Two Tablespoons of Butter Convert Leftover Bits of "This and That" into Gourmet-Worthy Dinner

Herb Butter: 

Sauted onions, garlic, and celery with dried basil and diced parsley 

If you've been following our February is National Potluck Month posts you may be thinking, "I've seen this dish before.  Actually, I saw it yesterday."  

Well, you'd be right. You can scroll down to the previous post to find the simple recipe.This was not the story I planned to tell today, but I discovered with delight that making the herb butter yesterday enabled me to get dinner on the table today in ten minutes. 

We'd had a larger lunch than normal and so I thought we might just skip supper. But then we both got a bit peckish. I started rummaging about in the fridge and bumped into two small zucchini.  I could saute them in some of the herb butter. So I sliced them and tossed them into a skillet with the butter and cooked over medium heat for a few minutes and then lowered the heat and put on the lid. Needed more than just the zucchini, so I pulled out the last little bit of ham.  I had thought I'd chop and make it into a sandwich spread. Instead, I sliced it thinly and tossed it into the zucchini.  One more look in the fridge uncovered the last bits of asparagus -- maybe ten thin spears that had been "just too much" for dinner two nights ago. So into the skillet they went, too. 

The entire dish cooked in less than ten minutes. With some bread and a bit of cole slaw made for the sack of cabbage and bottled dressing, we had a fine meal. 

But we didn't eat it all. There is enough left to be combined with a couple of eggs to make a free-form omelet for lunch tomorrow. 

All made possible with a bit of herb butter that had just the right flavors to unite and elevate the simple leftovers into a delightful dinner. 

I don't know what is more Potluck Paradise Perfect than that!

In a Pickle? Relish your Dinner!

We've all been there.  The end of dinner and we're stuck with the last half cup of vegetables...served, but uneaten. Most can just be bagged up and put into the freezer "soup store."  After all there's hardly a meat or vegetable soup that wouldn't benefit from some extra corn, green beans, peas or even asparagus.  Some would go nicely in a pureed cream soup--again, asparagus and peas, but also spinach, kale, or brussels sprouts.

But then there are beets!

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters we love beets. We frequently buy a dozen or more, trim off the tops and put them in a foil-lined large baking pan. Add about 1/2 cup of water and seal the foil around them.  Depending on the size, an hour or two in a 350 oven and the skins come right off the fully-flavored red or golden globes.

Leftover beets present their own delicious opportunities!

One of our favorites is the Quick No-Salt Pickle.  We've done this pickling technique for years in the summer Mixed Canned Vegetable Salad--you know the one--a can each of corn, peas, French-cut green beans, kidney beans, and any other kind of bean you like. Drain and rinse and then pour over the boiling hot liquid made from equal parts sugar and white vinegar! Let stand until cool. Refrigerate overnight if you want to make ahead. Keeps for a week. Yum!

So the technique is the same

Picked Leftover Vegetable Relish

For each cup of leftover cooked vegetables such as:
Beets
Carrots
Peas
Green Beans
Asparagus
Corn
Brussels Sprouts
maybe even Turnips and Parsnips

1/3 cup white vinegar, you could use cider if you prefer
1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried seasonings such as: cumin, dill seed, dill weed, mustard seed, celery seed
More of fresh seasonings such as dill weed

Rinse the cooked vegetable to remove any butter or other sauce you may have put on them when you served them for dinner. Cut them into uniform small size, if necessary. Put the vegetables into a heat-proof bowl and add seasonings if you wish.  Combine the vinegar and sugar in a small pot and gradually bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Pour this pickle over the vegetables and stir from time to time as they cool.  Store in the refrigerator for three or four days.

So tasty, no one would even think they were leftovers!

A Little Here. A Little There. Next Thing You Know, a Great Meal

Here at Potluck Paradise leftovers are our middle name.

We grew up watching our mothers take the last little bit of the Saturday roast beef, clamp the cast-iron food grinder on the edge of the kitchen table, and convert the un-chewable bits into tender minced meat. Next step--mix with leftover gravy, toss in some canned mushrooms and pour the mixture on a slice of white bread, or two.

If we were really lucky, there were leftover mashed potatoes. Those got mixed with an egg, or two, and some flour and formed into pancakes. Browned in butter to crispy doneness sheltering warm mash, they were the perfect base for the beef.

Flash ahead to today where from time to time we find ourselves looking at impossibly small bits of leftovers. A drib of soup, a drab of mixed vegetable. And, not having a dog, or even a cat, the thought can be, "Oh well. it's is just a little, let's toss it." I'm not going to lecture us on the amount of food wasted in the United States, or in other countries. We all know it is a serious problem.

But not so fast.  There are simple solutions if we just take a minute to consider proactively. That soup can help mellow a sauce or gravy. The vegetables can be frozen and tossed into the next batch of soup. And the last cup of chili is the perfect filling for an acorn squash!

So there's not real recipe this blog. Just a consideration.  Look at those leftovers and be thankful for the refrigerator with a large freezer so they can be set aside and, in effect, be harvested for another meal. Put the small bits into a special spot in the freezer so they are readily at hand. I have a large plastic food container in the door shelf and that's where the carefully labeled and securely wrapped bits are stored. Then think creatively. How can these be combined?  Even a mere tablespoon of mashed potatoes can be set aside to thicken a white sauce to creamy goodness. The last quarter of a cup of mashed sweet potatoes ended up in the chili above. Chili itself can be home for the last bits of the Saturday pot roast or the Sunday chicken.

In short, they're not leftovers, they're ingredients!

Copyright 2015 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved.

Hearty Cornmeal Waffles Stretch Leftovers Deliciously

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters getting the most from our food dollars is an essential. Good use of leftovers is key to that success.  Now anyone can toss the bits of meat and vegetables into a sauce, add some noodles as the "fill them up" starch and a buttered crumb topping and... Ta-DA -- casserole that elevates the humblest bits into a casserole fit for tasty mealtime--call it a hot dish if you live in Minnesota--but that's a saga for another time.

We've learned, however, that families thrive on variety. And not all meats, especially those with a distinctively tasty sauce do well combined with cream sauce.  A childhood memory got us thinking about new ways to combine leftover meats and a tasty starch. When we were kids our mothers sometimes brought the waffle iron into the dining room. Set it up on a tv tray and made waffles to order for dinner. We ate them the standard way with maple syrup and butter. Looking back, I suspect we did it at the end of the month when money was tight.

Recently, waffles and fried chicken have become a popular food combination on food shows, restaurants, and even some fast food places.

Sorry, but those ordinary waffles don't stand up to the ones we make here in the Potluck Paradise kitchens. Since we discovered these hearty cornmeal waffles from World War I wheat-stretching days, they are the only kind we make for breakfast AND as a superb base for leftover barbecued chicken. They are leavened with sour milk and baking soda, creating a light, and yet sturdy, treat.

The hearty rice and cornmeal texture is the tasty counterpoint to savory toppings. We're suggesting leftover barbecued chicken here, but they work equally well with creamed chicken, vegetables in cheese sauce, or even pork or beef stew. The pockets nicely hold sauces in place so you get deliciousness in every bite. The platform really makes the leftover bits of meat or vegetables go a long way to satisfy a hungry family.

Oh, yes.  They are tasty for breakfast as well. We frequently make a double batch and freeze the waffle squares. They toast up perfectly in the toaster. Just put it on low and toast them twice flipping them over in between.

Tasty World War I Rice and Cornmeal Waffles 

1 tablespoon vinegar
1 cup milk
1 cup cooked rice, cooled -- we prefer brown rice or even wild rice. White rice will work, just don't use the instant kind
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat your waffle iron. Put the vinegar in a glass mixing cup and add milk to the one-cup mark. Stir and set aside for about five minutes as it sours. In a medium mixing bowl combine the rice, cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt if you are using it. Stir in the sour milk, mixing well to break up any lumps of rice. Stir in the melted butter and eggs. Cook waffles according to the directions of your waffle iron.

Makes about 6 4-inch "Belgian" waffle squares.

Copyright 2015 Rae Katherine Eighmey  All rights reserved

Let the Potluck Begin--with Super Leftovers!

The Super Party is Over.  The Ravens won and the 49ers put up a good second half.  The commercials had some winners and losers, too. The half-hour long game (and commercial) delay caused by the power outage may have caused guests to empty Super Party buffet tables more than usual, still, we're betting that there some leftovers tucked into cabinets and fridges. 

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters the month-long celebration of our very own "National Potluck Month" is just beginning. . . and beginning with the best makings for great "potlucks" in the first meaning of the word -- the luck of the pot. 

There are loads of opportunities for savvy and clever cooks to use the Super leftovers to make more meals and snacks. Of course in the name of food safety, any food--other than those which are temperature-stable such as chips, raw fruits and vegetables, or cheese--that has been sitting out for more than an hour or so should be discarded.  But for many of us, that still leaves a lot of possible, creative and money-saving possibilities. 

Here are seven ways of thinking about some of the most familiar Super Party leftovers. 

1.  Here in the northern Midwest, we know there is no better topping for a casserole or "hot dish" than crushed potato or corn chips.  Gather up all those crumbs and tuck them away. No need to make buttered crumbs when you have these tasty morsels at hand. 

2. When is a dip not a dip?  When you convert it into a sauce!  Even the smallest drib or drab of creamy dip can be mixed with cooked vegetables and a bit of milk to make a quick creamed vegetable.  Sour cream and onion dip mixed with cooked frozen spinach or boiled new potatoes, yum!  Add leftover salsa to cooked carrots, green beans, or corn, more yum!  You don't need a lot, even the last two tablespoons make a tasty difference. 

3. As the French say, "The sauce is everything!"  With leftover cheese, bits of ham or turkey, and even partial bottles of wine, you have the sauce makings for pasta, macaroni, vegetables, potatoes, or to pour over a toasted English muffin for a quick dinner.

4. Slightly wilted vegetables from the veggie tray slip right into soup stock.

5. Combine slighted fruits such as strawberries, apples or pineapple cubes with sugar and cook into sauces or ice cream toppings

6. The Avocado!!  Unopened ripe avocados will hold for a few days in the refrigerator. You can deploy ripe ones into mashed potatoes. Chop and mix the avocado with a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice to stop it from turning brown, then add to the potatoes and mash away!

7. Chicken Wings!!!! Reports surfaced over the weekend that more than one billion chicken wings were slated for Super Party platters.  The truly frugal among us would have gathered all those bones, combined them with water and some of the veggie tray leavings to simmer into a stock.  I'm not that thriftily willing to take something that has been in someone's mouth and make it into soup.  However, I would happily cook up any unconsumed wings after rinsing off the salt-containing sauce. 

Copyright 2013 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved

Start the Year with a Refrigerator Remnant Potluck!

Company's gone and so are most of the special holiday meals and decadent treats. Time for Potluck Paradise to follow the original meaning and "make potuck" from what's at hand. I found myself considering the last half cup of turkey and it's mate, a half cup of mashed potatoes, with New Year's Resolution Resolve.

This year I will make the most of what I have, following the old adage "Waste Not, Want Not."

I was already feeling virtuous having made two liters of "free turkey soup" while cleaning the turkey roaster. So I poked around in the fridge and found the makings for Mock Shepherd's Pie. Some mushrooms that were past salad perfection sauteed in a bit of butter made the rich-flavored base. I thickened some of the afore mentioned free soup with a bit of cornstarch, ready to bind the turkey, mushrooms, some green pepper and frozen mixed vegetables. In a perfect world, I would have at least a cup of mashed potatoes left so I could mound them on top of the baking dish. No such luck. So I stretched those, too, by adding a lightly beaten egg and a couple of tablespoons of flour. Then I fried them up as potato pancakes.

When I was growing up, refrigerators had a freezer compartment designed to hold just two metal ice cube trays and a maybe, if it didn't need defrosting, box of frozen peas. So my mother was a master of making something tasty out of the "dribs and drabs" from meals past. By Wednesday the last of the Sunday roast was pushed through the meat grinder, tenderizing the gristly bits. She'd mix the meat with a bit of the leftover gravy and spread it between two slices of soft, white bread, then pour the rest of the gravy on top. Yum! hot roast beef sandwiches and you didn't need a knife to cut them. Ham went into scalloped potatoes. Pot roast leavings went into the soup pot. I still use those basics with a twist or two. I tuck salmon into the scalloped potatoes and sometimes make stir-fry from the pot roast.

Using up holiday condiments can be a bit trickier. Cranberry sauce can be melted, combined with a bit of peanut butter and used as a dipping sauce for turkey or chicken. Pickles and olives keep practically forever, and are key ingredients in turning small bits of meat, cheese, or vegetables into appetizer spreads. Perfect for Bowl Game snacks.

Refrigerator Remnant Potluck does well with dessert, too. The last slice of delicious fruitcake (Oh yes! I make a fabulous fruitcake!) can be nicely shared when folded into slightly softened vanilla ice cream. The last of the fudge can be melted down in a bit of milk to make a chocolate sauce for dipping nuts or fruits. Plain oatmeal or sugar cookies can be crumbled and used as a delicious topping for a fruit cobbler made from the centerpiece apples.

The trick is to pretend the kitchen is a cooking show studio. Chopped or Iron Chef come to mind. I open my refrigerator and before me are the secret ingredients. Ready to be embraced with imagination. That's where I'm starting this new year.

Free, Roaster-Cleaning Turkey Soup

Cook the turkey in a heavy roaster, not a throw-away aluminum pan.

Immediately after enjoying the holiday meal, cut all the meat from the carcass. Cut the carcass into pieces. Cover with water and return to the oven at 325 degrees F. If some stuffing is stuck on the bottom, no problem. It will cook off the pan and flavor the soup. I put a piece of cheesecloth on top of the turkey while it is roasting to hold the basting liquids against the skin. I gently pull it off during the last half hour cooking time. I set this aside and then toss it into the soup mix, too. The lovely brown color and rich meaty flavor comes off the cloth and into the soup. Cover the roaster with the lid, or heavy-duty foil. Let cook for one to two hours. Cool slightly, then remove bones, strain liquid, and chill. Once cold, lift off the layer of fat on top.

The roaster will be much easier to clean now that the soup has boiled off a good bit of the stuck on the bottom bits. Use soup within three days or freeze.