Everyone who knows me or is even familiar with me knows I hate to waste (come on, I’m from the Third World!). My too-small clothes go on a hand-me-down mission between my fabulous sisters and my mom, I reorganize several times a year for the sake of not having to throw anything semi-useful away, and I never throw out food if I can avoid it! But, obviously, nobody likes eating the same dish all week-long, and I’m no exception, so I make it my challenge to bring new life to already prepared food so I’m economical, environmental, and inventive!
My very first tip when it comes to reusing leftovers is to package all components separately! If you have leftover pasta, sauce, and meat, give them all their own Tupperware or Ziploc bag– just because you enjoyed them all together tonight doesn’t mean that’s the only way to serve and eat them! This way, you can utilize each component separately and not be confined to say, eating the same chicken with the same rice because they got all over each other in the same box!
I had a turkey burger patty left from the Carl’s Jr. imitation the night before, and since Drew hasn’t gotten used to his weird new work schedule (lunch at 10 am!) yet, he brought home some El Pollo Loco chicken that his work had provided for lunch. When I see two different already-cooked meats, I immediately think of jambalaya. What’s brilliant about a dish like this is that you can add virtually anything you want as far as spices and veggies, and you only dirty one pot! Depending on your stove, pot, and ingredients, it will be ready in 30-45 minutes! Drew loves this one because it has some heat and lots of developed flavors that play off the spice, and it’s so hearty and filling, all in one plate! He’s gladly been taking the leftovers to work for lunch!
Cook up a steamy Cajun meal from leftovers!
To see the recipe, read more.
This weekend, my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I found a recipe for a wonderful marinade and decided to use a whole package for a simple baked chicken dinner for my boyfriend and me. We were hungry, but nonetheless, two whole chicken breasts were left over. Why waste them? I let them cool and put them in Tupperware and refrigerated until I had a chance to make them part of a new dish!
So Monday night came around, and I wanted something light and easy to start the week off. The chicken breasts inspired me to make a tossed pasta salad, so I roasted up some peppers (I had been craving roasted red peppers– it’s the inner Bulgarian girl screaming out) and started brainstorming an idea for my pasta salad.
First up was roasting the peppers. I have a very shallow broiler so I like to cut them in half to prevent any of them from scraping the top, but you can skip this and roast them whole if your broiler has enough room. I simply sliced two large red bell peppers the long way, cut off the stem and any white parts, and scoop out the seeds. Place them cut-side down on a cookie sheet or roasting pan, and stick them under the broiler until the skins blacken and blister, about 7-10 minutes. Take them out. Let them cool about 15 minutes and then peel off the skins. If they’re cooked enough, the skins will come off fairly easily and the insides will be slimy.
While doing all the prep work, I threw a pot of water to boil and prepared some rotini (swirly) pasta to cook. I always add a dash of salt to the pasta water, but that’s an optional step.
The pepper mixture, ready to go
Chop the flesh into bite-sized strips. In a bowl, I added the peppers, about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, about 2 tablespoons chopped sweet onion, a few chopped basil leaves, some red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. I mixed it well to make sure the olive oil coats everything and set it aside to let the flavors blend. At this step, you’re welcome to add your herbs of choice, as well as other veggies. If you’re omitting the meat to make it vegetarian, add some black or white kidney beans for some extra protein.
Now we’re ready to prepare the chicken. I had pulled it out of the fridge to let it soften, and wiped off any of the leftover sauce and marinade with a paper towel. I chopped the chicken into roughly 1 inch cube-shaped pieces, and set them aside in another bowl.
It’s important to remember when reusing leftover meat, especially lean, cooked meat like chicken, that it has dried significantly from its original glory, so it’s always good to add more moisture to reconstitute it to a moist texture. I wanted a light flavor in my pasta
Re-moistened chicken, ready to go into the salad
salad, so I opted for a simple balsamic dressing, since the vinegar will play off nicely with the sweetness of the peppers. In a bowl with the chicken, I added 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar, the juice of half a lemon, and about 1 tsp lemon zest. I personally don’t normally like cooking with lemon zest (honestly, it reminds me a bit of the artificial lemon scent in dish soap!) but I decided it would be a worth a shot, since fresh lemons practically embody summer cooking for me. Mix the dressing and chicken very well, and set aside to let the chicken to absorb the flavors. Make sure the liquid at the bottom of both bowls gets added to the salad, because that’s where all the flavor is, and the olive oil tends to drip slowly and consequently gets left behind often!
Now it’s time to assemble the salad in just a few easy steps. Make sure the pasta is thoroughly cooled at this point (if your glasses get steamy while you’re standing over it like mine do–it’s not ready yet!). If the pasta is ready before the other fixings, drizzle some olive oil or add a teaspoon of butter or margarine into the drained pasta to keep it from sticking together, and add a bit more salt if you’d like. Building the salad is easy as one-two-three. Add the chicken, and toss thoroughly. Then add the pepper mixture, making sure all the juices of both the chicken and peppers get incorporated into the pasta. At this point, the pasta will absorb some of the dressing, so I like to add an additional swirl of olive oil and a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella–I always prefer fresh, balled or sliced mozzarella, but this time I only had the shredded variety on hand, so I used that. Parmesan might work well too, especially in delicate shaved slices, or even a richer cheese like Gruyère can be shredded in. If you like feta (and of course I do, I’m Bulgarian!), that would be an excellent choice too, since the delicate, soft flavor goes so well with the garlicky but sweet peppers. (more…)
