Archive for the ‘LEFTOVERS’ Category
Ham & Rice Casserole
Sounds a like a great use for leftover ham or even store bought ham scraps. On my to make and taste list. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 cans condensed Cheddar cheese soup, Shortcut
- 2 2/3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups dry Jasmine rice, rinsed
- 4 cups broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
- 4 cups ham, leftovers, chopped
- 1-2 cups Colby Jack cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F), get out a 9x13 baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the soup, water, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. When mixed, add the rice, broccoli, and ham.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover tightly with foil. The foil is going to steam this dish and cooks the rice.
- Bake for 60 minutes, remove from the oven and remove the foil, it will look watery, that is ok. Taste test some rice, if still crunchy, cover with the foil and bake another 20-30 minutes or until the rice is cooked and tender.
- Stir the casserole, sprinkle with the shredded cheese, and return to the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving if using leftover ham, and low to fair cost per serving if using purchased ham scraps.
Shortcuts: Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup, Italian Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Replace the ham with cooked chicken or turkey. 2. Instead of broccoli, use cauliflower and or sliced carrots. 3. Add sliced mushrooms.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Ham, Peas, & Creamy Noodles
This is simply delicious, easy, and a perfect use for leftover ham or in my case, purchased ham scraps. This is a one pot dish as well, no precooking the egg noodles. I made this on 15 Sep 2019 for the family, served 5 people, nearly everyone had seconds and it was well liked! I doubled this and I will say this doubles very easily. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 250 grams dry egg noodles, (8 oz)
- 2 cups chicken broth, Shortcut
- 1 cup half and half, or whipping cream
- 500 grams cooked ham, diced, (1 lb)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt and pepper, as desired
Optional, may or may not be needed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 3 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- For the ham, I used 1 kilo (2 lbs) of smoked spiral cut ham scraps that was sold as a package from a ham producer (2 lbs for $5, and I was doubling the recipe so this worked out well. These are excellent quality and the flavor is perfect. On the left is the ham pieces from the package and in the bowl is diced and excess fat went to my parents dog, Buster.
- Ham diced and ready to be used.
- Melt the butter in a pot on medium high heat, when hot, add the onion and saute until lightly browned.
- To the pot, add the egg noodles, broth, and half and half or cream. Stir, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
- Add the ham. Cover and simmer until the egg noodles are tender.
- Stir in the ham, cover, and let simmer until the noodles are tender.
- Once the noodles are tender, if the sauce has not thickened, mix together the cornstarch and cold water, pour that into the pan and stir to thicken.
- Season with salt and pepper, add the peas and lemon juice. I used the variant and used a mix of peas and carrots.
- Stir in the peas, cover, and remove from heat for about 10 minutes to warm the vegetables through.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving using leftover ham, and probably Fair cost per serving if using deli ham.
Shortcut: Chicken Broth (Pressure Cooker).
Variant: 1. Use frozen peas and carrots in place of just peas.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Ham & Cheese Pot Pie
This is an excellent and filling pot pie and is easy to make.
Equipment
- Oven
- Pie Dish
Ingredients
- 2 unbaked pie crusts, homemade or store bought
- 2 cups ham, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon butter, for sauteing ham
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 1½ cups frozen peas and carrots
- 1½ cups fresh potato, diced, cooked fork tender
- ¼ cup butter, for the sauce, (¼ block / ½ stick)
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted, for the top crust
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200° C (400° F). Line a pie dish with one of the crusts, bake for 5-10 minutes or until the crust is just starting to brown. The reason for this is to prevent the pie from having a soggy bottom crust.
- Heat the 1 tablespoon of butter in a large non stick pan on medium high heat, when hot, add the onion and ham, season with salt and pepper as desired. Cook until the ham is starting to brown and the onion is soft. Remove the ham and onion to a mixing bowl.
- While the ham is sautéing, measure out the peas and carrots and add to the mixing bowl. Scrub and dice the potatoes to measure 1½ cups, then boil until just tender, about 6 minutes or so, drain, and add the mixing bowl.
- Same pan used for the ham, add the ¼ cup of butter and melt that on medium heat. When melted, sprinkle in the flour and mix, stirring constantly until it just starts to brown, then pour in the milk and cheese. Stir until the sauce is thickened and smooth, and the cheese is melted. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired, to taste.
- Add the cheese sauce to the mixing bowl and mix to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust and spread out evenly.
- Top with the second crust, flute as desired. Melt the final two tablespoons of butter and brush the top crust. Cut several slits across the top.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes, this also sets up the sauce a little.
- Cut and serve.
- Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. Replace the fresh potato with one can of diced potatoes, drained (15 oz / 425 g). 2. Replace the ham with 1 can of Spam (12 oz / 340 g), diced.
Creamy Ham & Egg Casserole
Not only does this sound good and tasty, it can use leftovers as well, so this may be a nice recipe to keep handy when you have leftover potatoes and hard cooked eggs. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled, and sliced
- 4 hard boiled eggs, chicken or duck, chopped, (Shortcut)
- 1 cup cooked ham, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream, (Shortcut)
- 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs, (Shortcut)
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease with additional butter, a 7x11 baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, hard boiled eggs, and ham, toss to combine, then sprinkle in the salt and pepper and toss to mix in.
- In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and the egg. Gently toss this with the potato mixture.
- Pour the potato mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- In a bowl, toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter, sprinkle over the casserole.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly hot and the top is starting to brown.
- Serve and enjoy for breakfast or as a breakfast for dinner (my preference).
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Perfect Hard Boiled Duck Eggs, Sour Cream, Bread Crumbs.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Leftover Turkey in Gravy
This comes from a good friend and awesome chef, and fear not if you don't like turkey or have leftover turkey, you can make with this with chicken. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 500 grams fresh mushrooms, button, crimini, or Shiitake (remove stems), sliced, (1 lb)
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, (Shortcut)
- 4-6 cups leftover turkey meat, torn into bite size pieces, or chicken
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- salt, as desired
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large non stick pan on medium heat, when hot, add the onion and saute for 4-5 minutes until soft and lightly browned.
- Add the mushrooms and saute, stirring often until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes or so.
- Remove the mushrooms and onion to a plate and using the same pan, add all the butter, when melted, whisk in the flour and cook, always whisking, until it is golden brown, about 2 minutes, there, you just made a roux.
- Now whisk in the chicken broth. Heat to a simmer and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Add the turkey meat, or chicken meat, stir and heat until the meat is heated through.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and server over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
Notes
Low cost if using left over turkey or chicken, even if roasting a chicken yourself, this is still law cost, under $1, per serving.
Shortcut: Chicken Broth.
Variants: 1. Use chicken in place of turkey, oven roasted, baked, rotisserie, or even pressure cooked (which would provide broth for the recipe as well).
This recipe for Leftover Turkey in Creamy Mushroom Sauce is from Natasha's Kitchen.
Hoppin John (Slow Cooker)
This is a classic southern US dish of black eyed peas and ham served over rice or even as a side dish. I made this on 17 Jan 2019 and used some variants as well, excellent dish! There is several shortcuts to lower costs as well. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups cooked ham, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cans black-eyed peas, drained, rinsed (15 oz / 425 g each), or 6 cups cooked, Shortcut
- 2¾ cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, Shortcut
- 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- salt and pepper, as desired
- hot cooked rice, for serving, if desired
Instructions
- Drain the beans and add to your slow cooker. I used cooked dry beans.
- Add remaining ingredients to your slow cooker. I added red and green bell peppers, celery, smoked ham, and bacon as variants as well as homemade chicken broth.
- Give the pot a stir then cover and set to Low setting for 4 to 6 hours but anything past 8 hours and the beans will be really soft.
- Stir the pot once an hour. Here it is at 4 hours, and it is perfect.
- Serve over rice for a main dish or serve as is without rice as a side dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving, especially if using leftover ham or beef, and using the shortcuts.
Shortcuts: Black Eyed Peas (Pressure Cooker), Chicken Broth.
Variants: 1. Use cooked and sliced sausage, any type you wish. 2. Use leftover cooked beef, cut into bit size piece. 3. Use chopped bacon. 4. Add a bell pepper or two and or celery.
Mashed Potato Cheese Puffs
This is an excellent, and tasty, use for leftover mashed potatoes, which I always have when I make them as very few in the family like them. The bonus is I always have the other ingredients in the fridge. I made this on 3 Dec 2018, delicious and well liked by the family.
Ingredients
- 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon spring onion, chopped, or chives
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded, plus more as needed
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix to combine.
- Place mixture by heaping tablespoons on the parchment paper like you are making cookies.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then sprinkle more Cheddar cheese on each potato puff and bake about another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the puffs are golden brown.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, serve as a side with any main dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Recipe adapted from Just A Pinch Recipe Club, Monika Rosales, and the original recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Ellen's Beef Manhattans
This comes from a friend and is an old fashioned dish and was common in school cafeterias. Years ago, utilizing leftovers an another meal was very common as well as adding some items to extend the leftovers further. The beauty of this recipe, is the leftovers. I have written this to use leftovers. If you need to make mashed potatoes I have a shortcut in the Recipe Notes section or make mashed potatoes your preferred way. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 cups leftover roast beef, shredded
- 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes, warmed, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 1/2 cups beef gravy, homemade or from packets
- 4 slices bread
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- In a non stick pan, melt the butter on low heat, when hot, add the onion and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir the shredded beef into the onion and let this simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Now stir in the gravy and let this simmer. Heat up the leftover mashed potatoes, or mash your fresh cooked potatoes, if making mashed, flavor them up with splash of milk, butter, and some black pepper.
- To serve, place a slice of bread on a plate, spoon some beef and gravy over the bread, top with another slice of bread, add some mashed potatoes to the bread, spoon some more beef and gravy over the top, season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Mashed Potatoes (Pressure Cooker).
Recipe provided by Ellen Bales and her recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Black Bean Chili (Slow Cooker)
I created this using pressure cooked seasoned black beans. The beans were first used as a side dish and they are tasty, so I took the leftover beans, and there is a lot, and made some chili with what I had on hand. The seasoned beans add a lot of flavor to the chili as opposed to just plain cooked beans. The use of the slow cooker allows the chili to be simmered without burning, letting the flavors blend. I made this on 28 Aug 2018 and will be a regular now. For the beans, feel free to use your own recipe or use my shortcut for pressure cooker beans, or even used canned if you like. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 packet chili mix, your preferred brand
- 3-4 cups tomato juice, (Shortcut)
- 4 cups seasoned black beans, (Shortcut)
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- In a large non stick pan on medium heat, add a splash of olive oil. When hot add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the beef, breaking it up with your spatula,
- Cook the beef until no longer pink.
- Add the chili seasoning packet and stir that in.
- Add the beef mixture and beans to your slow cooker. Add tomato juice to just cover the beans. Stir everything together. Cover and set the slow cooker to Low and let simmer away for 4-6 hours.
- Remove the cover and stir.
- Serve and enjoy with toppings of your choice for chili.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Seasoned Black Beans (Pressure Cooker), Seasoned Black Beans (Stove Top), Tomato Juice.
Variant: 1. In place of ground beef, use Andouille or Spanish Chorizo.
I just threw this together and it worked well, Lee Thayer. Thailand.
Variant 1 provided by viewer, Martin Duke. United States.
Classic Chinese Fried Rice - Yangzhou Version
Sounds like another winner of a fried rice dish, on my to cook list.
Ingredients
- 6 cups leftover rice
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
- 1/4 cup Chinese ham, or regular ham
- 10-12 shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 1/2 cup carrot, diced
- pinch salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 spring onions, slice, white and green parts
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large non stick pan and add the peas and carrots, cook until tender, remove from pan.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and when hot, add the shrimp, cook until just pink, remove from pan.
- Add the rice to the wok or pan, use your spatula and make a hole in the center down to the pan, add the remaining oil and pour in the beaten eggs, stir fry to mix together the eggs and rice.
- Add the peas, carrots, ham, shrimp, soy sauce, pinch of salt and the white pepper, stir fry to mix everything together.
- Add the spring onion and stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. Add a few drops of sesame oil to the beaten eggs before pouring into the pan.
This recipe for Chinese Fried Rice - Yangzhou Version is from China Sichuan Food.
