slices on top of onions.
5. Chop up some lettuce, cilantro and tomatoes. Mix together and set aside.
6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pour a layer of cheese on top and broil for 5 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Top individual servings with lettuce mixture. Serves 4 to 6 people.
I think when you have children, your idea of relaxation changes. At least this is what has happened to me. Before children, to relax, I used to sleep in late, watch movies, get a pedicure, go out to eat, even go on vacation. All of this has changed! Today to relax, I'll drink a diet pepsi on the back porch while Andy gives the kids a bath. Or, I'll go get the mail, BY MYSELF :) I like to walk around my house and look at plants I never would have noticed before I had children. Anything for five minutes of quiet. Instead of watching movies, we now watch episodes of shows on Hulu. They don't take as long. This applies to my cooking too- I'm always thinking fast and easy. But I also want my cooking to be delicious, economical and kid friendly. That's quite a list to fulfill for every meal, however this recipe fits it to a T. Creamy Sausage and Potato Supper. It's a one pot meal that I served with a side of strawberries. It's healthy and delicious. I hope you and your family love it!
When I was in college, my friend Christy used to make this great dip. She would bring it to all our sorority get-togethers and it was known as Christy's dip. When I looked in the fridge tonight, I realized I had a whole bunch of little bits in there: a little bit of mayo, a little bit of cheese and a little bit of sour cream. I tried to recreate Christy's dip with it. It didn't turn out exactly the same, but it was still yummy! Serve it with salsa and tortilla chips and it's an instant party.
Christy's Dip
Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Cream Cheese
1/3 Cup Sour Cream
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Pack Taco or Burrito Seasoning
1/2 TBSP Onion Soup Mix
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup Chopped Black Olives
1 Cup Thick Salsa
Mix together cream cheese, sour cream and mayo until smooth. Add taco seasoning and onion soup mix. Stir until mixed in. Finally mix in cheddar cheese, black olives, and salsa. Serve with tortilla chips and salsa.
Aaahhh, for the first time in a very long time, we have a calm, uneventful weekend planned. I am so excited! I can't wait for Andy, Celia, Charlie and I to hang out and do laundry. You know you're getting older when doing laundry excites you more than going out on a weekend! We started our weekend off with a family dinner of pork loin leftovers. I am happy to say that after making my Pecan Pork Cakes and adding some pork to our baked beans, we are finished with the leftover pork and will be on to new leftover recipes. But first, the recipe for Pecan Pork Cakes. They are delicious! These are very similar to Crab Cakes, but with a sweeter taste and a smoother texture. I topped them with a tangy sauce; the recipe for it will follow the Pecan Pork Cakes' recipe. Hopefully your weekend will be as relaxing and productive as I'm planning on ours being!
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Pecan Pork Cakes
Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups Chopped Pork
1/4 Cup Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Pecan Meal*
1/8 Cup Bread Crumbs
2 Eggs
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Ground Mustard
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1 Pinch of Sugar
Grind chopped pork loin and cream cheese in food processor until smooth. Pour into a separate bowl. Add pecan meal, bread crumbs, and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Add spices and mix again. Heat oil in a frying pan. Form pork into 2" to 2 1/2" patties. Drop patties into oil and fry until golden brown. Flip and fry the other side until both sides are golden brown. Place on a plate with a paper towel, so the oil can drain off. This recipe makes roughly 7 cakes.
*If you do not have pecan meal, simply grind pecans up in your food processor until finely chopped.
Dipping Sauce
Ingedients:
1/8 Cup BBQ Sauce
1/8 Cups Sweet n' Sour Sauce
2 Packs of Soy Sauce (the kind you get with Chinese take-out)
1/2 TBSP Honey
Whisk all ingredients together. Serve with your Pecan Pork Cakes.
I promise this is my last birthday cake recipe for a while, at least until April when Celia turns 4. I successfully used up all of our leftover birthday cake with this recipe. Now, in general, I am not a baker. I have every intention of baking cookies or cakes and breads, but it never happens. I don't like to follow recipes and if I make cookies my second batch always burns because I forget about them in the oven. Well tonight I baked! I made up my own recipe and since it was a cheese/custard cake, there wasn't a second batch to burn. The pie turned out absolutely fabulous and it was really easy and fast to make. I hope you enjoy making it and serving it as much as I did.
Birthday Cake Pie
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 1/2 Cups Cake (mashed)
1 Stick Butter or Margarine
For the filling:
1- 8oz box Neufchatel or Cream Cheese (room temperature)
2/3 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Sour Cream
3 Eggs
1/3 Cup Mayo
1/2 tsp Vanilla
Smash up birthday cake with icing until crumbly. You need to have 2 1/2 cups after you finish mashing it up, not before. If your icing is pink and blue, your crust will have a bit of a grey tint- don't worry, it will still taste delicious! Melt margarine in the microwave completely, then mix in with cake. Spray a 9 and 1/2 inch glass pie pan (or a larger one) with PAM. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Smash cake mixture into bottom of pie pan, spreading it out all over the bottom of the pan. Put in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. The crust will puff up and start to turn light brown. Take it out at this point.
While the crust is baking, make the filling. Pour all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Beat with your mixer until it is a creamy, airy mixture. It is okay if there are a couple of lumps from the cream cheese left. Pour the mixture into your pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for around 35 minutes. It is finished when the center no longer jiggles and the edges and bottom have turned light brown. Take out of the oven and let cool.
The other day, Andy brought home a container of roast beef and veggies my mom had made for the guys at the shop. Even though I had never eaten it, I have a problem leaving food as is. I mixed the pot roast and veggies with cornbread and a creamy gravy. It was a really great meal for a snowy evening with my family. I served it with a side of homestyle green beans and fresh garlic bread. Everybody loved it, Charlie had 3 helpings! That's a lot for a 2 year old who normally only eats Taco Bell Cheese Roll Ups and oranges.
Roast Beef Bake
Ingredients:
For the gravy:
1/4 Large Onion
1/2 Large Green Pepper
3 Cups of Water
4 oz Neufchatel or Cream Cheese
1 12 oz Jar Turkey Gravy
For the bake:
4 Cups Leftover Roast Beef and Veggies
1 Box Stuffing Mix (I used a cornbread one)
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
First make the gravy. Chop the green pepper and onion. Put in a large pan with three cups of water. Bring to a boil on top of the stove. Cook until peppers are bright green and onions start becoming translucent. Cut cream cheese up into chunks and add to the water. Add the jar of gravy. Continue cooking until all ingredients are mixed together and it starts to boil and thicken.
While gravy is cooking, make the roast beef mixture. Cut up 4 cups of leftover roast beef and veggies into little cubes. Mix in box of stuffing. In a separate bowl, crack two eggs and mix. Add to beef and stuffing mixture. Spray a 10 x 10 deep dish casserole. Pour beef and stuffing mix into casserole dish. Pour gravy on top of stuffing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Take out of oven and top with cheddar cheese. Put back in the oven and cook for another 20 minutes. Cheese should be melted and bubbly when it's done.
If you have any juice or veggies left from your original roast beef, don't forget to freeze it! We might use it in a recipe later.
