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.
My mom is semi-Southern, so, we grew up eating fried okra. For us, it was a treat when my mom would take the time to cook this Southern delicacy. Although, I have battered and fried okra by hand, I am lucky enough to be able to buy it in the grocery store. I love it when it is on sale for $1 a bag. While I think fried okra is simply delicious, I was very surprised to find out that my children aren't as thrilled about it (although they both tried it for me!). With all this fried okra leftover, I seriously thought I might have to throw it out, but then I got to thinking. I hid it in this Cajun Spaghetti that went over extremely well with my husband and father. Enjoy the recipe, it's spaghetti with a twist!
Cajun Spaghetti
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Diced Onions
2 Celery Stalks, Chopped
1 TBSP Minced Garlic
2 Chorizo Sausage Links
1 Brat or Smoked Sausage
1/2 Cup Chopped Ham
1 Diced Tomato
1 Cup Fried Okra
I Can Diced Tomatoes
1 & 1/2 Cups Spaghetti Sauce
1 Cup Water
1 TBSP Creole Seasoning
4 Cups Cooked Pasta
1. In a large soup pot, saute diced onions, celery and minced garlic in a little olive oil for 5 minutes.
2. When celery turns bright green add chorizo (decased and crumbled). Cook for another 5 minutes. Add smoked sausage, ham, tomato, fried okra, diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, water, and creole seasoning. Simmer on high for 10 minutes.
3. Turn to low and mix pasta in. Cook until pasta is thoroughly heated. Serves 6 people.
After being back at work full-time for a month now, I feel like we can finally breath. The first couple of weeks we went out to eat a lot! However, there were a few nights I was able to sneak in a well-balanced, healthy meal. Here's a recipe that I created during those weeks. It is incredibly simple and you can start it the night before, so there's virtually no prep (besides your side dishes) when you get home from work. You can also use this marinade on vegetables or chicken, just follow directions substituting the shrimp with your preferred ingredients.
Shrimp on a Stick
Ingredients:
Bag of Frozen Shrimp (the already cooked kind you would thaw out and serve for a party)
2 TBSP Tandori Paste
1 Cup Orange Juice
Kebab Sticks
1. Start preparing this recipe the night before while you're cooking that night's dinner. In a large bowl, whisk together o.j. and tandori paste. The kind of tandori paste I used is pictured above.
2. If your shrimp bag has a ziplock on it, just use the shrimp bag. If yours doesn't have one, use a large ziplock bag. Dump o.j. and tandori paste marinade onto the frozen shrimp. Lay bag onto a plate and put in the fridge. Evertime you open the refigerator, flip the bag. Leave in the fridge until dinner the next day.
3. Next Day: Soak kebab sticks in water for 20 to 30 minutes. Heat BBQ grill to medium. Skewer shrimp on the kebab sticks. Spray grill racks with Pam. Grill on medium, away from the direct flame. 5 to 7 minutes per side. (We used the top rack of our grill) Shrimp are done when they are bright pink/orange and a little smaller.
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.
Last weekend we had friends over for a fantastic, end of the summer bbq. (It's only the end of the summer because our school is back in session.) As always, we had way too much food. When I was little, we used to eat a dish called pizza burgers at school. I remember I loved them. This gave me the idea to turn our hamburgers into breakfast burgers. These were easy to make and only need a couple ingredients. Enjoy!
Breakfast Burgers:
Ingredients:
2- 1/4 Hamburgers, crumbled
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup Dip (I used spinach artichoke, but any will work.)
3 Hamburger or Hotdog Buns
Shredded Cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together hamburger meat, eggs, and dip. Spread out over hamburger or hotdog buns. Top with shredded cheese.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Makes 6 Breakfast Burgers.
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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.
We had a bbq last night and amazingly enough, we ended up with more food leftover than when we started. It was totally loaves and fishes :) We have such great friends! This morning when I was figuring out breakfast, I realized that I should probably use some of the myriad of hamburger buns sitting on my counter, but I was tired of making the same old breakfast regulars. Here's a twist on French toast and peanut butter and jelly that was a huge hit! We ate them as a finger food. They are great for kids and husbands with very little clean up!
PB Jammerwiches
Ingredients:
4 to 6 Hamburger Buns
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Tsp Cinnamon Sugar
Peanut Butter
Jelly or Jam
Powdered Sugar
1. In a shallow bowl, mix together milk, cinnamon sugar, and eggs.
2. Spray your griddle with non-stick spray and heat it up.
3. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter and jellly on the "wrong" sides of the bun. Put together like a sandwich and smash flat. Dip both sides of sandwich in egg mixture. Place on griddle and cook until both sides are golden brown. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Makes 4 to 6 PB Jammerwiches.
