What to do with leftover cole slaw...

Happy Sunday!  I recently discovered our local CSA.  For an incredibly reasonable price I got a huge bag of fruits and vegetables for our family from local farms.  I love that in the bag there are tons of kinds of fruits and vegetables that I wouldn't normally buy.  Here is a recipe using Kale.  I have never bought Kale in my life, but my children not only ate it, they loved it in this dish!  Plus, it's a great way to use leftover coleslaw.  I used a vinegar and oil based coleslaw, but I think a mayo based one will work as well, it will just be creamier.  

Kale with Bacon and Onions
4 Slices Bacon (ours was brown-sugar which added to the taste!)
1/2 Cup Chopped Red Onions
4 Cups Kale, torn and lightly packed
1 Cup Cole Slaw
1 Hard Boiled Egg
1 Large Pinch Sea Salt

Chop bacon into bite-sized pieces.  Throw into a large skillet and start sauteing.  Add chopped onions to the skillet.  Cook bacon and onions while washing and tearing the kale. Add kale to the skillet and stir.  Next add coleslaw and stir.  Chop hard boiled egg and add it to the skillet.  Sprinkle the sea salt on top and stir.  Cover and continue cooking for another 5 to 8 minutes until bacon is finished cooking, onions are translucent and kale has wilted completely.  Stir occasionally during this time. Serves 4 to 5.

What to do with potatoes and apples...

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It seems like a bag of baking potatoes lasts us forever!  I looked in my crisper drawer just the other day and I have a 5 pound bag that desperately needs to be used.  Since the weather has been fabulous lately, we've been spending as much time outdoors, soaking up the sun before cold, yucky weather starts.  Here's a veggie recipe for the grill to make during those beautiful, golden fall days. 

Potato Packets
Ingredients:
3 Large Baking Potatoes
2 Apples
1 Small Onion
2 Green Peppers
1 Red Pepper
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt

1. Wash potatoes, trim off ends and microwave for 90 seconds.
2. Chop potatoes into large chunks.  Chop apples, onion, and peppers into chunks 1/2 the size of the potato chunks.
3. In a large bowl, mix together potatoes, apples, onion, peppers, olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper.
4. Fold veggie mix into 3 large pieces of aluminum foil.  BBQ on the top rack of bbq grill for 25 minutes on high.

What to do with eggplant...

Ohhh, I had forgotten how busy the start of the school year is!  After a crazy month of August, I finally get to sit down and post a recipe.  Hooray!  This is a recipe I made a couple of weeks ago.  I loved it!  It was a fabulous mixture of tastes that you wouldn't necessarily put together regularly.  We bought our Sicilian Eggplant and all the peppers from our local farmer's market.  If you can't find a Sicilian one, just use a small regular one.  Happy cooking!

Tortellini with Eggplant and Peppers
Ingredients:
1 Small Sicilian Eggplant, peeled and diced
1/2 TBSP Salt
1 Fresh Banana Pepper, diced 
1 Poblano Pepper, diced
1 Small Onion, Diced
1 TSP Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/3 Cup French Onion Dip
1/2 Can of Milk (use cream of can)
2 Bags of Meat Tortellini

1. Pour olive oil and eggplant into a large skillet.  Sprinkle salt on eggplant.  Saute on high.  When skillet is hot, add peppers, onion, and garlic.  Stir frequently.  Saute until eggplant softens.
2. Add cream of mushroom, French onion dip and milk to skillet.  Lower heat to medium, continue stirring frequently.  Cook until bubbly and thicker (about 15 minutes).
3. While finishing sauce, cook meat tortellini in a separate pot following directions on package.  Mix sauce and cooked tortellini together and serve.  Serves 4 to 6 people.

What to do with leftover pork chops?

Sometimes I look in my pantry and refrigerator and think, "I have no idea what to make for dinner."  Usually if I stand there long enough, something catches my eye and voila, I know what we're having.  If you're having one of those days, here's an easy soup recipe for you to make :)  Serve it with a salad and warm garlic bread and you have a great meal.  Plus you'll probably have some leftovers to freeze for another one of those days when you're at a loss as to what to make.

3 Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 Can Tomato Soup
4 Cans of Beans (I used red, black & butter)
Lg Can (28oz) Crushed Tomatoes
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Chopped Ham
2 Cooked Pork Chops, Chopped
1/2 Large Onion, Chopped
1 and 1/2 TBSP Minced Garlic
1 TBSP Onion Soup Mix
1 Tsp Salt
Grated Cheddar Cheese

1.  Pour all ingredients except cheese into a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours until soup thickens up.  Stir every so often, so soup won't burn.
2  When finished, top with grated cheese and serve.  Serves 6 to 8.

What to do with leftover grilled chicken?

We have had a super busy summer!  The best part of it is we have been to a couple of international markets or stores.  It's always fun to use new ingredients when cooking!  Here's a recipe for Asian noodles and chicken.  We went to City Market in Kansas City earlier in the summer and I bought the noodles and sauce at the Chinese grocery store.  You can also find similar items in your local grocery store.  This was a great dish for Celia and Charlie to practice using chopsticks with.

Asian Noodles and Chicken
Ingredients:
3 Cups Cooked Chicken, Chopped
1/3 Large Onion, Diced
2 Small Zuchinnis, Chopped
2 Cups Frozen Stir-Fry Veggies
1 1/2 Cups Korean BBQ Sauce/Marinade
2 Sheets Rice Noodles

1. Chop and prepare all ingredients before starting to cook.  In a large wok or frying pan, start to cook onions in a thin layer of olive oil.  Cook for 2 minutes on high.
2. Add zuchinni and veggies to onions and cook for 3 minutes.  Add sauce and chicken and cook covered on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.

3. While cooking chicken, heat a large bowl of water in the microwave.  When warm, place rice noodles in bowl.  Soak for 2 minutes or until soft.  Drain water and cut noodles several times with kitchen scissors.  Add noodles to pan and mix together with veggies and sauce.  Cook until sauce thickens and serve immediately.  Serves 4-6.

What to do with Cherry Coke Zero?

Andy's Granny came into town tonight.  I've known about this visit for weeks, but I still hadn't pre-thought dinner.  After work, I ran home before picking up Celia and Charlie to fix something really quickly.  Luckily, I had a whole ham thawed out.  My friend Leighanne had given me a 2 liter of Cherry Coke Zero the other night.  I looked at the ham, I looked at the soda and I thought hmmmm....

Baked Ham and Sweet Carrots
Ingredients:
1 Ham (mine was 6lbs)
1 Pound of Carrots
1 Medium Onion
3/4 Cup of Cherry Coke Zero (or regular Cherry Coke)
1/4 Cup Jelly (use a berry or grape based jelly, I used black currant jelly)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put ham in a large roasting pan.
3. Peel and chop carrots and onion into large chunks.  Put around ham.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together jelly and Cherry Coke Zero.  Pour over ham and veggies when finished.
5. Bake in the oven for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours.  Dish is finished when carrots are tender.

What to do with cucumbers and tomatoes?

With Spring here and fruit and vegetable stands popping up all over the place, I'm in the mood for some salad.  For the first time ever, I've planted some plants.  Hopefully this summer, we'll have a ton of peppers, lettuce, onions, and raspberries.  Celia and Charlie had a great time helping me plant the seeds.  Now I just have to keep them out of the dirt long enough to let my little plants grow!  Here's a deliciously fresh tasting Balsamic Cucumber Tomato Salad.  I used dried basil, but if you have fresh basil, it will taste even better!

Balsamic Cucumber Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
3 and 1/2 Cups Chopped Tomatoes (I used Roma and Cherry tomatoes)
1 Large Cucumber
1/3 Cup Diced Onion
4 oz Diced Mozzerella Cheese
3/4 TBSP Dried Basil
1 TBSP Minced, Refrigerated Garlic
1 TBSP Honey
2/3 Cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Salt (optional)
Pepper (optional)

1. Chop tomatoes and cucumber.  Put them into a medium-sized bowl.  Dice onion and cut mozzerella cheese into cubes.  Add to bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together basil, garlc, honey and salad dressing.  Pour over salad and stir.
3. Salt and pepper to taste.

What to do with Ricotta Cheese and French Onion Dip?

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!

Creamy Sausage and Potato Supper
Ingredients:
8 Small to Medium Sized Potatoes (I used 4 red and 4 russet)
25 Thin Stalks of Asparagus
1/2 Large Yellow Onion
3/4 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1/3 Cup French Onion Dip
1/2 Package of Cream Cheese
1/8 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1/3 Cup Vanilla Soymilk
1 Egg
1/8 Cup Flour
1 Package Smoked Sausage (I used turkey sausage)
1 TBSP Minced Garlic
3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Dried Basil

1. Wash and cut potatoes into medium sized chunks (the same size you would use for potato salad.  Do not peel.  Put into a large soup pot.

2. Cut the bottom, tough part of the asparagus off.  Chop each stalk into 4 to 5 pieces.  Put into soup pot.
3. Chop onion and throw into pot too.  Cover vegetables with water and boil for ten minutes uncovered.   Turn off heat on stove.  Drain vegetables and put back into soup pot.
4. Add to the pot the ricotta cheese, French onion dip, parmesan cheese, soymilk, cream cheese, egg and flour.  Stir until creamy and smooth.  Turn stove back on at medium heat. 
6.  Chop sausage and add to the pot.  Also add garlic, salt and basil.  Cook for 15 more minutes covered.  Stir frequently so the bottom won't burn.  Let cool 5 minutes and serve.

What to do with leftover bbq chicken and milk?

I gave Celia and Charlie a cup of milk this morning with their breakfast.  A little while later Celia comes up to me and says, "Mommy, there's something wrong with this milk, it's going to make me throw up."  I started to laugh at her and asked Andy to try the milk (He's our official taster of things that might have turned bad).  He said the milk wasn't bad, it just needed to be used today or tomorrow.  So voila, Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Dumplings.  It was a perfect homestye soup for this rainy, cloudy Sunday.  It also used up the rest of the chicken that we grilled last night.  Thanks to my Mama for helping me figure out the homemade dumplings.  I had only made them with Bisquick up until now.  They ended up being really easy to make.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Dumplings
Ingredients for Soup:
2 Cups Cooked, Chopped, Chicken
2 Carrots
1 Small Yellow Onion
1 Green Pepper
1 TBSP Garlic
6 Cups Water
1 Tsp Salt

1. Chop carrots, onion, and green pepper.
2. Put chicken, carrots, onion and green pepper in a large soup pot.  Add garlic, water and salt.
3. Cook on high so soup will boil.  Cook until carrots are finished and onions are translucent. 
4. Start to add spoon size dumplings to soup.  Let soup continue boiling.  After the last dumpling is dropped in the pot, cover and cook for 7 to 8 more minutes.  Dumplings will plump up and expand.

Ingredients for Dumplings:
2 Cups Flour 
1 1/4 Cups Milk
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt

Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  This will be a wet dough.  After finished mixing, drop into soup pot by spoonfuls 

What to do with leftover bratwursts and canned corn?

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and Spring is in the air- hopefully!  It's a perfect day for cajun food!  Okay, any day is a perfect day for cajun food.  I myself have never been to New Orleans, but my husband Andy has for Mardi Gras.  According to him, Mardi Gras is crazy and the food is great.  He loves cajun food, so he was a big fan of this dish!  From start to finish, it will take you less than an hour, and you can feed a crowd of 5-7 adults with it.  Serve some toasty french bread on the side and you'll have a feast!

Cajun Rice

Ingredients:

1 Box Red Beans and Rice

1 Small Onion

1 Green Pepper

1 Orange, Yellow, or Red Pepper

1/4 Cup Canned Corn (this is all I had, you can add more)

2 Bratwursts

1 Cup Chopped Ham

1 TBSP Garlic
1 Can Tomato Soup
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 1/2 Cans of Water (use the diced tomatoes can)

1. Dice onion, green pepper, and colored pepper. Put into a large soup pot with red beans and rice mix.
2. Cut up brats into small pieces.  Add brats and ham cubes to pot.
3. Add garlic, tomato soup, diced tomatoes (with juice) and water to the pot.  Mix all ingredients together.
4. Cook covered, on high until rice mix comes to a boil.  Stir occasionally so the bottom won't burn.
5. After rice starts to boil, turn heat down to medium and cook covered for 20 minutes.  Continue stirring occasionally so rice won't burn on the bottom.
6.  After 20 minutes, uncover and turn off stove.  Let sit for ten minutes to thicken up and cool.

What to do with ham and potatoes?

Happy Anniversary What's for Leftovers? readers!  It's been one month since our blog was started!  I have really enjoyed sharing my recipes with everybody and I love reading your comments.  I look forward to more cooking suggestions and ideas from you!  To celebrate, Andy and I are taking our little ones to McDonalds tonight and not cooking.  So tomorrow night, tune in for leftover McDonalds :) 

Since today is rainy and cozy, I made my family Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup for lunch.  It made our house smell great while I was cooking it and then it tasted delicious when we ate it.  Plus, I was able to use up the rest of the ham my mom and dad had bought me from the Amish store at the Lake of the Ozarks.  After the soup was done cooking, the cheese separated from the broth a bit.  When I make this soup again, I'll make a paste out of a little bit of broth and flour.  I'll mix it into the soup and bring it to a boil.  This should make it a little bit thicker and help with the problem of separating.  If you make the soup and include this step, let me know how it turns out.

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup
Ingredients:
4 Medium Baking Potatoes
3 Medium Carrots
1/2 Cup Choppped Yellow Onion
1 Cup Ham Chunks
1 Can Chicken Broth (I used reduced sodium/fat-free)
1 Can  Evaporated Milk (I used fat-free)
1/2 Cup Water
Salt
Pepper
1 Cup Shredded Colby Jack Cheese

Peel and chop potatoes and carrots.  Put potatoes, carrots, and onions into a medium-sized soup pot.  Add ham, chicken broth, evaporated milk and water.  Start cooking on high.  Stir frequently, so milk won't burn.  After soup starts to boil, turn burner down to medium and cook for 30 minutes.  Continue stirring frequently so soup won't boil over or burn.  After 30 minutes, potatoes, onions and carrots should be completely cooked.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Toss in shredded cheese, let it melt and then turn off burner.  Serve as is, or topped with croutons.  This recipe will make enough soup for 4 adults.

What to do with leftover Pork Loin and Spaghetti Sauce?

I made a Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin on Valentine's Day for my little family, my parents and my brother.  It was huge!  We had about 1/2 of it left.  So last night's dinner was a dish made with leftover pork loin and tonight's will be too.  Growing up, my mom used to make a great beef stroganoff.  It wasn't fancy, but it was really good.  She made it with hamburger, but since we had so much pork leftover, I made a version of it with pork.  We had some friends over for dinner last night and they seemed to really enjoy it.  I hope your family does too!


Remember, you can make any recipe provided by What's For Leftover's healthier by using low-fat and fat free ingredients. 


Pork Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Medium Green Peppers- Chopped
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Onion
1/2 Cup Water
1 Can Cream of Soup (I used celery)
1 Can of Milk (use the cream of soup can)
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Spaghetti Sauce
1 1/2 TBSP Sugar
2 Squirts of Ketchup
1 TBSP Minced Garlic (refrigerated kind)
3 Cups Chopped Pork Loin
Salt
Pepper


2 Cups Uncooked Pasta (3 cups cooked)

Cook Pasta in a separate dish.

In a large frying pan, saute green peppers and onions in water.  Cook until water is almost gone and onions start to become translucent.  Next add cream of soup, milk, sour cream, spaghetti sauce, sugar, ketchup and minced garlic.  Cook until sauce thickens up.  Generously season with salt and pepper.  Add pork loin and continue cooking.  After pork loin is heated, add cooked pasta and cook until dish is nice and creamy.

What to do with a leftover cucumber and green pepper?

We are blessed with wonderful neighbors.  We live in a quiet, little neighborhood and we have become good friends with the neighbors on all our sides and across the street.  So, the other day on our snow day, our neighbor Marty brought us a bag of groceries because they were going out of town.  I love when people give us food.  It's always different from what I would buy and gives me new ideas for recipes.  In the bag was half a cucumber.  Normally I would just cut it up because Celia loves to eat cucumber slices, but instead I made a sweet bean salad with it.  The good thing about this salad is that it tastes better the second day after marinating in the fridge overnight.


Sweet Bean Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 Large Green Pepper Chopped
1 Large Cucumber Chopped
15 Baby Carrots Chopped
1/4 to 1/2 Cup Onion Chopped (add more, if you like onions a lot)
1 Can of Beans (I used small white ones)
2 TBSP Sugar
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 TBSP Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

In a large bowl, mix together green peppers, cucumbers, carrots, onions and beans.  In a separate bowl make dressing.   Whisk together sugar, olive oil, and vinegar.  Pour over veggie mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I was very generous with both. 

What to do with leftover roast beef and veggies?

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.

What to do with leftover ground turkey and steak?

Hi all!  I am so blessed to get to stay home with Celia and Charlie two days during the week.  Even on the craziest days, I love it.  Today was one of those days!  So when Andy walked in the door tonight, I was happy to turn our two little hoodlums over to him to start cooking.  My brother gave me a filet mignon that he had leftover from the other night when he bar-b-qued and I had some ground turkey leftover from our pizza pie.  I made these into Fajita Style Nachos.  They were delicious and would be great for a Super Bowl Party!  Comer con gusto!

Fajita Style Nachos

Ingredients:
1/2 Large Onion- Chopped
1 Large Green Pepper- Chopped
1/2 Packet Taco Seasoning
2 Cups Cooked Chopped Meat (I used 1 cup filet mignon and 1 cup ground turkey)
1 Can Beans- Drained (I used small white beans)
1 TBSP Dried Cilantro
1 TBSP Minced, Refrigerated Garlic
Tortilla Chips
1 Cup Shredded Cheese
Sliced Black Olives
Sour Cream
Salsa
Jalapenos (optional)

Spray a large frying pan with no stick cooking spray.  Add onions and green peppers to the pan.  Add 3/4 cup of water to the pan.  Next add taco seasoning and saute until peppers start to turn bright green and onions are becoming translucent.  Add meat, beans, cilantro and garlic to the pan.  Cook until very little liquid remains.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with a rim (so the beans and meat won't fall all over your counter).  Spread out a heavy layer of tortilla chips onto the baking sheet.  Spoon meat and bean mixture all over the chips.  Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the meat and beans.  Cook in the oven until cheese is completely melted.  Add black olives, sour cream, jalapenos and salsa when serving.