We have all found ourselves coming home late, have no idea what to make for meals and finding a fridge full of leftovers..don't reach for the phone and call for a pizza..make a meal, save money (begin a Money jar for your next vacation..all the money usually spent on pizzas will go in this).
THESE IDEAS ARE FOR USING UP YOUR OWN LEFTOVERS NOT THOSE FROM purchased READY meals of restaurants & deliveries as one never know's when they were first prepped.
Each recipe/idea feeds 2 -3
COOKED POTATOES
Potato Bake:
2 cups leftover potatoes..mashed
2 large eggs beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 cup chopped onion Or Onion soup mix 1 envelope
2 slices bread made into crumbs
1 tbsp oil to cook the breadcrumbs in
Salt & Pepper ( any dried herb)
place mashed potato in a bowl and add the beaten eggs.
In a heavy bottomed skillet heat the oil and add the chopped onion* and breadcrumbs..saute until golden brown and add this to the mashed potatoes ..replace skillet on stove.
* if using onion soup mix add this to the milk
add the milk to the potatoes, mix well.
Season with salt and pepper and any dried herb
Put back into the oiled skillet and heat slowly, tightly covered until warmed through.
Make it your own add any other vegetables (cooked), top with a little grated cheese
Potato Cakes
2 cups cooked grated or mashed potatoes
2 eggs beaten or 1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup cooked chopped vegetables
Mix together well, adding 1-2 tbsp all purpose or cornflour to bring it to a moist not wet mix.
Form into patties
Fry in a little oil or butter until golden then flip
May also add cheese, ketchup, herbs, hot sauce &etc.
Potato-cheese pie
feeds up to 4
preheat oven 350F
Crust:
2 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 beaten egg
2 tbsp oil or melted butter
salt & pepper
Mix everything together in a bowl then pat the mixture into a greased 9 inch pie plate.
Filling:
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup yogurt
salt & pepper
Mix together well, and pour into potato crust
top with 1 cup grated cheese and bake 25 mins ( or until knife inserted comes out clean)..serve hot.
COOKED VEGETABLES
Make a quick soup by adding any cooked vegetables ( min.1 cup) to equal parts water or stock, adding seasonings and herbs, then just as it boils, add a beaten egg and remove from heat allowing the egg strands to swirl..serve hot with crusty bread...and/or add any cooked rice or pasta before boiling.
mix together all the vegetables..chopped or mashed, season with salt and pepper, add beaten eggs , diced onion or scallions, herbs of choice and pour into a greased oven proof dish bake 350F until golden and bubbly.
Some great recipes have been created this way (Shepherds pie for example)
COOKED RICE
Any left over rice can be made into the vegetable and rice pancakes featured on this blog.. ( quick recipe:just mix equal part of rice and cooked vegetables, add 1 egg for every cup of rice, 2-3 tbsp flour, salt pepper, hot sauce, herbs of choice.
Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil and fry until golden on both sides..drain on a wire..this is how Eggs Fu Yung was invented in USA...beansprouts, flour, eggs and onion)
COOKED VEGETABLES.. more time consuming, but well worth it
Quick Old fashioned Vegetable Pot pie/ or vegetable bean stew and dumplings..
2-3 cups any cooked vegetables
2 cups raw potatoes cut in 1/4 inch dice
Vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped onion ( or 1 envelope soup mix)
Cook the potatoes, and onions in enough stock to cover for 20 mins
add 3 ribs celery cut
2 carrots chopped cook for further 15mins on high boil
Then add cooked vegetables and any left over cooked dried beans.
Cook for 15 mins then either add dumplings or place mix in an oven proof deep dish and bake in 350f oven for 30 mins or until top is golden and bubbling.
Dough
2 beaten eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 - 11/2 cups flour (enough to make a stiff biscuit-scone dough)
Roll the dough out on flour board and make to the size of the inside of the casserole OR
ROLL TO 1/4 INCH THICK AND CUT INTO 1 INCH SQUARES and drop these dumplings into the boiling stew...for great light dumplings the dough should be more dry than for biscuits.
variations: may add canned tomatoes, mushrooms, parsley, cilantro, basil & etc
All leftovers HAVE to be less than 2 days old and have to have been kept cold and clean ..do not add any stale vegetables to any egg/milk dishes or they may sour/turn bad very quickly.
There you go some old time ideas (over 200 yrs old tried and true) for this new century, to save time and money.
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