Thanksgiving Shepherd's Pie

I hope everyone had a great Halloween, because around here, it barely existed!  Bella's school finally had their Halloween parade 2 days ago.  Trick or treating was postponed over a week, then turned out to be a big dud.  A whole lot of anti-climactic excitement, thanks to that bitch named Sandy :(

I guess there isn't much you can do about it except move forward...so, let's focus on Thanksgiving!

I actually made this a few weeks ago, before Sandy trampled through our area, when I was feeling the Turkey Day spirit.  This is a perfect leftovers dish (you can easily sub turkey breast for ground turkey), or something to make when you're looking for a healthier version of the real thing.

Thanksgiving Shepherd's Pie

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk (add slowly incase it isn't all needed)
salt and pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 can corn, drained
1 1/2 cups string beans, slightly steamed (best if still a bit crunchy)

Boil potatoes until soft.  Drain and put back in pot.  Add butter, milk, salt and pepper, and mash until smooth.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Heat oil in a large skillet, then add onion and garlic.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Add turkey, thyme and garlic powder, and cook until no longer pink.  Add corn and string beans.  Stir together and cook a few more minutes.  Remove from heat.

Put turkey mixture in a 9 inch deep dish pie pan.  Top with mashed sweet potatoes.  Cook for about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Chicken Pasta Pesto Bake

I had a bit of a challenging day earlier this week.  To sum it up quickly...

Got ready for work.  Bella got sick.  All over the house.  Plopped her in the bath.  Cleaned it all up...rug, floor, clothes...you get my drift.

Finally got out of the house and hopped in my mom-in-law's car to go to work.  Car dies on the road.  Co-worker picks me up.

Proceeded to have a super craptastic day at the office.  Crappy days in sales impact your paycheck.  No bueno.

The highlight of my day?  Dinner.  Not just because it tasted good, but because I prepped it the night before.  Ahhhhh.

Chicken Pasta Pesto Bake
12 ounces penne, cooked al dente
2 large chicken breasts, cooked, cut into chunks
2/3 cup pesto (homemade or store bought)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a baking dish.  Bake for about 20 minutes.

***I used leftover chicken (seasoned and grilled).  It can be cooked however you like - just make sure it's seasoned for added flavor!

Fried Onion Mac & Cheese

Our recipe swap them this time around was your favorite celebrity recipe.  When I received Alton Brown's Mac & Cheese from Does Not Cook Well With Others, I knew right away I'd be making a few adaptations.  After all, I already have a great go-to recipe for baked mac & cheese.

The night before I made this dish, Frank, Bella and I went to a new local burger place for dinner.  We ordered the "crispy onions" as a side dish, since Bella and I love onion rings.  Little did we know we'd be faced with a ginormous plate of pieces of fried onions.  Very good but WAY too much to eat.

The light bulb over my head lit up and I had those suckers packed up to go.

So, as you can guess, I made some adaptations to Alton's original recipe.  And great changes they were!  Yum.

Even celebrities can stand to use some improvement once in a while :)

Fried Onion Mac & Cheese
adapted from Does Not Cook Well With Others, originally from Alton Brown

3/4 pound elbows
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons AP flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk (I used 1%)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and pepper
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
fried onion pieces (I guess you could use canned, but this recipe looks pretty easy)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook elbows until al dente and drain.

Melt butter in a pot over low heat, then add flour and mustard.  Stir constantly until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Stir in milk, bay leaf and paprika.  Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the bay leaf.

Add a ladle of the milk mixture to the egg and mix, then pour into the pot with the rest of the mixture.  Stir in most of both cheeses, reserving about 3/4 cup for the top.  Season with salt and pepper.  Gently stir in macaroni, then pour into casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese.

Bake for about 25 minutes.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.  Top with onions and serve.

Scalloped Ham and Potato Bake

This week has pretty much been all about Easter leftovers.  The other night, we had stuffed shells and meatballs.  Another night was eggplant parm.  For lunch, I've been eating egg salad (or straight up hard boiled eggs).  I'm pretty sure many households across the country have been doing the same thing...

I'm also pretty sure that many households have turned their leftover ham into deliciousness that looks something like this:

Photo credit goes to Frank (I was working late)...not bad for an amateur!

I made this dish the day before we ate it - threw it in the fridge and reheated it before serving.  Perfect for a busy work night!  Another successful use of leftovers, which you know always makes me happy.

So, what leftovers have been on your table this week?


Scalloped Ham and Potato Bake
slightly adapted from RecipeTips

2 cups ham, diced
5 cups potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 large yellow onion, sliced
5 tablespoons flour
dash of pepper

for the sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (I used 1%)
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 cup colby jack and cheddar cheeses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine first 5 ingredients and place in a greased casserole dish (approximately 2 quarts).

For the sauce, melt butter in saucepan.  Add flour and cook for one minute, until smooth.  Add milk, mustard and cheese.  Stir over low heat until cheese melts.

Pour sauce over potato mixture and bake for 60 minutes or until potatoes are done.

Leftover Crack Dip Mac-n-Cheese

So, remember that crack dip I posted last week?  You know...everyone's favorite dip...the one that disappears in a flash...the one you always have to triple the recipe for?

Well, something strange happened on New Year's Eve.  I found myself, with last minute notice, cooking a ton of food for some people who were coming over.  I made way too many dishes and entirely too much of everything.

(yeah, I know, those of you who know me are now saying, that's not strange...making enough to feed an army is your MO!)

Anyway, there it was...leftover crack dip.  A lot of it.  An enigma!

So I figured the only thing that could make it better is...pasta.  Right?

Right.

Leftover Crack Dip Mac-n-Cheese
because hey, you never know...there may actually be some leftover!

2 cups leftover crack dip
1 box pasta (I used elbows...use whatever you like), cooked al dente, drained
panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place dip in a large bowl and microwave until just heated through, so it can easily be stirred.  Add pasta to bowl and stir to combine.

Pour mixture into an 8x8 square pan.  Sprinkle panko crumbs on top and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

So what if it isn't pretty?

When I noticed I had some extra stuffing from the braciole I made the other day, I started thinking of a way to use it up.  Remember, waste not, want not!  Originally, I was going to use the portobello mushrooms I have by stuffing them, but midway through cooking I decided to save them for another time.

I cut up some zucchini, whipped up some polenta and this was the result.  Yum.

That's right, I said yum, even though it isn't the most attractive dish.  These types of creations rarely are, but they're usually the best tasting :)  LOVE rustic cooking.

Sausage and Polenta with Sauteed Zucchini
3/4 lb. Italian sausage, not in casing (I used spicy, but you can use mild if you want to be wimpy)
extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
stuffing from braciole (click here for the ingredients.  This can be omitted, or you can use bread crumbs with whatever seasonings you like)
1 zucchini, sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
polenta (see link above on how to make it)
mozzarella cheese, shredded

Heat oil and garlic in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add sausage and cook until no longer pink, then add stuffing.  Stir together and cook for another few minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.

Put a little more oil and the other garlic clove into the skillet.  Add zucchini, salt and pepper and saute until cooked through.  Take off heat and cover to keep warm.

Follow instructions for polenta.  When almost finished, add cheese and continue stirring.  Spoon polenta onto plate and add sausage on top, with zucchini on the side.

Here's how Italians have breakfast.

Chances are that if you're Italian, you've had a frittata before and know not only what it is, but why people make them.  To those who don't, it's simple - it's all.about.the.leftovers.  Period.

Last night I made my pasta with chicken sausage and artichokes and specifically prepared extra so I was all set for breakfast today with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend.  This might be considered "cheating" but hey, leftovers are leftovers :)  Frittate are perfect for what's left in your fridge - whatever it is, any combo you like - or, even with nothing but cheese, or pasta, or a veggie...bottom line, there are no rules.


Normally, I make it in my cast-iron pan (since you start your frittata on the stove and transfer it right to the oven) but since I wanted to make sure there was plenty, I used a deep pie dish.  If you do this, cook your leftovers in a skillet, transfer them to your oven dish, then add the cheese and eggs.  Otherwise, do it all in your cast-iron pan (or whatever you're using) and place it right in the oven after you add the eggs.

The ingredients I used today are below, but again, use whatever you like, or more traditionally, whatever you HAVE that you want to "get rid of".  Italians don't buy ingredients strictly for the purpose of using them in frittate (besides eggs)...it's all about what's left over.  If there is a starch - pasta in this case, sometimes potato, or whatever else - I like to push it to the bottom to act as sort of a crust.


I served this with fruit salad.  Oh, and it's best eaten at room temperature...not right out of the oven.  Mangia!

Frittata
9 eggs
splash of heavy cream
extra virgin olive oil
cooking spray
fresh mozzarella, sliced
chicken sausage, artichoke hearts, spaghetti (last night's leftovers from this recipe)
grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a skillet, heat oil and reheat leftover ingredients.  Season as you like.  Meanwhile, beat the eggs and cream together, and add salt and pepper to taste.


Transfer leftovers to a 10" deep pie dish (prepared with cooking spray), with the pasta on the bottom, followed by the other ingredients.  Add the cheese, then pour the egg mixture over everything.  Sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size/depth of the frittata (whenever egg is cooked through).


(if using a cast-iron pan or other oven-safe skillet, follow above directions minus transferring to another dish)


Let cool and serve at room temperature.

A little Scroogy.

I can't believe Christmas Eve is on Friday!  The month totally flew by.  I don't know - I'm just not "feeling it" as much as I usually do.  The fact that I've been under the weather is making it worse, I think.  And that doesn't exactly make me jump for joy and get excited about cooking a nice meal.

Between that, and wanting to clear some stuff out of the fridge since we won't be around much later this week/weekend, I decided to make another pizza tonight.  Same crust as last week, same cooking time, but tonight I used leftover sauce and meatballs (cut up) from Sunday's meal, fresh mozzarella and pecorino romano, pepperoni, sliced red onion, and some crumbled blue cheese - and served it with a green bean, beet and red onion salad.  Mmmmm.

...and then I finished almost all my gift wrapping.  Go me.  Now someone bring me a hot toddy!