Re Purposed Left Overs

I love to take left overs and make them into something fabulous. I can't skate board, can't swim well, can not sing, struggle with sitting still...but I can take leftovers and make them into something completely exciting and new!!


Okay, so I know that pictures are super important with blogging...especially when you are discussing recipes. Who maintains interest if there isn't a beautiful picture to look at. Frankly it drives me a bit nutty because there are just some amazing photo's online of food that are works of art!! I mean did they even taste the cupcake or just take a picture of it!! I enjoy photography but I am by no means an expert. And honestly, when I am cooking and have two children hanging on my legs, I have no time to set up an appropriate backdrop for my latest chicken dinner!!

So maybe we can just visualize what I am about to go through??

Here are some recent examples of some "Re Purposed" meals!!

*Made macaroni with a homemade ground chicken tomato sauce for the kids. My husband and I went out to an amazing dinner...we needed it desperately.
Re Purposed Meal:
Took about a cup of polenta and covered the bottom of a glass pyrex dish with it. Then took some of the left over sauce and poured it on top of the polenta. Then poured in a bit of milk/half and half...whatever kind of milk product you have laying around. Water would also work. Then put a layer of spinach on top. Just a thin layer because I had just a bit left over. You could use any kind of veggie. Then poured more sauce on top and because we had a bit of left over chicken pieces I also through those in. Then I threw shredded mozzarella in and voila... I put it in the oven and baked for 20-30 minutes. The result was a creamy tasty new meal that everyone gobbled up!!

*Had some italian bread, a few veggies and eggs laying around.
Re Purposed Meal:
Took a pie pan and put in some sliced bread to cover the bottom. Then threw in some veggies, (any would work) and mixed up a few eggs, (2-6) with some milk a bit of water, and then poured into the dish. Threw a bit of cheese on top...and yum...a improvised quiche is born!!

*Left over steak, veggies, mashed potatoes, (any kind of potato would work).
Re Purposed Meal:
Took a casserole dish and put in some sliced up steak on the bottom. Threw some veggies on top and then covered it with the mashed potatoes. Just to ensure that the meat would not dry out I put in some milk and water to moisten everything up. Baked the meal for 20 minutes and we ended up with a modern Shepard's pie! 

*Left over rice, lettuce or any kind of leafy greans.
 Re Purposed Meal:
Sauteed up the greens with garlic and onions, threw in the rice and added a bit of soy sauce, (any kind of sauce would work). Then threw in 2 eggs and mixed it all up. I had some nuts in the pantry so when I served up the dish I added some on top for a bit of crunch.
 Re Purposed Meal:
Take the leafy greans, (spinach and kale work great) and put into a salad bowl. Chop up any tomatoes, red pepper...whatever you have laying around that would work well in a salad. Then throw a bit of rice on top. Pour a bit of rice vinegar, (if you have it), soy sauce or toasted sesame oil, ...maybe some agave or maple syrup for a bit of sweetness...and you have  delicious Asian inspired salad.

LivE Wisely!

Dinner on the Fly...Cheap and YUMMY!!

You need a quick easy and of course yummy dinner that you know the kids will enjoy. 

 I just had one of those nights...did I forget to take out chicken to defrost?? Quick, look in the fridge and pantry...What do I find, some bread that we NEED to use or else it will go stale. We just had some mozzarella cheese. I am not in the mood for that again. 

I do have some Ricotta cheese...seems a bit weird to use on a pizza instead of sauce right?! But Cheese is cheese right. Let's go for it.

 

As you may remember I always always keep a couple of frozen veggies in the freezer. Luckily I have some tri colored peppers which are super tasty! I find some sausage, (the kind that you get at the meat counter) that can be easily and quickly defrosted. Just put them in some warm water for a few minutes to defrost. I take them out of the "skin" and saute them up with the peppers.

 At first I wasn't sure if I was just going to serve the bread and saute'd mixture separately or together...but then I thought...why not?! I can just sprinkle with some parmesan and put in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

 The final product was so delicious!! 

Remember to be creative! Shop in your fridge and your pantry. Always keep certain items in the house for emergencies and do your best to make what sounds good to you. Drop the rules of this goes with this and that goes with that. 

Dinner will be more fun this way!

A Pulled Together Dinner That Came Out Awesome!!

It was one of those nights, when I just wasn't sure what to cook for dinner. I was in the mood for something yummy, but tired of this and that. Not in the mood for chicken, beef, or pasta...

I ended up finding some frozen chorizo sausage, (I always have some kind of sausage in the freezer for nights like these) that I must have bought on sale. Some home made sauce,(I always have some frozen)  a couple veggies, (broccoli and yellow squash), and found a very easy recipe to make bread on a great blog!

The bread is called, "The Best and Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make. " I just added a couple of twists!

I prefer not to use a lot of white flour in my baking so I added 2 cups of almond flour, 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup of white flour, (for a total of 4 cups per the recipe). When the bread was almost done, I took it out and sliced it in half and then added some of the sausage with the sauce, veggies, and some cheese.


Then put it back in the oven for aprox 15 minutes. It was a major hit! I will definitely make this again.

The finished product, (above) was so yummy. I not only stuffed mine with cheese, I also topped it to make it extra cheesy.

If you do not have time to make bread, you could just use an uncut loaf from the grocery store. Honestly, you could even take sliced bread and sandwich some goodies inside and then toast it up. Maybe cut off the crusts to make it look a bit different than a regular old sandwich. 

Happy Cooking...And Eating!

What I Keep in My Pantry

I have always enjoyed cooking. Now that I am married with Children, I LOVE to cook. It is my way of relaxing. If I am stressed out, avoiding something, whatever, cooking will get me back on track. I enjoy coming up with new ways of using foods, and I hardly ever ever use recipes. It drives my husband of some of my friends who later ask how I made something, crazy.

As a busy mom, I need to always make sure that my pantry and fridge are fully stocked so that I am always prepared. There are quite a few things that I almost always have on hand. This way, if I am in a rush, I can quickly throw something Yummy together. My children have never eaten frozen nuggets, or canned soup, or frozen pizza for dinner. I am a stickler for "fresh" food.

One important thing to note with regard to how I cook is that I am not a stickler for always using the ingredients that are listed in the recipe. If I don't have one or two of the ingredients, I may try to substitute something else. I will add a bit, try it, repeat, etc. If you are making it, you need to enjoy it, so add a bit of what you enjoy!! I will continue this subject in another blog post...

Below is just a start on this blog post. I will try to add to it whenever I can. I hope this helps!!

What I keep in My Pantry:

Can Food, (I am not a huge fan of canned food..but I am also a mom that sometimes has time to cook, and sometimes I just do not...so I would rather my family eat a homemade meal made from a can as opposed to going out and eating something unhealthy. Always frozen veggies and fruits! They say that they are sometimes healthier for you! 

Fresh produce like eggs, yogurt, and milk are great to always have on hand. And then this year, my family bought a portion of a cow. It is grass fed and free of hormones and antibiotics. Check out this great website for more info: Eatwild  I also buy the 10lb bag of chicken from Halls Market   when it is on sale, (usually $17.90). I portion it into frozen zip lock bags, (about 10 small bags), and lasts for quite awhile. Their chicken is also hormone free.

Protein:

Tuna

                tuna salad sandwich/ tuna melt

                tuna casserole  

                tunaburgers  

                NouveauNiçoise  

Beans:

Buy what you like. I prefer Black, Kidney, Cannelli and Garbanzo.

Black beans are great for Black Bean Dip,

Black Bean Salad  

Chick Peas can be thrown in salads or blended and then stuffed into zucchini or summer squash halves sprinkled with a bit of cheese

Kidney Beans are always great in any kind of chili

Cannelli Beans can be wonderful in Pasta's.

Diced Tomatoes, Pureed Tomatoes, great for so many recipes...sauce ,etc

I love to make an easy sauce:

Sauté Garlic, Onions, (and shredded carrots) until soft

Add Diced or Pureed Tomatoes

Mix in aprox 1.5 tbsp of ketchup

Add in whatever spices you prefer, (salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, parmesan cheese etc)

If you have a few hours, throw in one or two bone in pork for some delicious flavor

Dried Foods:

Rice, (brown and Jasmine)

Polenta

Couscous

Oatmeal, (great for breakfast or can be pureed and added to muffins,

All kinds of Pasta

Lentils

Flour/Cornstarch, (great thickeners)

All kinds of nuts

Liquids:

Olive Oil

Veggie Oil

Coconut Oil

Red Wine and Apple Cider Vinegar

Balsamic Vinegar

Honey

Maple Syrup

Agave

Soy Sauce

Apple Sauce

Peanut Butter

Condiments:

Ketchup

Mustard

Miso  Can be used instead of salt! 

I have a great Bone in Pork Slow Cooker Recipe that Calls for Miso and it is Super Easy!

Throw a Few Pieces of Pork in the Slow Cooker. Then Mix Together, 1 Tbsp of Miso, 2 Tbsp of Orange Juice, (or an orange if you have that on hand), a squirt of Sriracha, 1 tbsp of sweetener like maple syrup and then pour over Pork. Cook for 4-6 hours. Yum!!

Mayo

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce  

Produce:

Sweet Potatoes

Garlic

Onions

All Kinds of Fruit

Frozen Food:

Veggies: Broccoli, Corn, Peas, Green Beans, Peppers, Spinach

Fruits: Strawberries, Blue Berries, (great for baking muffins, cookies, or adding to pancakes)

Butter, (freezes well) I buy it when it is on sale

Shredded Cheese, (freezes well) I buy it when it is on sale

Naan Bread, (freezes well) and make wonderful pizza!!

Jet's Naan Bread Pizza

Drizzle Olive Oil and some Sea Salt over Bread

Spread Whatever Sauce you Prefer, (red sauce, Basil sauce, Pea Sauce)

Decorate with whatever toppings you have in the freezer and/or fridge

Add Cheese if you like

Bake on 350 until cheese melts and Bread starts to brown a bit on the edges, (aprox 15-20 min)

Favorite Cooking Tool:
Small Food Processor  ( I find the large ones to be too much work)

I honestly blend so many things!! And for kids, it can help to mask a lot of flavors!! I have started adding lots of veggies to a ton of things, (carrots and peas and/or  frozen butter nut squash to meatballs, carrots to tomato sauce), or pureed tofu instead of ricotta cheese in lasagna, (no one noticed!!)

I hope this helps! I am going to put together some recipes to add to this soon!

Please Leave Comments!!