leftovers casserole - chicken

it was a bit of a bbq kind of week and as often occurs, we bbq more than we can physically eat.
ah leftovers
once bbq-ed chicken just isn't the same re-heated which means time for a re-invent (a lot of hyphens going on around here)

my kitchen is often not supplied with all the ideal ingredients to make a gourmet remake of leftovers. so this is another make-do-with-what's-in-stock...


2 leftover cooked chicken breasts pulled into small pieces
2 sweet potatoes sliced
1 can tomato soup (condensed)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp mexican chili spice
1 medium sized cooking onion chopped
1/2 packet taco mix
cheese if you please on top (i just added a bit at the end, after cooking)

- i spray with cooking spray then layer

- mixed the soup, garlic, mex spice, and taco mix together then added on top of the sweet potato, onion, chicken

- have a nice 350 oven for a slow bake around 40min

the boys both ate this. so did dh and me. pretty simple flavours but good simple flavours - and moister than a reheated chicken breast would have been

slow cooker beef x 4 meals, and freezer leftovers week

just didn't want to go shopping this week so used what we had in the freezer - both leftovers and the ingredients for the slow cooker beef meals

now...
my list of dishes with recipes and pics in the links...

breakfast
omelette- salsa cheese
fried eggs and beans
yoghurt and fruit
fruit salad
rotate

snacks/lunch
a lot of cantaloupe
pears
bananas
coconut rice crackers
veggies and dip
leftovers - lots and lots of leftovers
salads
sorbet
pulled beef open faced sandwiches
suppers
from the freezer - slow cooker tostada lasagna 
from the freezer slow cooker tamale pie
from the freezer - dumplings and more dumplings and rice asian rolls (like spring rolls but rice-wrapped)
takeout night - cheap pizza (and as leftover lunches)
pulled beef - slowcooker as 3 suppers...

•  topping a caesar salad
• on nachos (fried up with black beans and with cheese and salsa on nachos
• asian style lemongrass beef in a peanut sauce topped with toasted cashews on vermicelli

and the non-food related recipe - deodorant recipe
i share my weekly meal plans at orgjunkie.com - you can find hundreds of meal plans on menu planning mondays there...helped me get back into meal planning.

leftover pulled bbq beef - reinvented as asian - lemongrass, peanuts, cashews and rice noodles

oh i love when leftovers are completely used in a new way. this was easy, involved the use of one of my fave asian ingredients - lemongrass - and all enjoyed it (3.5 and 1yr old included)

ingredients
about 1lb of pulled bbq beef
2tbsp soy sauce
1/4c fish sauce
1.5tbsp (or to taste) chopped lemongrass from frozen
1tbsp garlic powder
1c unsalted cashews (i chopped them up in small pieces and toasted them in the toaster oven
2tbsp sriracha sauce
1 package of rice vermicelli (any width noodle, but i like them sort of medium range)
3tbsp peanut butter
2.5-3tbsp demerara sugar or brown sugar

i boiled up and drained the vermicelli (al dente)

in a skillet i added all but the cashews and beef - so the sauce essentially - then added the beef and a few cashews

transferred to wok - slowly added portions of the rice vermicelli to blend the sauce.

topped with toasted cashews.
lemongrass - enhances leftovers amazingly well

didn't feel like cooking week

the week felt long
the endurance gone
just didn't feel like cooking
grateful for takeout / pre-made meals / leftovers in the freezer
i suppose starting the week with dh away for work for a few days and the boys on my own just left me tired
tired of cooking and organizing
so this is how the meal planning unfolded...
(note this meal plan is not completely gluten free this week)
breakfast
yoghurt and fruit
leftover zucchini breakfast slices
leftover jam pie
cereal with soy milk
snacks/lunch
watermelon
pears
apples
bananas
veggies and dip
leftovers...
spaghetti sauce over rice pasta
chicken breast pieces
salads
raspberry sorbet - made in the ice cream maker
suppers
leftover slow cooker chili from the freezer, with rice
leftover slow cooker tostada lasagna with rice
meatballs and dipping sauces with caesar salad
chicken burgers and roast potatoes
leftover mac and ch-easy bake
pizza - takeout
dumplings - leek dumplings, chicken and vegetable dumplings - i boiled then fried them and served with sriracha sauce and soy sauce - pre-made meal


*** for hundreds of meal plan ideas visit orgjunkie.com

thanksgiving leftover meals

butter chicken (turkey) on rice

turkey quesadillas

mexican flavours for turkey with chicken bacon and mayo with habernero on pico de gallo and lettuce



turkey nachos (chopped turkey - in a skillet with black beans and green bell pepper cooked in mexican chili spice and the juice of 2 large hothouse tomatoes) then put that on tortilla chips, covered with cheese and served with sour cream and pico de gallo



mixed mac and ch-easy bake with spaghetti sauce in a skillet

easy baked cod

so easy
tasty too
and it made this dish
and a fish chowder

recipe 1 - baked cod
8 cod fillets (about 800g - a little under 2lbs)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1tbsp minced garlic
5 chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste
1 zucchini grated
1/4c light cream
3/4c water

- fish into a greased baking dish and season with salt and pepper
-mix the other ingredients in a bowl and pour over fish
-in the oven for about 30min in a 350 oven
...the taste of this was great, but i put in too much liquid (didn't need the cream or water as the zucchini seemed to release a lot of liquid...so with the extra liquid i used that as the base for a fish chowder.

recipe 2 - fish chowder
ingredients - there were about 2c of leftover liquid
- into a pot
5 medium potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed in about a tbsp of butter then add into pot with liquid
2 cod fillets (we ate the fillets and used the liquid from the 1st recipe but you could just use 2 fillets worth of leftover cod if you have it - flake into small pieces when cooked)
a bit more garlic and a dash of cumin and fresh chopped parsley from the garden to taste

add more water to achieve desired thickness, stir it all together
...oh this unexpected surprise dish was a hit! the one year old probably ate more of this than anyone else.

slow cooker pulled beef and peanut sauce - asian flavours - many meals

mmm - lemongrass
this week, i decided to simply go with herbs and spices i love and see what happened.
it helped as well that cheap beef roasts were ready to go in my freezer.
this recipe ended up becoming 3 meals

lemongrass pulled beef in rice wrappers with peanut sauce

ingredients
2.5-3lb beef roast (mine was 1.99lb so a cheap cut)
1 pho bo bouillon cube
2.5c water
2tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp chopped lemongrass
1tbsp each of turmeric, cumin, minced garlic and lime juice
sugar to taste
...all in the slow cooker on low for 8hrs (pull at about 7hrs in)

wrap in rice paper wrappers with a bit of iceberg lettuce and shredded carrot

now...peanut sauce
1-1.5c water (for desired thickness)
1c peanut butter
1tbsp lime juice, fish sauce
2tbsp soy sauce
1/4c chopped onion
sugar to taste
...cook on low on the stovetop
...use as dipping sauce
i like to add sriracha sauce after it's plated (that way the peanut sauce isn't spicy so the bubs can eat it)

 DAY 2 of this recipe
pulled beef pho
omit the peanut sauce
there was enough left over liquid to use as a soup base
add one more pho bo bouillon cube
4-6c water
1c pulled beef
soy sauce to taste
1/2 pack of asian rice vermicelli noodles
...all together in a pot until the noodles are soft

 DAY 3 of this recipebeef pho with rice noodles
ingredients
1.5c pulled beef
1c water
1/2 pack of asian rice vermicelli noodles
peanut sauce (reheat) 
sriracha sauce to taste (optional) 
...cook noodles in a pot of water until soft - drain
add water and noodles to walk and pulled beef until well blended
...top with peanut sauce

 DAY 4 of this recipe (lunch)
salad with pulled beef and peanut sauce
can be served hot or cold
just add the beef and sauce over lettuce (with or without carrots, cucumber)

can you tell this recipe was a success?! there are still leftovers in the freezer.

slow cooker and prepare ahead week

it was a mostly overcast and rainy labour day last week. it's the first rain we had seen in a long time and it kind of made me want to prep what i could for the week. i work online, but being labour day, was unwilling to even check my work email. prepping ahead means my time with the boys during the day is just easier
slowing down
taking time to listen
do work during nap time
fill the rest with time together
...i've crossed the line - it's sounding sappy...time for the make ahead meal plan (well mostly).

my list of dishes with recipes and pics in the links...

breakfast
omelette with leftover salmon, and green onion
fried eggs with leftover chili (blended)
yoghurt and fruit
fruit salad
rotate

snacks/lunch
a lot of cantaloupe and watermelon
pears
nectarines
coconut rice crackers
veggies and dip
leftovers - lots and lots of leftovers
salads
sorbet
roasted banana ice cream - made in the ice cream maker
chocolate ice cream with minstrels and rolo - made in the ice cream maker

suppers

• steak and potatoes - we did steak and potatoes with sweet potato fries and garlic aioli (basically mayo blended with a bit of minced garlic, salt and lemon juice).
• SLOW COOKER chili
• hot steak salad
• SLOW COOKER moroccan inspired lentil stew - vegetarian 
• thai-inspired fried rice - vegetarian
• baked salmon with salad
• leftover chili

(put slow cooker meals in caps because these produce at least 6-10 adult portions

...for hundreds of weekly meal plans visit orgjunkie.com

hot steak salad

great way to use up leftover steak, and since we ate it twice in one week (yikes, we don't usually eat red meat more than once every 10 days to 2 wks)

in any case - easy steak salad

sliced, leftover steak
the dressing is to taste so what i put in the skillet
balsamic vinegar and a bit of water in the skillet first
then add the steak

and add
a bit of sweet onion salad dressing
minced garlic to taste
honey dijon mustard to taste
add more water as needed to have desired thickness for the dressing
about 5min total
put in a salad with your favourite ingredients

pie/casserole using leftovers/pantry - gluten free

hehe not exactly the most succinct title - but this was a veritable mish-mash of gluten free ingredients, including my so-so gluten free bread i made...oh a month ago.

i had made a gluten free bread - sweet potato and rosemary...primarily with sweet potato puree and sorghum flour. i should have known to put less rosemary in (i'm not a huge fan of it in big doses). rather than throw it out (i had 1/2 loaf left) - i thought i'd experiment. the bread was dense - like a soda bread. i crumbled a bunch for the bottom of a baking dish and saved enough for the top.

i found one of those packet soups that i normally make dips with - this one had been in the cupboards for oh...about a year collecting dust (followed the instructions on it.


i had tonnes of leftover veggies - broccoli, carrots and cauliflower from a veggie tray so i steamed them


poured the soup over top...

then the rest of the bread on top as in the photo at the top. into a 350 oven for 25 minutes.

this was surprisingly good. finally the rosemary flavour was balanced. was really hearty. dh liked it, and i ate it again for 2 lunches.

potatoes reinvented in pasta sauce

on the menu - leftover pasta sauce, lamb chops, potatoes, and green onions

so chopped the already cooked potatoes coarsely (about 4c)

and the already chopped green onion (about 1c)

and into the skillet with a bit of olive oil

added the pasta sauce above to the mix (my dad made the sauce and i need to get the recipe for it as it has tonnes of veggies and a little bit of meat in it and my 10mth old will eat this straight from the container!

heated in the skillet until nice and warm and reheated the lamb chops for another tasty, leftover meal.

crustless potato and leftover quiche/casserole

it was all about trying to use up the leftover potato wedges in a creative way. it was kind of rainy out so i wanted to do something that was like a quiche/casserole - a stand alone meal.

as you can see by the array of photos (still not so good with the new blog editor...yikes)

i used a lot of different ingredients.

so here is the rundown

enough potato wedges to fill the bottom of a circle pyrex baking dish

4 eggs (i use local free range eggs so they are between med/large size

8 large black olives sliced

1 tsp minced garlic

1 large tomato chopped

leftover pizza sauce (about 1/4 c)

2tbsp of asiago and artichoke dip (optional

1/2 c of nacho shredded cheese

potato wedges on the bottom

then add chopped tomatoes

olives

and in a bowl mix all other ingredients except for cheese

pour mix as evenly as possible over the potatoes/tomatoes/olives

top with cheese

cook covered in a 375 oven for about 30-35min

this was a fun experiment that was really tasty. was good for about 4 adult servings as a main dish. didn't need anything else with it, and used up leftovers...beautiful!

arepas with salmon mix on top

arepas (couldn't find masarepa flour so this is what i did)
2c masa flour (precooked corn flour)
1 egg
2c warm water
dash of salt
- mix in a bowl
- form into balls and flatten to about 1cm/1/3inch thick - to whatever size you like
- fry in a pan with a bit of oil like a pancake

topping
salmon
1lb salmon fillets cooked until flaky - i drenched these in leftover sweet onion dressing
1/3 c mayo
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp lime juice
s+p to taste
- combine cooled salmon with ingredients in bowl, just chop the salmon down while mixing into nice sized chunks


....yum!! lots of yum this week. as arepas, not bad - the topping was delicious and the leftover salmon was used again later in the week on top of some chipotle tostadas...