Broccoli Cheese Quinoa

This was inspired wholeheartedly by Laura's broccoli cheese quinoa, posted earlier this summer. I bookmarked it until I had the time and kitchen to make it myself.

That time has finally come.

I kept mine really simple and strictly broccoli and cheese. Hers is a lot more inspired. This is one of those dishes you can add to based on your personal preferences.

Two of my favorite little girls, my God daughter and her sister are visiting. I gave them a vote of taco night or broccoli and cheese with a special new food said KEEN-WAH! Surprisingly, it was a unanimous vote against taco night! I didn't mind, though because I really wanted to try this!

2 cups quinoa
4 cups vegetable broth
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 heads broccoli, washed and cut into florets

In a large pot I cooked the quinoa and vegetable broth. Alongside, in a separate pot I steamed the broccoli.

When the quinoa had just a minute or two left, I stirred in 1 cup of the cheese, until fully melted and replaced the lid.

Drain the broccoli of any residual moisture from steaming and dump in the big pot. Fold everything together until incorporated.

Serve sprinkled with the additional cheese. Serves ~6 adults a dinner sized portion.

Yum, this was so good. All of us "big people" had two servings. I also served roasted buttercup squash alongside for more bulk to the meal.

Thankfully there's lots of leftovers for lunch today! I can't wait to dig into them!

Squash

(Click to enlarge.)

TWSS

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I printed out this recipe from my cousin's blog last year. Sometimes it seems like I'll never get around to all the printed, bookmarked, and torn out recipes I want to try!

Contrary to the plan, we didn't make the homemade pumpkin ice cream on Thanksgiving. There were just too many other sweets to warrant making it. However, I'd already thawed some fresh pumpkin puree from the freezer so I needed to find a way to use it up!

I used Anne's recipe exactly, with the only exception of fresh puree in place of canned and some chocolate chunk pieces because I didn't have enough chips on hand.

I think the fresh puree might have made these cookies a lot more moist than canned puree would have. They were very "cakey" and I think would have been better in muffin form. Some fell apart, but they still tasted great! A subtle pumpkin and spice background to the traditional chocolate chip cookie!

Pumpkin Rice Pudding

Don't you groan at me!

I know a lot of you are sick to death of hearing about pumpkin, but tough.

I'm not one of those bloggers that manages to add pumpkin to every drink, breakfast, baked good, and treat they eat. In fact, I searched and I've only shared a tart, a cheesecake, and ice cream. So I'm allowed to share this recipe, ok!?

Glad we got that out of the way.

This is yet another recipe from the Cooking Club magazine. What can I say- they had a really good October/November issue. I switched it up some, though.

15 oz. can pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked rice (I used brown)
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. Next, stir in the milk and eggs. Last, fold in the rice, raisins, and pecans.

Scoop into a sprayed 11" x 17" glass baking dish. Place inside a larger dish or roasting pan. Add enough water to come 1" up the sides of the baking dish.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest for about 20 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

As I said, my dinner party had a theme of late summer-early fall. I knew I wanted to make a pumpkin tart, and Johnny would want to make an ice cream. But both are so gushy, what to do for some texture? Then it hit me - pumpkin seed brittle! I found a simple peanut brittle recipe and just substituted in pumpkin seeds. It worked out perfectly.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 cup pre-toasted pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp baking soda

Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside. In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, corn sugar, salt, and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the pumpkin seeds and affix a candy thermometer. Continue cooking and stirring until the temperature reaches 300°, or the hard crack stage.

Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the butter and baking soda. Pour at once onto the cookie sheet. Use a butter knife to help spread the mixture to about 1/4" thickness. Cool completely and then twist the pan to help remove. Snap into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Tart

You won't find any canned pumpkin in this recipe! No sirree, this is real pumpkin, roasted whole and scooped out! A little more work, but a lot more taste. Nothing but the best for my dinner party guests! (By the way, the above photo is for you, Mara! No pumpkin shortage in my local grocery store!)

For the pie:
1 pie pumpkin (3 cups, cooked)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cans (12 oz.) of fat free evaporated milk

For the crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp shortening
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup cold water

Hack the pumpkin into 8ths, removing the seeds and guts. (Reserve the seeds for toasting if you know what's good for you.)

Spray a baking pan and the pumpkin with Pam and roast at 425° for about 45 minutes, until soft. Let cool enough to handle, then remove the flesh from the skin.

Using a pastry cutter, mix the crust's flour, sugar, and salt with the shortening and salt until it resembles peas. Add the cold water until a dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll into a large circle. Transfer to a 10" tart pan, pressing dough into the ridges and removing any excess from the edges.

In a large bowl combine the pumpkin and all of the remainging pie ingredients and blend until smooth. The mixture will be runny, like a loose pancake batter.

Pour into the tart crust. Any additional filling can be baked in a well-greased dish alongside. Bake at 425° for the first 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350° and continue baking for an additional 45-60 minutes. A knife entered into the center of the pie will come out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Serve with homemade cinnamon ice cream and pumpkin seed brittle (recipes in next 2 posts).

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

If you think you've had butternut squash soup, you need to throw that recipe out the window and try this version. I slightly altered an Alton Brown recipe, with great success!

At the end of the dinner party, we all talked about which course was our favorite and this soup was mentioned a few times. It was so creamy and flavorful, I will definitely be making it again and again.

2 large or 3 medium butternut squash
~3 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt
white pepper
~5 cups vegetable stock
3 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp real maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup real maple syrup
toasted pine nuts

Begin by mixing the cumin and maple syrup in a small jar and shaking vigorously. Continue shaking throughout the day to help the cumin dissolve and flavor the syrup. Toast pine nuts slowly in a dry pan over medium heat until aromatic and tanned.

Cut the butternut squash into 8ths, removing the seeds and guts. Toss in a large bowl with the olive oil, salt and white pepper. Spread out onto a baking sheet and roast in a 425° oven for 45-60 minutes, until the pieces are tender and starting to brown in parts. Remove and let cool until easy to handle, then remove the skin.

Add the squash pieces and vegetable stock to a large pot and puree with a stick blender. Add the honey, maple syrup, and ginger. Continue cooking until hot and adjust seasonings to taste preference. A few minutes before serving, stir in the cream until incorporated.

Ladle into a bowl and top with a drizzle of the cumin-scented maple syrup and a healthy pinch of toasted pine nuts.

Reheats well.

Quinoa Stuffed Butternut Squash

Oops! I didn't realize when I posted Thursday there'd be two squash recipes in a row!

What can I say? We really like stuffed squash! Here are some featured on the blog in the past:

Spaghetti Squash Boats
Acorn Squash with Corn Pudding
Couscous Stuffed Acorn Squash
Brown Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash

Tonight's recipe used one of my favorite squash, Butternut and a revisit with the quinoa salad I made this summer.

1 small butternut squash
4 cups cooked quinoa (using vegetarian bouillon instead of water)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 small onion
1 elephant clove garlic
5 carrots
4 stalks celery
half head of cauliflower
head of broccoli

To begin, cut the butternut squash in half and using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and strands. Place in a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. (Ordinarily I would bake this, but I started dinner very late tonight.)

Preheat the oven to 450°. Wash and cut all of the vegetables and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle the olive oil, salt, and pepper over top. Toss until everything is coated and pour out onto a baking pan. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown.

Turn the roasted vegetables out into a large serving bowl.

Add the quinoa and toss gently to incorporate, taking care not to mush the vegetables.


Place the squash half on a plate and fill the cavity with a generous helping of the quinoa salad.

This meal is vegan and gluten free so could be safely served to most following a special diet! There will be about half of the quinoa salad for leftovers which are tasty served warm or cold!

Spaghetti Squash Boats

Last year I was a "Guest for Dinner" over on Mara's blog What's for Dinner? I just realized I totally forgot to share that recipe with you guys here, too! I found this recipe via Taste of Home, either in their magazine, e-mails, or web site, I cannot remember!

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash (2 – 2 1/2 pounds)
1/4 pound ground beef (I used 95/5)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I substituted zuchinni)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, drained (I used a 28 oz can of crushed)
1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Cook the squash in the method that you prefer. Either bake in 1/2 in. of water until tender, or microwave about 5 minutes per pound. I usually bake, but it takes almost an hour, so I microwaved to cut down on both time and energy.

When cool enough to handle, scoop out squash and set aside. In a skillet, cook beef, onion, and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the mushrooms (zuchinni), garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in squash.

Cook, uncovered, until liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Fill shells; place in baking dish. Bake, uncovered in a 350° oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese is melted. I popped mine under the broiler for nice brown cheese!

If you cook these using lean ground beef and part-skim mozzarella (as I did), each 1 cup serving is 102 calories, 3g fat, 13g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, and 7g of protein! We actually were able to get 4 servings out of this, each eating only half and re-heating the other half another night.

Ally over at Sweet & Savory tagged me to answer 5 foodie fun facts about myself!

When did you discover your love for cooking/baking? Growing up we were always involved in cooking. It was just kind of the way it was to be on a stool next to my parents and a "taste tester." I would say during high school, after I got my license it grew. I took a cooking class and also had a lot more responsibility as far as grocery shopping and helping with dinner a few nights.

Favorite food to make? My favorite foods to make are really healthy things. I love coaxing delicious flavors out of simple things like roasted vegetables. It's really satisfying to sit and eat dinner and think "ha! some people think vegetables taste bad!"

Top eat of all time? JK's ribs back home on the Outer Banks of N.C. I've loved them since we moved there in 1989 and to date nothing has topped them!

Most disliked food? Raw tomatoes and mushrooms.

Food you still haven't tried to make but want to? I would have to say seafood dishes. The fact that it's so expensive and so easy to screw up makes me really anxious to try them.

I tag all of you because I think it'd be interesting to know your answers too!

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Wouldn't you know that Edy's (Dreyer's in some parts of the country) changed the vast majority of their flavors last year (including pumpkin) to New! "Fun Flavors!" with whey as the first ingredient? Yes, whey. Not milk, not cream - a processed additive! Mmmm, "Fun!" indeed!

Johnny had a major craving for pumpkin ice cream a few months ago. Since we can't buy a whey-free version at the store, he came up with his own by adapting The Perfect Scoop's sweet potato ice cream recipe to be a pumpkin ice cream recipe!

This was the third or fourth time Johnny made the pumpkin ice cream this year. He usually uses canned pumpkin, but when he made it for Italy Night, he used fresh pumpkin. Wow, let me tell you, it made a WORLD of difference. The canned version tasted a little tinny to me, but Johnny gobbled it up. The fresh version was velvety goodness and I gobbled it up!

15 oz. can of pumpkin (or about 2 cups fresh pumpkin, which I recommend)
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp milk (we used 1%)
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
a few drops lemon juice (we used the bottled concentrate)

Combine all of the ingredients (except the lemon juice) in a blender and mix for about 30 seconds. It will taste great at this point, but trust me and add just a few drops of lemon juice and re-blend. It should allow all of the other ingredients to just POP and become brighter, not add any citrus qualities.


Freeze in your ice cream maker according to instructions. Serve immediately in a more soft-serve texture, or freeze to serve later! Please note, however, that homemade ice creams freeze "harder" than commercially aerated versions. You'll need to take them out about 5 minutes before scooping.

BSI: Acorn Squash (Roasted Acorn Squash with Walnuts)

Come back tomorrow for a birthday give away!

Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) this week is being hosted by Megan of MegaNerdRuns and she chose acorn squash!

I love acorn squash and have utilized it as a vessel for stuffing other foods into, mainly. Otherwise I cut it in half and bake, or cut it in slices and roast.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Corn Pudding
Couscous Stuffed Acorn Squash
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Acorn Squash Soup

Yesterday Pioneer Woman posted Sweet-Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash Wedges and I put them on the menu for dinner - my way of course!

First time ingredient alert! I used two new types of acorn squash I'd never even seen before! Gold acorn (orange) and white acorn (yellow).

2 small acorn squash, cut into 8ths
olive oil
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
pepper
~2 Tbsp brown sugar
~1/4 cup maple syrup
~1/2 cup walnuts

First, I cut the acorn squash into 8ths, and spread into a casserole baking dish. Next, I poured a little olive oil over them and rubbed it around so they were all coated.

In a small bowl I mixed together the remaining ingredients for a savory-sweet topping. I spooned this around the top of the squash wedges in the baking dish. Into a 350° oven for approximately an hour and out they came really tender, moist, and caramelized. (Watch the topping, because mine started to brown pretty rapidly at the end!)

There was a savory bite of the garlic and onion powder in the back, but a nice sweetness from the brown sugar and maple syrup. The nuts were absolutely delicious and became almost like a nut brittle topping.

Johnny's friend Goran was over for dinner and while I started to tediously peel the squash away from the skin because I thought it'd be tough, he went for it and tried it with the skin. I'm happy to report it was tender and completely edible!

I kept switching back and forth, taking a bite from the white, and a bite from the gold, seeing if I could distinguish a difference. There really was not a difference in taste, only a small difference in the texture, because the white acorn was larger, so it was a bit juicier.

Served alongside Alisa's cauliflower risotto and pan fried cube steaks. Both posts will be up in a few days!

Pumpkin Muffins

The Fall baking adventures going on in blogland are remarkable! I actually had to make myself a list of all the great things I want to try so I wouldn't forget! There were 6 things on the list so I knew I couldn't decide and asked Johnny's help to narrow it down. Up first was Pioneer Woman's pumpkin muffins!

Believe it or not, we had to go to three grocery stores to track down plain, canned pumpkin! Trader Joe's came through for us! The checkout clerk jokingly asked us how we were going to carve the can. Then him and Johnny cracked themselves up, saying that wasn't a half-bad idea to etch into the can of pumpkin and put a candle inside!

Muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 heaping cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg (I just realized he was left outta the above pic, poor guy!)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Topping (optional):

2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400° and grease 12 muffin pans. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter until all incorporated.

In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla.

Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins, if using. Fold gently until mixture is just combined. Pour into greased muffin pan.

If using the topping, sprinkle over the top of muffins. Bake for 25 minutes and allow to cool for 15 minutes. (Ours were a little underdone at 25 minutes, but smelled so good we didn't care! I'd go for 2-5 more minutes in the future!)

I'm a little surprised they didn't rise more, but Ree's didn't either. They're pretty dense, almost like a moist pumpkin bread, instead of a fluffy, airy muffin. They were still ridiculously delicious and our house has never smelled so good!

I chose to forego the extra cinnamon topping, so Johnny halved the little recipe and put it on his 6 muffins.

Ree also shared a cream cheese frosting recipe with three ingredients: cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. I'm not a fan of powdered sugar frostings, so we chose a simpler approach - just a dollup of cream cheese over top a warm muffin.



Mmm, what a delicious dive into the Fall baking season! I can't wait to try more recipes and share them with you!

Also, sorry for the lack of recent posts. I'm in accelerated college courses, so while everybody else is gearing up for their midterms, I'm actually preparing for finals! (gulp!) I have a pantry full of new squash to try, so I hope to get some inspiration from there and get some new posts cranking out again once the dust settles!

Help Mara at What's for Dinner? celebrate her 1 year anniversary by entering her giveaway! Congrats Mara!

Buttercup Squash/Kabocha

Sorry for the lack of posts! I have a friend visiting and it's been hard to juggle entertainment, schoolwork, a jobhunt, and updates all at once.

My grocery store started carrying tons of squash for Fall and one was labeled as Buttercup Squash. I did some reading and it is the closest cousin to kabocha. The two taste ridiculously similar, and are suggested to be substitutes for one another if necessary. I'm not 100% sure what mine was, because it looks so similar to the kabocha pics I've seen on everybody's blogs. I'm also not fully secure in my local store's knowledge to label it properly.

The queen of kabocha, Maggie, suggested I roast it. I love roasted anything, so I promptly followed her advice.

Johnny helped me cut it in half, because holy smokes was this unwieldy! Then I scooped out the seeds. The inside smelled sweet, almost like a ripe cantaloupe!

The skin had a waxy film on it, so we chose to peel the outside. Then I cut it into 1/4" slices, tossed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. They went into a 425° oven for about 25-30 minutes, flipping once.

Served alongside thin sliced chicken breasts, browned in a little bit of olive oil, with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders. Also roasted radishes (ehhh) and roasted zucchini.

It was surprisingly great. I love squash, and cook with it semi-regularly, but this was a whole new level of good. I couldn't stop eating it! It's my new favorite!

Roasted Acorn Squash with Corn Pudding

I saw this recipe on 101 Cookbooks earlier today and thought I'd make it later this week because I happen to have two acorn squash in the pantry. Then I thought more about it and decided to make it tonight! We were just talking about stuffed acorn squash at yesterday's food blogger potluck, so I think I was in the mood!

I tweeked it quite a bit because Heidi warned about a lot of extra filling and I also didn't have the spices, scallions, or cheese she used to flavor hers on hand. I improvised, but it still has the feel of the original recipe and was great!

1 medium acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup frozen corn
~2 Tbsp chopped green pepper
~2 Tbsp chopped celery
1/2 of a jalepeno, seeded and chopped
1 slice of bacon, uncooked and chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375°. Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds. (You can roast these for a crunchy snack by the way!) Rub the flesh of the squash with the oil. Place in a baking dish, cut side up. Make sure the squash sits flat and is semi-stable (mine were actually a little too angled). Cut the bottom with a knife for it to sit stable if necessary. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

In a medium bowl mix the remaining ingredients, reserving the last 2 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese for later. After the 40 minutes, remove the squash from the oven and spoon the mixture into the cavity of the squash.

Leave uncovered and without spilling, very carefully move the pan back into the oven. Bake an additional 40 minutes. Sprinkle each half of the squash with 1 Tbsp of the reserved Parmesan cheese and place under the broiler to crisp up the cheese.


The corn pudding had almost a custardy texture - similiar to a quiche. It was very good, I was sad there wasn't more. I think in the future I might scoop out more of the squash to create a bigger cavity to house more filling! Or, cook extra filling on the side (like Heidi did) and re-fill the squash as necessary! It was really tasty and I'm glad I threw the bacon in there for some smokiness.

Steak Stir-fry and Leftover Meat Ideas

First, and foremost, let me again remind you to please keep those votes coming for my brother! Thank you for your votes already, they're working! He updated you guys in the comments section to let you know he received a call from Murphy-Goode to submit proof of his credentials and eligibility to work in the US, along with some writing samples. He has a 30 minute phone interview tomorrow, too! Keep your fingers crossed!

Next is pretty exciting news, too! Mara at What's for Dinner? featured my Spaghetti Squash Boats as a "Guest for Dinner" on her blog! Thanks again, Mara! :) Don't forget, she's still having a give-away for her adorable food blogger charms until June 1st, or you can purchase them outright for only $7! What a steal! I have the little laptop one en route to me as we speak, I just couldn't resist!

My give-away is still going on, too! Guess the number of pistachios for a chance to win a 1 year subscription to Taste of Home magazine! You have until June 1st!

Finally, remember BSI: Corn ends this Sunday, so get your creative corn recipes into Sophia at Slurp and Burp! She's giving away adorable funky socks and a cute little case to the winner!

Tonight's dinner was a stir-fry using up a ton of veggies in the fridge and leftover steak from Johnny's parents' house on Monday.

Served over white rice was:

1 large carrot
1 small head of broccoli
1 cup string beans, cut in 1" pieces
1 small green pepper
<1/4 cup chopped onion
1 small zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 stalk of celery

I sauteed these in a stovetop wok with a drizzle of olive oil over high heat for about 4 minutes. Next, I poured in a mixture of about 3 Tbsp each of water, Hoisin sauce, and reduced sodium soy sauce. I let this reduce for about a minute, and then in the final minute threw in slices of 2 leftover steaks and about 1/4 cup of roasted peanuts.

Stir-fries are a great way to use up not only vegetables, but leftover meat. It gives you the freedom to cut the meat in smaller pieces and add it at the end of cooking, so it doesn't get dried out and overdone. Had I used this steak in another method, it would have easily become very tough and dry, but it remained moist and tender heated only a minute with the veggies at the end.

Other great ways to use up leftover meat include:



Stuffed Peppers! Use any pre-cooked meat and mix with veggies or rice. Stir in cheese or spices to make the meal have a different taste each time. Spoon the mixture into a half of a green pepper, and top with sauce or gravy and bake in a 350° oven, covered, until the peppers are tender, usually about 30-45 minutes.






I've made two versions of stuffed acorn squash, found here and here. The squash microwaves quickly and you can use literally anything to fill the cavity where you've scooped out the seeds. Couscous, quinoa, small noodles, rice, and any veggies or meat you have on hand. The possibilities are endless!






Pot pies are an excellent way to use up both red meat and poultry. Mix the meat with a gravy and your choice of fresh or frozen veggies. You can buy the frozen pie crusts in the pack of 2 and simply flip the 2nd crust upside down as the "top," and crimp the edges together. Either bake then, or freeze for later! My mom always makes turkey pot pies with all the Thanksgiving leftovers, killing two birds with one stone!





Soups! I've made way too many to link to, so you can either search (up at the top), or come up with your own ideas! I usually start with my "big ass pot" and fill it with a mixture of veggies on hand. Carrots, celery, onions, potatoes are staples. Then, vegetable stock and sometimes rice, barley, pasta, to bulk it up. I usually use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, but you could use any meat on hand. Just add it to the pot last and let it come up to temperature. This is another post-Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey user-upper.




Sweetie Pie's cabbage nests are fantastic for new flavors and ideas. I've made them with sausage and I've made them with chicken. Simply roast the cabbage and any veggies in the oven. Then, assemble, putting the meat of your choice, sauce, gravy, etc. on top and bake. You could add cheese during the second bake, or even top it with a fried egg, which Sweetie has done before, but I've yet to try!







Savory bread pudding is a relatively new introduction to my repertoire of using up leftover meat, but it's a great one! Use up your old bread, use up veggies, and use up meat. Smother it with eggs and cheese - could anything be better, or easier? It also scores bonus points for being a one dish meal and the ability to throw it in the oven and forget about babysitting it!




Throw it on a salad! I've put everything from leftover steak cut in strips, chunked up ham, chicken breast, tuna, shrimp, and Morningstar burgers on a salad. It's so easy to fluctuate the toppings and dressing choice to compliment the extra protein you've thrown on top!




If all else fails - add eggs! You can mix meat with your egg sandwich in the morning, throw it in an omelette, or make a skillet frittata for dinner! Eggs are a great way to use up leftovers from breakfast to dinner and everything in between!


What is your favorite way to use up leftover meat, or any other leftovers for that matter!? I'm always looking for new ideas because I get bored of meals very fast. I hate repeats and I can't eat the same thing twice in a row or I get tired of it and have to avoid it for a few weeks (or months).