With Thanksgiving right around the corner (Holy Cow!!!), I thought I should start working on some "leftover" recipes for our favorite Thanksgiving foods. This one I made for dinner tonight. If you don't have leftover turkey, it also works great with leftover chicken. This recipe is a tasty change from normal turkey salad and it's very simple to make. It'll take you 15 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to bake. If you're as busy as we are during the holiday season, it's nice to have a great meal that doesn't take a lot of work. Enjoy!
Turkey Curry Melts
Ingredients:
1 Loaf of French Bread
2 Cups Chopped Turkey or Chicken
1 & 1/2 Cups Cooked Corn (cooled)
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Tbsp Curry Powder
1 Tbsp Seasoning Salt
1 Large Green Pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together turkey, corn, mayo, cheese, curry powder and seasoning salt.
2. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Slice loaf of bread in half long ways. Place two halves onto baking sheet. Spread turkey salad onto the two halves of bread. Slice green pepper into thin circles. Place on top of turkey salad.
3. Bake for 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6 people.
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We have had such a beautiful, mild fall, but I'm excited for some cold weather and some cold weather cooking! Just this afternoon Celia told me, "Mom, I love winter! I can't wait to stand outside in the cold!" While I'm not quite that excited, I am thrilled to share some hearty What's for Leftovers recipes with you all! Here is one for leftover roast beef. The nice thing is you don't even have to cook a roast for this recipe. If you want to make it quick, get some thick slices of roast beef deli meat from your grocery store. After cooking for a half an hour with the stuffing, you (and your family!) won't even be able to tell that you used deli roast beef. Your short cut will be your secret!
One Pot Roast Beef Dinner
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Water
1 Green Pepper, diced
1 Onion, diced
2 & 1/2 Cups Roast Beef, chopped into large chunks
1 Can Green Beans
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Cup Water
1 Box Stuffing Mix
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1. In a large, oven safe, skillet, saute green peppers and onions in 1/2 cup water on high for 5 minutes.
2. Add roast beef and green beans to skillet. Pour 1/2 Cup of water on top. Next add a layer of cheese. Then add stuffing mix to the top. Pour chicken broth over entire dish. Cover and cook on med/hi heat for 15 minutes.
3. Broil in the oven for 7 min. until top is golden brown and crispy. Serves 4 to 5 people.
With God, all things are possible :)
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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.
Whenever we go to restaurants, it seems like such a waste to throw away all of those bread sticks or rolls that they give you. Often their servings are so large, we end up with 5 to 6 leftover. Here is a recipe that uses those bread sticks or rolls. If you don't have the bread sticks, simply substitute torn up bread pieces. If you don't have leftover pasta salad, use leftover or fresh cooked pasta. To make this recipe a complete meal, add cooked chicken and serve a salad on the side. Enjoy!
Baked Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
4 Cups Bread sticks, toasted
4 Cups Pasta Salad
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 Can Cream of Soup
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Envelope Onion Soup Mix
Parmesan Cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut or tear bread sticks into large chunks and put in the oven until lightly toasted. Let cool before mixing with other ingredients.
2. Mix together bread sticks, pasta salad, egg, sour cream, soup, milk, mozzarella cheese, and onions soup mix in a large bowl.
3. Spray a large baking dish with Pam. Pour mixture into dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes. Dish is finished when top is starting to brown and bubbly.
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.
I don't normally buy coconut because I don't like the texture. I love the taste, I love the smell, but not the texture. My friend Kimberly gave me an extra bag of it to cook with and it's been sitting in my fridge for awhile, just waiting for inspiration to occur. Lucky for us, it occurred last week in the form of a dessert recipe. Growing up, my neighbor Cathy used to make us a dessert called dump cake. This is a very easy pie/cobbler dessert where you just dump everything into a cake pan and bake. I took that idea and used the coconut to make a cherry cream cobbler. It is delicious and very simple to make. It is a perfect summer dessert: fast, easy, and unforgetable :)
Cherry Cream Cobbler
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 Cup Almond Flour
1 and 1/2 Cups Pecan Meal
1 Cup Coconut
1 Stick of Butter
For the Filling:
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Can Cherry Pie Filling
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 11" deep dish baking pan.
2. Take out 2 bowls. In one, mix together almond flour, pecan meal, and coconut. In the other, mix together milk and cherry pie filling.
3. Spray pie pan. Pour milk and cherry pie mixture on batter. Spread out evenly. Pour flour and coconut mixture on top.
4. Melt butter. Drizzle over the top of the cobbler. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Top will be golden brown when finished. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
It is so hot in St. Charles, but I don't want to stop cooking! To avoid heating up our whole house with a gas oven, I made stuffed green peppers in my slow cooker. They turned out great, were a snap to make and really easy to clean up. I had 3 HUGE peppers, so I cut them in half and stuffed each half. If you have smaller ones, feel free to use the whole pepper.
Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
3 Large Peppers (green, red, yellow or orange)
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 & 1/2 Cups Cooked Instant Brown Rice
1/2 Cup Black Bean & Corn Salsa
1 Egg
3 TBSP Hummus
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Water
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1. Cut peppers in half. Take half of pepper with stem. Carefully cut around stem and pull out seeds.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together ground turkey, rice, salsa, egg, hummus and salt. Stuff peppers with mixture.
3. Pour 1/2 cup of water into bottom of a large slow cooker. Place stuffed peppers into cooker. Cook on high for 90 minutes. Place shredded cheese on top of peppers and cook for 15 more minutes on high. Keep on warm or low until ready to serve. Serves 4-5 people.
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.
Cauliflower and cabbage are not my favorite veggies. I love cole slaw and I love fried cauliflower, but beyond that they're just okay. My family feels the same way. We had a whole bunch of frozen cauliflower and cabbage that we needed to use up. This dish was a huge hit for everyone. Celia even had thirds! So now I have a third way to serve these veggies that everyone loves.
Au Gratin Cauliflower & Cabbage
Ingredients:
4 to 5 Cups of Cooked Cabbage, Chopped
1 to 2 Cups of Cooked Cauliflower, Chopped
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Milk
1/4 Tsp Dill Weed
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
Large Squirt of Mustard
1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan or Roman Cheese
2/3 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/3 Cup Bread Crumbs
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cabbage and cauliflower in a large baking dish or bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together mayo, egg, milk, dill, onion powder, salt, mustard and parmesan cheese. Pour over cabbage and cauliflower and mix.
2. Bake for 20 minutes. Spread cheddar cheese and bread crumbs over top. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes until cheese has melted and bread crumbs have browned.
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This is a recipe for Gordita filling. My husband loves Mexican food. Gorditas are really easy to make and they're a neat treat for your family. To make the gordita shell, you'll need to buy Corn Masa Mix from your grocery store. I found it at Aldi's, but you can find it at almost any store. Follow the directions on the bag for gordita or tortilla shells. In case there aren't directions, you're going to want to mix equal parts of water and mix to make a dough. Heat up a skillet with oil. Make dough into balls and flatten out. Fry dough in your pan until both sides are golden brown. Fresh gorditas are the best! You'll never want to go back to Taco Bell :)
Here's a recipe for a potato filling to top your shells with. This recipe makes enough for 6 to 8 people. This is a mild filling, spice it up with red pepper flakes and jalepenos if your family likes spicy. Enjoy!
Potato Gordita Filling
Ingredients:
5 to 6 Baked Potatoes
1 Lb Ground Turkey
1& 1/2 TBSP Dried Cilantro
1 TBSP Cumin
1 TSP Onion Powder
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste.
1. Chop up potatoes into small chunks. Brown ground turkey in a large frying pan. When brown, add olive oil and potatoes. (I leave some of the skin on the potatoes.)
2. Add spices, water and cheese. Cook until turkey is completely finished, cheese is melted and potatoes have become soft. Add water while cooking if your filling becomes to dry!
3. Spread filling on Gordita shells and top with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa.
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.
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This is a great meal if you're ever in a hurry. It's also a non-traditional way to use leftover turkey.
Mexican Turkey Skillet
Ingredients:
1 Box Spanish Style Rice-a-Roni
3 Cups Cooked Turkey, Cut Bite-Sized
1 Cup Corn (Canned, Frozen, or Leftover)
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Can Water (use tomato can)
1/2 TBSP Dried Cilantro
1 & 1/2 Cups Colby Jack Cheese
1. Follow instructions on rice box. Brown rice in olive oil or butter. Add turkey, corn, tomatoes, water and cilantro. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until rice is cooked.
2. Mix in cheese. Cool for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.
My neighbor Mathilde made us some awesome, homemade Mexican rice. We weren't able to finish it all, so the next night, I used the leftovers to make Tropical Fried Rice. This is a fun dish for summertime. It's light and flavorful. The ingredients are surprising, but their tastes compliment each other perfectly. Enjoy!
Tropical Fried Rice
Ingredients:
1/2 Large Vidalia Onion, Chopped
1 & 1/2 Cups Fresh Pineapple, Chopped
1 Package Cooked Bacon, Cut up into bite-size pieces
1 Package Immitation Crab Meat
2 & 1/2 Cups Mexican Rice
1/2 Cup Pineapple Orange Juice (or use just Orange or Pineapple Juice)
1/3 Cup Harry & David's Pepper & Onion Relish
1. Pour a thin layer of olive oil in a large frying pan or wok and heat over medium heat. When hot, add onions and pineapple. Cook 5 minutes or until onions start to become softer.
2. Add bacon, crab meat, Mexican rice, relish and juice. Cook until thoroughly heated and onions are translucent.
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.
Sometimes my recipes turn out good, sometimes not so good (these don't make it to What's for Leftovers!), and sometimes they turn out GREAT! This recipe is a GREAT one. Yesterday we had a fun, sunny lunch at Trailhead Brewery. It was really fabulous in so many ways: good food and excellent company. Plus, our little ones were relatively well-behaved. Andy and I split a sausage platter that included a lot of dijon mustard, which I brought home with us. The dijon mustard was used in our hamburgers today. They were some of the moistest, most flavorful hamburgers I have ever made. I hope your family enjoys them too!
Dijon Hamburgers
Ingredients:
1 lb Hamburger Meat
1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1 Egg
1/3 Cup Bread Crumbs
1. Mix together hamburger meat, mustard, sour cream, egg and breadcrumbs. Form into 4 to 6 patties and grill.
My friend Kimberly calls these the bottom of the jar recipes. They are brilliant! Saturday night I noticed that there was just a bit of bbq sauce left in our squeeze bottle. It was probably 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup. In the past I have turned the bottle upside down to get all of the liquid out. This usually doesn't work. Sometimes I'll add water to the sauce if a little water will work with the recipe. This time, I made the recipe in the squeeze bottle. It worked great! Every last drop of bbq sauce was gone when I was finished with the marinade. My only caution is that it works best if you have a funnel. Surprisingly enough, I found I do not own a funnel. The next time I visit the dollar store I know what I am investing in.
Hopefully when Kimberly sees this post, she'll share some of her famous bottom of the jar recipes with us!
Pineapple Pork Chops Marinade
Ingredients:
BBQ Sauce Bottle with about 1/4 Cup left
4 TBSP Pineapple Juice
1/4 Cup Red Wine
1/2 TBSP Minced, Refrigerated Garlic
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar Salad Dressing
1 TSP Jelly (use grape or a berry jelly)
1. Pour all ingredients into your bbq sauce bottle and shake.
I used this marinade on pork chops. Let your pork chops sit in the marinade before cooking. Then either grill or fry your pork chops. If you grill your chops, continue basting chops with the marinade while cooking. If you pan fry your chops, after browning both sides, pour marinade on top and let cook covered for another 5 to 10 minutes. Top chops with a cooked pineapple slice for an added touch of flavor. You could also use this marinade with chicken or fish.
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Good Afternoon What's for Leftovers readers! This past weekend, I wasn't feeling well, so my fabulous brother brought my family dinner from Concetta's. Now, if you've ever been to Concetta's, you know how great their Italian food is. He brought salads, lasagna, and bread. Yum! Concetta's house salad dressing is a creamy parmesan dressing. It is delicious and very fresh. There were 2 giant containers of this dressing. It was way more dressing than we could ever use on the salads. Since it was fresh, I knew the dressing would not be good for very long. To use up a whole bunch of it, I made it into a dip last night. The dip was great and it was a perfect addition to chips and carrot sticks I served with our hamburgers at dinner. This recipe makes about a cup of dip. If you're going to serve it at a party, I would double the dip.
Creamy Parmesan Dip
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Creamy Parmesan Salad Dressing (You could also use Creamy Italian or Ranch)
1/3 Cup Cream Cheese or Neufchatel Cheese
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1 TBSP Onion Soup Dip Mix
1 TBSP Taco Seasoning
1. Let cream cheese sit on counter until softened.
2. Mix together salad dressing, cream cheese, and mayonnaise until smooth. Add onion soup mix and taco seasoning. Serve with chips or fresh vegetables.
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.
With Summer right around the corner, I decided it was probably time to get rid of the rest of our Easter candy. After the kids get their baskets, I tend to hide a whole bunch of their candy for later and then we forget about it. In our pantry, we had numerous boxes of peeps and chocolate bunnies they either had forgotten about or I had gotten rediculously cheap after Easter. Andy's Granny makes an awesome crockpot fudge that I thought I could recreate with peeps and bunnies. When you're making this candy, make sure you stir FREQUENTLY. I only say this in caps because the first time I tried this recipe, I did not. On Saturday I put all the ingredients into my crockpot and Celia and I went grocery shopping. 2 hours later, we came home to some very burnt candy. We had to rush out to an engagement party, so I didn't get it thrown away until later. Andy cleaned up the crockpot, but when we washed it in the dishwasher, there must've still been some burnt chocolate on it. It proceeded to clog up our dishwasher. I learned so many lessons in a short amout of time. Needless to say, the 2nd time making this, I was much more cautious and they turned out delicious!
