Showing posts with label left overs. Show all posts

Day 37: Goulash

At our house we always had goulash over egg noodles. They just seemed to be a perfect fit. After Matthew and I had been married for a few years we were at my mother-in-laws house and Matthew suggested I cook dinner. I immediately gave him a look that could kill, but Matthew being the dear that he is just smiled and left me and my mother-in-law in the kitchen to do our thing.

My mother-in-law is an incredible cook. And honestly I'm quite intimidated by her mad cooking skills. In fact, the first time I cooked for Matthew was for our engagement party; I was making potato salad and Matthew came into the kitchen and said, "here, let me show you how my mom makes it." He quickly learned the error of his ways, smiled and left the kitchen.

Being left alone in the kitchen to make dinner with my mother-in-law put me on my toes. She made this killer goulash and put it over mashed potatoes. It was like she made it out of thin air (I hope it has the same calorie count). The kitchen was spotless by the time dinner was done. The food was filling and elegant and it left me even more intimidated than before to cook with mom. Fears aside, it would be a crime for me to deny you of this delectable recipe - done up vegan style.

Vegan Goulash

leftover mushroom bisque
sauteed mushrooms
garlic powder
salt
pepper
cooked noodles or mashed potatoes (ex: eggless egg noodles, penni pasta, macaroni)

In a deep sauce pan cover the noodles with the mushroom and mushroom bisque. Add garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve with the vegan meat crumbles over the top.



Day 18: Spaghetti Pie

I got this recipe from my husband's-mom's-granddaughter's-father's-wife. She is a great cook! Her kids won't even eat store bought bread because she makes all their bread from fresh ground wheat....I know, I can't take it either. I went with my mother-in-law to help watch her kids while she was at the hospital having her fourth. She already had all their meals ready, day planned out, and schedule typed up for us....just wait, it gets worse. All of her kids were well behaved, polite, and not only ate but loved their vegetables. I don't know what she's got going on...all I know is this delicious recipe is the result of her sick and twisted world.


Spaghetti Pie
1 lb cooked spaghetti noodles
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 pkg onion soup mix
This is a great way to use up left over pasta but be sure to use a whole pound of pasta or really cut back on the seasoning packet. Mix everything in a bowl and pour into a 9x13 baking pan. Cover with foil or the top will dry out. Bake till a knife comes out clean.

Day 12: Burgers & Fries

This recipe was actually given to me by a carnivore. My Samoan auntie is the one who got us thinking of going vegan, so we have her to thank for all of this. She told us to watch "foods that kill" on youtube, and what Auntie says, you do! She served this recipe to her family and they really liked it. These freeze very well! I always have some in the freezer for a quick meal. And, like the rest of my recipes, is a great way to use up left overs.

Burgers
1 can stewed tomatoes blended
1 carrot shredded
1/2 onion chopped
any left over veggies
enough oats to make it hold together

Fries
5-6 potatoes
cooking oil
salt
pepper
Tony's Seasoning (optional)

In a big bowl mix all your ingredients for your burgers. Add oats till you can form it into a patty. You can also add leftover rice or beans. Form into patties and place on a well oiled cookie sheet. Bake on 350 till they are brown, turning once. Be sure to cook them before you freeze them.

Cut potatoes length ways to make fries. Coat with oil, salt, pepper, and seasonings. Place on a cookie sheet and broil, turning frequently till they are brown on all sides.

Day 10: Meatloaf Sandwiches

At our house, meatloaf was usually an after thought. If we had leftovers that needed to be used up and meat in the house we'd put them together and kill two birds with one stone so to speak. But on one occasion we killed more than that.


My grandmother, whom I adore, is a bit of an insomniac. As a child this came in handy because whenever there was a problem in the middle of the night, boogy men and the like, she was always right there. But on one evening we were all wishing grandma would have gotten some sleep. One night, while watching insomniac tv she came across a "miracle herb" that would turn any meatloaf into a feast for a king. Being completely dazzled because of her lack of sleep she ordered it on the spot.


She spoke of her purchase for days and promised that when it came we were having meatloaf. Well, you can imagine our excitement to be having meatloaf that wasn't some concoction thought up by Mr. Wizard! We rushed home from school every day with eagerness to see if the miracle had arrived, and one day....it had!


My grandmother, brother, and I anxiously entered the kitchen, scrubbed up and put on our gowns as we prepared for this delicate operation of preparing meatloaf. We mixed the seasonings par the instructions, gently folded in the ground beef and, as if putting a babe to sleep, slipped it into the oven with loving care.


As it baked we seemed like new mothers, checking in on it every few seconds, dashing to it to make sure no one opened the oven and when it was finally done, pulling it out and looking lovingly at what we had so pleasantly created.



The family gathered round the table, the blessing was said, and grandma did the honors of serving each their long awaited slice of loaf. We also waited as she took the first bite. Then we all commenced. After one bite we all looked at each other in disgust. My brother was the first to speak, "tastes like road kill." Not exactly the response my grandmother was hoping for but, being in agreement, she went to the kitchen to find a last minute substitute. I actually don't think we have had meatloaf since.


Now that I'm the head chef in our kitchen I realize how great it is to have meatloaf around. And, how delicious leftovers are. We had these meatloaf sandwiches last night and Matthew insisted that they were some of the best sandwiches he'd ever had. So pull out your left over - leftover meatloaf, slice it up, grill it up and eat it up.


Meatloaf Sandwiches
leftover meatloaf
rolls
leaf lettuce
1 tomato sliced
sprouts
red onion sliced
mustard
veginase/mayo
chili sauce or ketchup

Slice your meatloaf about 1/2 an inch thick. Heat it up in a pan with some oil till its brown on both sides. Place on a roll with a leaf of lettuce, sliced tomato, onion, sprouts, mustard, veginase, and chili sauce. And there you have a FANTASTIC meatloaf sandwich, completely roadkill free!

Day 8: Lego my legume - Lentil Sloppy Jo's

“Aaaaaah...the lentil. The humble, earthy, slightly frumpy, a bit dowdy, no-I'm-not-looking-for-a-date-I'm-staying-home-and-washing-my-Birkenstocks lentil. And brown, so very broooooowwwwwwn is the lentil. But! With a little love, a few spices, and a bit of simmering the humble lentil becomes something entirely different.” (beanplate blog)

I LOVE THE LENTIL. I don’t know what it is about this simple little….thing. I mean, what is it? A bean, a grain, a veggie….what? http://www.pea-lentil.com/consumer.htm.
Well, for those out there who don't like beans, the lentil is only a cousin of the bean family. Kind of like a family reunion. You know your all somehow related, you even look like some of them but the line is still a bit blurry. Though they are distant cousins, eating the lentil feels like coming home! Lentils are just great! They’re versatile, inexpensive and they get the job done!

This recipe is for Lentil Sloppy Joe’s. Now, before you gawk at it, give it a try. It really does taste good, and the nutritional benefits are fantastic! In one cup of dry lentils (which is way more than I can eat....) there are 230 calories, 1 g of fat and 18 g of protein! http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4338/2. Gram for gram that’s more protein v. fat than a beef steak! So try enjoying this old favorite with a healthy twist.

Sloppy Joe's
1 cup lentils
2 cup water
1 minced onion
1 minced green pepper
1 pkg sloppy joe seasoning
1 small can tomato paste (or a can of sloppy joe sauce)


In your lovable rice cooker cook the lentils till tender, but not mushy. Sautee onion, green pepper till soft, and add to the lentils. Add dry ingredients and tomato paste.

Serve on whole wheat rolls. Makes excellent leftovers and freezes very well!!! I make a bunch and freeze it to pull out for a quick meal. You can also use leftover lentils from lentil tacos for this.

For more fun than a lentil should supply check this out!!!
http://www.pea-lentil.com/kids_page.htm

Day 7: My Momma's Meatloaf

At my house as a child we had what was lovingly referred to as "clean out the fridge" meatloaf. When the fridge was over-run with leftovers my mother would blend them all up in the food processor, add a pound of ground beef and whatever spices she thought it could handle, say a prayer as she put it in the oven, and bake it. My mother is a genius in the kitchen and often her concoctions turned out to be fabulous. But, because it depended on the leftovers, her meatloaf was NEVER the same twice. I believe our favorite was leftover macaroni and cheese, onion soup, and homemade rolls as the breadcrumbs. Others were less then desirable (which might be a contributing factor to why I am now vegan....I'll have to explore that later) but being my mothers daughter, I do find myself in concoction mode on a regular basis - my husband may say a little too regular. This recipe is owed to my "creative" mother.



Meatloaf
leftover Hawaiian Chili
leftover rice
2 c plain lentils
1-2 c cooked barley
2 large cans mushrooms drained (fresh is always best)
1 pkg onion soup mix
oats
garlic powder (to taste)
salt (to taste)


In a blender or food processor blend up your leftover hawaiian chili till smooth. Now blend the rice, barley, lentils, and mushrooms. Add to the chili. Add onion soup mix, garlic powder and salt. Mix that together. Now mix in enough oats so you can form it into a small meatball and it holds together (tender but not falling apart). Fill a greased bread pan and bake on 350 for about 40 minutes or till you can insert a knife and it comes out clean. Let it sit out of the oven for a few minutes to firm up. Serve with chili sauce or gravy. If you have more "meat" left over they make great meatballs!

Day 6: Pai Le Fala aka Veggie Pot Pies

In a lot of the shops here in Amerikan Samoa they have "half moon pies." One day, on one of our excursions one caught my eye and called my name, "Jessica.....Jessica.....Eat me." I picked it up with full intention to obey but as I looked at the wrapper it said, "chicken." At first I thought it was a challenge to provoke me to drastic action but then I realized it was a reference to the content. I put it back and came home with a strong determination to devour a distant cousin.

I looked up the recipe on the web and came up with the heading, "half moon pie/pai fala." Well, being the studious student of the language that I am, I took pai fala to mean half moon pie. Actually fala means pineapple. Once perfected I invited my samoan friends to have what I thought was pai fala. I served up veggie pot pies. I received several disgusted looks as they bit in and realized this was not pineapple filled. Yet another failed leap over the language barrier. So, in an effort to redeem myself, these are called Pai "le" fala. In samoan "le" means "the" but it can also mean "not" (are ya seein my struggles?) So, here are pies that are not filled with pineapple.



Pai le fala/Half Moon Pie/Veggie Pot Pie

Dough (Makes 5 pies)

3 C Flour (your choice)
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 C oil
1 C "milk"
Salt

Filling

Veggies from Oodle Soup

Gravy

1-2 tb oil
1-2 spoonfuls of flour
Broth

In one big bowl mix all the ingredients for the dough. Get your hands in there. Mix it all together till it makes a big round ball.

In a sauce pan make a rue (put in the oil and flour to make a paste) then add the broth a little at a time to make a gravy. Season it till its the way you want it.

Divide the dough into five balls. Roll out each into flat circles. Spoon the cooked veggies onto half. Its hard to tell how much to put in because to much will make it explode and to little is just not fare! Use your best judgement. Now spoon the gravy over. Once the filling is in place, fold the other half over the top and crimp the edges with a fork till its just like that bad hair year you had back in the 80's. You'll also want to prick the tops to let out steam. bake on a cookie sheet at 350 for 30-45 minutes or till they are golden brown.

Note on dough:

This dough is also AMAZING as a thin crust pizza (recipe to follow) just roll it out, place on a cookie sheet or pizza stone and bake till it starts to turn golden. Then add toppings and bake again. You can make the crusts in advance and put them in your freezer for a quick pizza.

Note on filling:

Don't limit yourself to veggie pot pie, this dough is your oyster, so to speak. Fill it as you will. Try pizza pockets or even a sweet filling like raspberry preserves or blueberry pie. Matthew's favorite was a "Mulberry preserve" filled pie.

Day 4: Hawaiian Chili & Rice

Anyone who has lived in Hawaii, or even been there on a visit can tell you about Zippies Chili and Rice. It's legendary. Whenever we go back, the first place we stop, after the luggage carousel, is Zippies. And true to Hawaiian style, one serving usually satisfies both of us...depending on the in-flight meal. It's one of those things that if you're in Hawaii you've got to try - like surfing and Motsimotos (try the shaved ice with the beans....you won't regret it). But, If you're not planning a trip to the rainbow state any time soon, this recipe will satisfy for now. Or, if you've been there it might make you more anxious to go back.

Hawaiian Chili and Rice

Lentils
1 can refried beans or homemade
1 lb black beans
1 lb kidney beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 can corn
salt
garlic powder
brown sugar to taste

First, soak the black beans and the kidney beans over night. This will help cut down on the "end result" that beans can have. If that's not an option then just put them together in a pot with water and cook. Once the beans are cooked add the stewed tomatoes, chopped onion, refried beans, and lentils. (remember those left over beans and lentils from the bean burritos? throw em' in!) Now add the salt and brown sugar till it tastes slightly sweet. At the very last add the can of corn. This way the corn will stay crisp. Serve over rice. (this is a great way to use up the plain rice left over from the fried rice).

Now, grab a bowl, head out to the backyard with your slippas and some island music. You can thank me later for saving you on your grocery bill AND your travel expenses.