Day 346: Protein Galore

Having cooked up a lot of food for guests on Friday and again on Sunday, we had tons of leftovers in the fridge. Our current houseguests decided to go out for dinner, giving us the opportunity to polish off all of the food that had accumulated in the fridge.

Friday's flank steak was still delicious. Sunday's pork tenderloin and grilled chicken had dried out a bit and lost some flavor, but dipping them in Tabasco Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce helped.

To go with all of this protein, I sauteed some baby broccoli with garlic and white wine. No meal is complete without something green on the plate!

Day 335: A Mix of Old & New

Tonight's dinner was composed of one leftover and two easily prepared "new" elements.  Last night's leftover rice pilaf served as a bed for chipotle pork tenderloin, with roasted vegetables on the side.

I've made this pork several times before.  It's super easy and nice & spicy.  Slice the pork from end to end lengthwise - not all the way through - just enough to fold it back like a book.  Spread 2 finely minced chipotle peppers throughout the inside of the pork and fold it back over.  Tie it off on each end and in the middle with some kitchen twine.  Pat the outside dry and season with S&P.  Brown it on all sides in hot olive oil in a stainless steel pan and then place in a roasting dish.  Roast at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Our veggie side dish consisted of 1 fennel bulb and 2 shallots (both cut in eighths, keeping the knot in tact), 1 bunch of asparagus (trimmed), and a few handfuls of sugar snap peas.  All of this was tossed in a little olive oil and S&P and laid out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roasted for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

An easy and tasty meal.  Why not cook at home when it's this easy?

Day 321: Leftovers Supreme

With lots of tasty things in the house, there was no need to buy anything for dinner tonight.  Instead, I made a warm quinoa salad with the following items that we had on hand:

- vinaigrette made from juice of 1.5 lemons, 2 T olive oil, and S&P

- leftover rotisserie chicken

- corn scraped off a leftover cob

- half a bag of frozen spinach, defrosted (this is easy to do by running it under lukewarm water)

- some chopped up roasted tomatoes

- a handful of sliced almonds

Lots of tasty things could have gone into this dish:  frozen peas, crumbled goat cheese, chopped avocado.  Whatever!!  It felt good to use up some stuff we had on hand and to create such a tasty and healthful dinner.  Leftovers rule!

Day 320: Sometimes Edible is Good Enough

I stayed later than usual at the office so a quick and easy dinner solution was in order for tonight.  Luckily, my hubby was making a stop at Costco on the way home, so he picked up one of their delicious (savory!  juicy!) and cheap ($4.99!!) rotisserie chickens.

Our sides were 3 day old slaw that I made on Sunday and some supposedly spicy frozen Thai string beans from Trader Joe's.  The slaw wasn't super flavorful but it was edible.  The beans were technically edible, but neither my husband nor I actually ate them.  It's rare that we are disappointed with a Trader Joe's product.  In fact, the only other one I can think of that we didn't like was their sea salt, which was too finely ground and therefore difficult to shake out of the canister.

If you are the kind of person who eats to live, this was a great meal for you.  It took next to no time at all to pull together, was relatively well rounded, and was edible.  If you live to eat, like I do, this meal barely cut it.  It wasn't particularly satisfying, but at least I won't die of starvation tonight.  :-)

Day 318: Triple Threat - Tasty, Pretty, and Easy!

With a giant vat of leftover slaw in my fridge, I wanted to do something more creative than just serve it as a side dish (every day for the next week!). Fish tacos are often served with some shredded cabbage over the top and I've been meaning to try to make them myself for ages, so that's what we had for dinner tonight.

I used a mild white fish, similar to red snapper. I cannot remember what type of fish it was, I'll update this once I do! After patting it dry, I sprinkled ground cumin, dried oregano, and S&P on each side and rubbed it into the flesh. Then, after heating up a thin coating of canola oil in a non-stick pan, I pan fried the fish for about 2.5 minutes per side, transferred it to a plate, and flaked it apart with a fork.

Of course, I also made some guacamole. I like my guac a little bit chunky, so I scoop out the flesh onto a cutting board and mash it with the back of a fork. I then transfer it to a bowl and mix it with the juice of a lime, 2 heaping tsps of light sour cream, a few good shakes of Frank's Red Hot, and S&P.

Our final taco accompaniment was pickled red onions. These are so easy to make, can last in the fridge for several weeks, and add a nice little tanginess to fish tacos. All you do is thinly slice a red onion and submerge it in red vinegar. Leave it for at least 1/2 hour before you consume.

I assembled my tacos as follows: a good smear of guacamole over the top of a warm corn tortilla, about 1/2 dozen slices of pickled onion, a couple of spoonfuls of fish, and the slaw on top. This was such a tasty meal and so quick and easy to prepare. Even if you don't have leftover slaw, you can still just slice up some cabbage and maybe use a few additional slices of pickled onion. Yum!!

Day 311: Asparagus & Peas Part 2

A couple of days too late, I was craving red meat tonight.  So, I picked up a strip steak, seasoned it well with S&P and grilled it for 3.5 minutes on each side (for medium temperature meat).

I plated it on top of some leftover asparagus and pea puree from last night and sauteed some broccolini with garlic (2 cloves, minced) and white wine (approx. 3T) for the perfect side dish.

The whole meal took about 15 minutes to make and it was delish!  

Day 277: Burning the 8:30pm Oil

Two nights in a row at the office until after 8pm and tomorrow promises more of the same.  But thanks to my good planning, there were leftovers in the fridge and food made its way quickly into my belly.

Tonight...leftover shepherd's pie.  I prepared this dish on Sunday, using pureed cauliflower instead of potato and ground turkey instead of ground lamb.  My hope had been that upping the nutritional content of the dish wouldn't mean too great of a sacrifice in taste.  Well, the original is definitely tastier, but simply having this on hand tonight bought it lots of brownie points!

Day 264: Going to Plan B

I had been planning to make pork tenderloin tonight, but the one we had in the fridge was about 10 days past the sell-by date!  Fortunately we had leftovers and the makings for a salad and so we had Plan B!

I reheated the meatballs I made on Sunday and melted some mozzarella over the top of them. Last night's leftover quinoa served as a bed to soak up the sauce.

Our salad was baby spinach, sliced baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, and beets.  Newman's Own light balsamic vinaigrette topped it off.

All in all, this was a really tasty meal even if it wasn't what I had intended to prepare and even if it required very little work.  Gotta love a dinner like that!

Day 255: Perfect Night for Leftovers

I was at work until 8pm and have an early morning flight tomorrow, so leftovers it was tonight!

We were lucky to have some chili leftover from Thursday night.  I returned it to a  pot, reheated it over medium low flame, and added some freshly grated sharp cheddar over the top after serving.  Dinner in no time flat!  Gotta love it!

Day 249: Dinner in (Practically) an Instant

Believe it or not, this dinner took about 15 minutes to put together.  And it was healthy.  And tasty!

I purchased some marinated pounded pork tenderloin at a fantastic store in my neighborhood and my husband grilled it up.  Because it had been pounded, it cooked up quickly and because it was already marinated, it was full of flavor.

To go with the pork, I sauteed some zucchini, yellow bell pepper, and mushrooms and mixed them with some leftover quinoa from the other day.  To flavor and season the dish, I ran about 1/4 cup of leftover chimichurri sauce through a fine strainer and mixed the resulting liquid into the quinoa and veggies.  I also added two chopped vine ripened tomatoes for some freshness and additional color.

Before we knew it, dinner was ready!  You've gotta love that on a work night - especially if you work late or want to get to the gym after leaving the office.  The key is having some good staples and leftovers in the house to make things quick and easy so always make extra and be creative about how you use what's left.

Day 235: From Fresh & Fancy to NOT

Last night I had a marvelous seafood dinner out.  Tonight, I had leftover week-old beef barley soup that I made on President's Day.  But then again, that is the beauty of a big pot of homemade soup - multiple easy, accessible, wholesome meals.

I had a work related day trip to LA today and got home around 7:30.  At that point there were three choices for dinner:  go out, order in, or make due with what was already in the house.  I remembered that there was leftover soup so I reheated it, added two shakes of cayenne pepper, paired it with a nice hunk of challah, and voila - dinner!  Gotta love that after a hectic day!

Day 230: The Sauce That Just Keeps on Giving

The Moroccan Chicken recipe I made earlier this week just keeps on giving.  We had the original delicious dish on Monday and tonight we used the leftover sauce for the second time. 

I rubbed a pork tenderloin with Chinese 5 Spice Powder and browned it in a  pan.  Then, I moved it to a roasting pan and cooked it in the oven for another 22-25 minutes at 375 degrees. 

After moving the pork to the oven, I deglazed the pan with chicken broth, added the leftover Moroccan Chicken sauce, and cooked the broccoli in it over low heat for about 10 minutes.

I also tried pureed cauliflower for the first time tonight and found that it's a wonderful substitute for mashed potatoes - similar texture and a whole lot more healthful.

Ingredients (serves 2):

Florets from 1/2 head of cauliflower

Olive oil 

S&P

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat cauliflower with olive oil and S&P and spread out evenly on a baking sheet.

Roast for 15 minutes, stir, and roast for another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Place cauliflower and 1/4 cup skim milk to food processor and mix until pureed.  Add more milk if necessary.

Transfer cauliflower to a small non-stick saucepan and add 1/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, gouda, parmesan, mozzarella, - whatever you like).  Heat over low flame, stirring frequently.  Taste and add more cheese if necessary.

This is a great little trick, especially if you love mashed potatoes but are trying to limit your carb intake.  Do you have other suggestions for healthier alternatives for carby favorites?  Do tell!

Day 229: Everything Old is New Again

Tonight, I took four leftover components of Monday night's dinner + lots of new fresh veggies and voila!  Dinner was served!

You may recall that on Monday, I made delicious Moroccan chicken with quinoa and a side of glazed carrots.  

Tonight, I reheated the leftover sauce from the chicken.  Then, I added fresh cauliflower florets, and green beans that I had cut in half.  I allowed this to cook for about 10 minutes, then added a small zucchini cut into rounds and a yellow bell pepper that I had cut into fairly large pieces.  

While the mixture cooked for another 5 minutes, I took the leftover chicken parts, removed the skin, and pulled the meat from the bone.  I also took the leftover glazed carrots and cut them into large pieces.  

I added the chicken to the pot and cooked it for about 5 minutes to heat it through.  Then I added the carrots for just another minute or so.  Finally, I scooped leftover quinoa into our bowls and then spooned the chicken, veggie, and sauce mixture over the top.  

This dish is SO good.  We did find that the dark meat pieces worked much better than the breast meat and so from now on, I will make this dish with chicken thighs.  They add a lot more flavor and they're cheaper, too!  This is definitely one of my favorite new recipes - give it a try and let me know what you think!

Day 172: On Vacation in ALL Respects

As my husband puts it, today was my last day of work of the year.  Advertising agency life is pretty good from that perspective - most agencies close between Christmas Eve Day and New Years Day, providing a wonderful long break from the real world.

This year vacation mode set it instantly and as I left the office and headed for the bus home, I thought to myself, "Cook dinner???  No way!!"

The fact is, we had a ton of leftovers in the fridge from Sunday night and from last night's Hanukkah feast so cooking wasn't necessary anyway.  I opted to create a potpourri of leftover side dishes and pair them with a can of Trader Joe's Italian Wedding soup.  Meanwhile, my husband did some good work on last night's leftover brisket.

I know some people don't care for leftovers, but I'm a big fan of them.  It's absolutely wonderful to have a home cooked meal without actually doing any cooking that day.  And with Christmas right around the corner, I need to save all of my cooking strength!

Day 167: Too Busy Cooking to Cook Dinner

Tomorrow is our holiday potluck lunch at work and I'm way too busy making meatballs to worry about cooking dinner.  Good thing we have leftover sausage and veggie mixture from last night!

We also had a bunch of broccoli, so I steamed that and mixed it with the leftovers.

And we always have shrimp in the freezer, exactly for nights like this.  I defrosted a dozen for each of us and then tossed them in a Ziploc bag with the following marinade:  juice of one large lime, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 3 T olive oil, 1/2 tsp sugar, a few shakes from the red pepper flake jar, and S&P. 

After about 10 minutes, I sauteed the shrimp in a pan pre-heated with some olive oil.  They cooked up in just a couple of minutes and dinner was served!

I know that they aren't being consumed at dinner time, but I would hate to deny you the recipe for my incredibly awesome meatballs.  You can get that recipe by clicking here and reading my entry from Columbus Day.  Enjoy!

Day 150: The Thanks That Just Keep Giving

Here we are, four days after Thanksgiving, and we are STILL eating leftovers!!  Thankfully, we polished them all off tonight.

Witness our Butternut Squash and Creamed Spinach Gratin - given new life with a topping of freshly grated parmesan cheese and thrown under the broiler.  The wild rice was still tasty, too, and only required a quick little reheat in the microwave.

Our protein tonight was not the flying kind.  I've had enough of that for awhile.  Instead, we had pork tenderloin marinated and purchased at our local neighborhood grocery store.  It's one of our favorite midweek meals since most of the work is done for us - we just throw it on the grill for 10-12 minutes and voila!  Dinner!

I must say, however, that a quickly and easily prepared dinner is not nearly as exciting as finally finishing all of our Thanksgiving fare.  Time to start planning the next holiday.  Any recommendations for Christmas dinner?