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Archive for the ‘Yum’ Category

Leftovers Made Even Better

 Matthew and I had a dinner party last Friday…it was delicious and we had way too much food (are we shocked by this? NOT AT ALL).  From leftovers, I made us a Pad Thai type dinner on Sunday…and unlike my many attempts to make Lo Mein for two people (usually ends up being enough for at least four), it made 2 bowls of delicious, and pretty nutritious dinner! 

• 1 red pepper, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup of carrots, sliced into pieces about the same size as the pepper
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 Tb minced garlic
• 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
• 1/3 to 3/4 cup leftover peanut sauce (originally made from chicken broth, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, peanut butter, cayenne pepper, garlic powder)
• About 1 cup of leftover shredded/chopped pork (it was a papaya-glazed recipe I had smashed together from a few different recipes, but you can really use any already cooked meat you like…or seafood…whatever)
• Chopped peanuts (unsalted)
• 1 package fresh Asian noodles

The pepper, garlic and scallions went into the sauté pan with a little canola oil (maybe 2 swirls around the pan) first.  They’re called aromatics, and they develop their flavors first, making a really great flavor base for any dish…you could use spicy chilies or peppers, and onions or shallots.  The carrots and peas went in shortly after this, because they need to cook.  Meanwhile, the pasta was being cooked for about 3 minutes in boiling water.  While the pasta is cooking, the peanut sauce and pork went into the pan, heating up with the vegetables…it should seem too thick to coat the pasta at this point, but that will get resolved.  When everything in the pan is heated through and the pasta is cooked, the pasta was moved directly from the water into the veggie/pork/sauce pan, using tongs or a spaghetti fork…this brings some of the starchy pasta water along with it, thinning the sauce a little, and allowing it to coat the pasta and get everything mixed together.  Divide into two dishes and top with peanuts.

Chili Cornbread Casserole

 

• 1/2 pound ground turkey
• Chopped white or yellow onion
• 1 Tb minced garlic
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes with chili peppers
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can chili with beans
• 1/2 cup water
• Salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper (all to taste)
• 1 or 2 packages cornbread/muffin mix, prepared according to directions on package (I used two of the small boxes of Jiffy, which call for 1 egg and 1/4 cup milk for each box)

Season turkey and brown.  Drain.  Sauté onion  and garlic in leftover grease from turkey, adding a little salt to draw out the onion’s liquid.  Add corn and sauté to bring out the sweetness, add tomatoes, black beans, chili, and water.  Bring to a simmer and cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes.  Taste and add seasoning to your preference.  Cook for 15 more minutes, or until as thick as you desire.  The longer you cook, the more the flavors will mingle and develop.  Heat oven to 400 degrees (or the temperature called for on your cornbread mix).  Pour chili mixture into baking dish and top with prepared cornbread batter.  Bake according to package directions, although it will most likely need to cook slightly longer than that time to thoroughly cook the cornbread.  Test middle of cornbread with toothpick or fork to check for doneness.  If the top gets too brown before it is cooked through, cover with foil and continue cooking (the edges of mine browned quickly, so I put a layer of foil around the edges only, and the middle continued to brown). 

This is delicious, makes a ton of food (enough for at least 6-8 people), and we spent at most $10 on the ingredients.

Two delicious dinners (and a few lunches) from one jar of sauce and a box of penne…

 

So, I decided to use my blog to keep track of/record/share some of the things that make me ridiculously happy…one of those things is cooking…and lately, with little time or patience because of school and work, I have been pretty excited about quick and easy dinners that are still home-made and delicious.  

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The original plan for this pair of dinners was to make my own white sauce, but I was lazy and in the middle of final papers, so I ended up buying a jar of pre-made garlic parmesan alfredo-type sauce.



Dinner 1: Spicy Beef and Asparagus with white sauce.

• I seasoned a nice-looking piece of beef (sirloin maybe?), seared it on all sides, let it rest, then just sliced it super-thin.
• Tossed some canned asparagus (frozen or fresh would have been better, but that is all I could get from the Giant that day…if you’re using the canned, make sure you rinse it off…if you’re using frozen, make sure you thaw…if you’re using fresh, just steam it in like an inch of water or something) with half of the jar of sauce and heated it through.
• I mixed in about 1/2 a box of cooked penne and topped with the beef.

 

Super easy, quick and delicious 🙂

 

Dinner 2: Breaded chicken with garlic parmesan penne and sautéed garlic green beans

• The worst part about this one is breading the chicken, which is sort of messy and takes a little time, but it’s way worth it….I cut a big chicken breast into strips, dredged them in flour, tossed in an egg wash, and coated with italian bread crumbs.  Then I fried them for like 2 minutes a side in vegetable oil. Drained them on paper towels and wrapped them in foil and put them in my toaster oven on low heat (like 250 to 300 degrees) to let them finish cooking and stay warm. Wiped the oil out of the pan.
• Boiled some fresh green beans until they were about half as done as I’d like them, then drained them and tossed them into the chicken pan with a little bit of oil and some chopped garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper.
• I just heated the rest of the jar of sauce with the other half of the box of cooked pasta, added some extra parmesan cheese, and a little cayenne just to tie it into the green bean flavors.
• Served the chicken on top of the pasta, with the green beans on the side.
• You could also make this with mashed potatoes (with or without gravy) instead of the pasta.

 

Both of these dinners made great leftovers for lunch that just heat up in the microwave in a minute or so (which is good, considering I am very very bad at making enough for just one….usually I’ve got enough for at least 2 people, and there are certain recipes I can get down to less than 4 servings no matter how hard I try…)