A Long Hiatus

I am back from a horribly long hiatus!  No excuse for it except LIFE!

Today I will make up for my absence by making two dishes out of our leftovers.

What is leftover?  Baked potatoes, corn on the cob, BBQ’d steak, and BBQ’d mushrooms and onions.

Shepherd’s Pie

What was leftover? Meatloaf, peas, gravy and mashed potatoes.

I chopped up the meatloaf which equalled to about 1 ½ cups, then I mixed it in a casserole dish with the peas (1 cup), gravy (1 cup), and some additional chopped onions and sliced mushrooms. I topped the concoction with the mashed potatoes and placed it in a 400⁰F oven until it was heated through, about 30 minutes.

Shepherd’s Pie is so yummy (not to mention EASY), and this version was no exception.

Until next time ... eat your leftovers!

Cheesy Macaroni Pie

What was leftover? About six cups of “Mac and Tomat”.

I didn’t want to just heat it up and I really didn’t want to add meat to it, simply because once a week we go meatless.

To the bowl with the leftover “Mac and Tomat” I added:

1 tsp of dried oregano

1 minced garlic clove

2 Tbsp of Sundried Tomato Paste

Then in a medium sized sauce pan I melted 1/3 cup of unsalted butter, to which I whisked in 1/3 cup of flour, and a sprinkle each of salt and pepper, and cooked for one minute. I whisked into it 4 cups of milk and added a Bay Leaf. I simmered this white sauce mixture for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a medium bowl, I whisked 3 eggs and once the white sauce was complete, I slowly added it, whisking all the time. (Be sure to remove the Bay Leaf from the white sauce.)

I greased a 9” glass pie plate and then proceeded to layer the leftover “Mac and Tomat”, white sauce/egg mixture and grated marble cheese, ending with cheese.

I baked at 400⁰F for about 30 minutes, until the cheese was nice and bubbly.

So great! So good!

Note: I only used about 4 cups of the “Mac and Tomat” and only about 2 cups of the white sauce/egg mixture. I froze these leftovers to use in soups or other casserole type dishes at a later date.

Until next time ... eat your leftovers!

PS:  I forgot to take a picture.  It was so good, it was gone before I even thought of it!  :-)

I adapted this recipe from another recipe found at KraftCanada.com.

Leftover "Mac and Tomat"

We love macaroni and tomatoes mixed together with a bit of margarine, salt and pepper. It is divine when you’re real hungry and don’t feel like cooking! But, we always make way too much (you’d think we’d learn!).

What do you do with leftover “mac and tomat”?

Check back soon...

Lasagna Soup How To

Super-duper easy, super-duper yummy!

The best type of lasagna recipe to use for this soup is one with ricotta/cottage cheese and spinach, though if that’s not what you have, you can always add some frozen or fresh spinach to it.

Refrigerate the lasagna until it is firm, then cut into ½ inch squares. Plop it in a slowcooker and add enough broth to cover by about 4 to 5 inches. You can use either chicken or beef broth.

This soup only needs 5 hours at low in the slowcooker, but you can let it simmer away all day if you wish.

Lasagna Soup is super-duper yummy, especially when served with homemade bread straight from the bread-maker.

Until next time ... eat your leftovers!

For more tips and tricks, please visit: http://www.moms-stay-at-home.com/

Lasagna Soup

I don't make big 9x13" lasagnes unless we're having company, but we do like lasagne. So I assemble and freeze several 5x9" loaf lasagnes, then it is just a matter of thawing and baking!

We had one of these loaf lasagnes yesterday and there was some leftovers with which I'm going to prepare Slowcooker Lasagne Soup.

Prepare to be amazed!

Until next time ... eat your leftovers!

For more tips and tricks, please visit: http://www.moms-stay-at-home.com/

Mozza Chicken Casserole

What was leftover?  2 cups of pasta sauce, 3 cups of tri-coloured rotini, 1 cup boiled peas and carrots, and 1 ½ cups bite sized/diced chicken breast.

I sliced and sautéed another small amount of onions and mushrooms. In a buttered casserole dish I mixed together the pasta, the sauce, the onions and mushrooms, and the peas and carrots. I diced the remaining* chicken breast into bite-sized pieces and mixed that in too. Then I topped the dish with mozzarella cheese and baked it in the oven at 350⁰F for 35 minutes, until it was heated through and the cheese was bubbly and golden.

Everyone loved it!

Until next time ... eat your leftovers!

*There was still some more chicken left over after removing the breast, so I froze it for another day to make chicken soup or the like.

For more tips and tricks, please visit: http://www.moms-stay-at-home.com/