Mexican Pasta Salad

Most of the time, I make pesto (or infused simple syrups) with leftover herbs. Those are definitely my two go-to uses for everything from leftover basil to rosemary to parsley. But last week, when I was faced with a bunch of leftover cilantro, I wanted to try something a little different. So I turned the leftovers into a refreshing dressing that got mixed into this vibrant and flavorful pasta salad.

Mexican Pasta Salad

Yields: 8 servings

For Salad:

-1 pound farfalle pasta (or pasta of your choice)

-1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

-1 cup frozen or fresh sweet corn kernels

-1/4 cup diced red onion

-1 tablespoon diced pickled jalapenos

-Salt and black pepper, to taste

For Dressing:

-1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

-Juice of 1 1/2 limes

-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

-1 teaspoon chili powder

-3 tablespoons olive oil

-Pinch of granulated sugar

-Salt and black pepper

Directions:

1.) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2.) In a medium-sized bowl, rapidly whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Dunk in a piece of the cooked pasta and taste; adjust seasoning as/if needed. Set dressing aside.

3.) In a large bowl, mix pasta with tomatoes, corn, red onion, and jalapenos. Add dressing and toss until pasta and vegetables are coated nicely (but are not overdressed). (The amount of dressing you make should be perfect for 1 pound of pasta). Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

This pasta salad can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before serving.

[Print this recipe]

The bright, flavorful salad dressing mixed with the plump, juicy tomatoes, spicy red onion, and sweet corn was a divine combination - especially when served with veggie sausages and burgers (for the omnivores, obviously) cooked on the grill. I loved how the farfalle pasta's nooks and crannies soaked in all of the dressing, but really any pasta would do well here. 

Bonus: This pasta salad is also vegan!

What's your favorite side dish to bring to a cookout? 

Leftover Cornbread Strata

Thank you all for your feedback on my last post. It sounds like a lot of you can relate - in some ways, at least - to what I said, so I appreciate your feedback!

Now, onto today's post, which involves cheese and bread - two of my favorite things!

On Super Bowl Sunday, Z and I hosted a potluck at our house. For our dish, we made my Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili and Ina's Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread. Fortunately/Unfortunately, so many of our friends brought food that the cornbread was almost unnecessary, so we were left with a ton of leftovers. A few days later, I knew I had to put them to good use and this strata was born.

Leftover Cornbread Strata
Yields: 4 servings
Adapted from Snappy Gourmet
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1/2 yellow onion, diced
-3 cups cornbread, chopped
-1/2 cup frozen corn
-1/2 cup thick salsa, plus extra for serving
-Nonstick cooking spray
-4 eggs
-2 cups whole milk
-Salt and black pepper
-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
-1 cup shredded Mexican Blend cheese

Directions:
1.) Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Take pan off the heat and add cornbread, corn, and salsa. Stir, ensuring everything is mixed together well.
2.) Spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour cornbread mixture into the prepared dish.
3.) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour over the cornbread mixture, ensuring everything is well coated. Cover the pan with saran wrap, and place in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours, or overnight.
4.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove strata from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature while oven is preheating. When oven is ready, bake strata for 45 minutes. Remove strata from oven, top with shredded Mexican Blend cheese, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Serve with an extra dollop of salsa, if desired.

[Print this recipe]

The cheesy cornbread combined with the chunks of corn, savory onions, and spicy salsa was a fabulous combination. Despite all of the milk, cheese, and eggs, this dish was also surprisingly on the lighter side (we served ours with a spinach salad, which helped to lighten up the meal as a whole). I definitely plan to make a strata like this the next time we have leftover bread on hand, but I really think the cornbread was what made this dish.

How do you use up leftover bread? I love making croutons and bread crumbs, but am always looking for new ideas/recipes!

When a Burrito Becomes a Pizza

On Cinco de Mayo eve, Z and I made these Roasted Veggie and Black Bean Burritos from Aggie's Kitchen (with a few tweaks, based off what we had in our kitchen...including using refried black beans). We washed the burritos down with some Skinny Girl Margaritas (much to Z's dismay).  

Last night, I had a bunch of the roasted veggies leftover (sans beans) - and they were one day away from being past edible. I had picked up some whole wheat pizza crusts at the grocery store over the weekend, and we had some leftover goat cheese in our fridge. With those ingredients, a pizza was born. 

The combination of the spicy roasted veggies with the cool, creamy goat cheese made this a delicious and innovative pizza. I enjoyed a slice alongside a simple green salad. 

I was happy that we got to use these leftover veggies in a creative and successful way!

Are you a fan of leftovers? Why or why not?

Homemade Bread Crumbs

When life gives you stale bread...make homemade bread crumbs.

Last week, Z and I had half of a leftover baguette that was hard as a rock - but I refused to let it go to waste. Being my economical self, I whipped out my food processor and some seasonings, and turned that stale bread into something useful. 

Homemade Bread Crumbs

Yields: About 1 cup

-1/2 stale baguette, roughly chopped

-Dried oregano

-Dried parsley

-Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread chopped bread out evenly on a lightly greased baking sheet; bake for 10-15 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 minutes after removing from the oven.

2.) Put bread in a food processor with oregano, parsley, salt and pepper; pulse until finely processed and well mixed.

3.) Once bread crumbs are completely cool, place in an airtight container (I also put mine in the freezer since I wouldn't be using them right away).

Easy and economical - just the way I like it. :)

How have you saved money in the kitchen recently?

Chocolate Cookies with Mint Chocolate Ganache Frosting

We had a lot of Creme De Menthe Hershey Kisses leftover from St. Paddy's Day...because yes, our candy bowl changes with the holidays. And what else do you do with leftover chocolate besides mix it with cream and butter? 

To make this silky mint chocolate ganache, start by unwrapping and roughly chopping 32 Creme De Menthe Hershey Kisses (it's a lot less labor intensive then it sounds...trust me).

Then, place the chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat 3/4 cup whipping cream and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter until just bowling. Remove from heat, pour over chocolate, and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, stir until smooth. Once chocolate mixture has cooled completely, whip until soft and fluffy. 

I have to admit, the Hershey Kisses didn't form the perfect ganache right away. I had to let this sit in the fridge for a good two hours until it became "frosting-like." But, the taste was spot-on, and the texture ended up being silky smooth and wonderfully luxurious.

I spread my mint chocolate ganache on homemade chocolate cookies, using this recipe (sans the white chocolate chips). Z even described these as "the best cookies he's ever had." I'd call that a success!

What do you do with leftover candy?

Leftover Sage Pesto

When you have leftover fresh herbs and/or greens, you just have to make pesto. Or, at least I do. Over the years, I've turned plenty of different greens and herbs into pestos, and have loved every single one of them. So, when I found myself with a handful of sage leaves leftover from my butternut squash lasagna, I decided to improvise. 

Leftover Sage Pesto

Yields: about 1/2 cup

-1/2 cup loosely packed sage leaves

-1/2 tbsp. dried parsley

-1/8 cup chopped walnuts

-1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

-Olive oil 

-Lemon juice, to taste

-Salt and black pepper, to taste

-Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.) Add sage leaves, parsley, walnuts, and Parmesan cheese to a food processor. Add a little bit of olive oil, and pulse. Keep adding olive oil until you reach desired consistency (smooth, but not too oily).

2.) Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne; pulse ingredients again, and taste. Add more lemon juice and spices as needed. 

Sage leaves can be rather bitter on their own - and are typically not meant to be consumed raw because of it - but the parsley helped to offset the bitterness. The end result was a slightly bitter, brightly-flavored pesto that went perfectly on a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.

How have you incorporated holiday leftovers into new meals?

Leftovers: Cheese Fondue and Pumpkin Pancakes

My recipe for Pumpkin Mac and Cheese somehow left me with quite a few leftovers - not only of the mac and cheese itself, but also several of its ingredients. I especially did not want the Gruyere and canned pumpkin to go to waste, so I incorporated both ingredients into two delicious meals.

Using up the Gruyere for fondue was a no-brainer. My older sister and brother had given Z and I a mini-crockpot set, perfect for keeping fondues and hot dips warm. I melted the Gruyere with some cheddar, Brooklyn Lager and spices to make a gooey, satisfying fondue - perfect for dipping with mushrooms, roasted Brussels sprouts, red peppers, apples, cauliflower, Tofu Pups and baguette slices, to name a few.

Gruyere, Cheddar & Beer Fondue
Yields: 4 servings
Adapted from FoodNetwork.com
-1 1/2 cups, shredded sharp cheddar
-1 cup Gruyere, shredded
-1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
-1 cup Brooklyn Lager
-2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
-A few drops hot sauce
-Salt and pepper, to taste
-Cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:
1.) Combine cheeses in a bowl with flour. Add beer to a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and add cheese in handfuls. Stir constantly, melting the cheese in batches.
2.) When the cheese has been incorporated fully. Stir in the mustard, hot sauce and spices. Transfer fondue to small crockpot or fondue pot.
3.) Serve with your favorite dippings.

I sadly didn't get a good picture of the fondue itself, but trust me when I say, it was good, and slightly spicy, which I loved. Plus, it's pretty hard to go wrong when your melting cheese in beer. Just sayin'.

The other ingredient I had leftover from the mac and cheese was canned pumpkin, which I just used this morning for Z and I's breakfast.

Pumpkin Pancakes
Yields: 8-10 pancakes
Adapted from MarthaStewart.com
-1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
-2 tbsp. sugar
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
-1/2 tsp. salt
-Generous pinch of grated fresh nutmeg
-1 cup milk
-6 tbsp. canned pumpkin
-2 tbsp. melted butter (and extra butter for cooking)
-1 egg

Directions:
1.) In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
2.) In a separate bowl, stir together milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and 1 egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients.
3.) Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup.

They might not look the prettiest, but these seasonal pancakes were a fantastic way to start my day off. The fluffy cakes were packed with nutmeg and cinnamon flavor, with subtle - yet appreciated - hints of pumpkin and fresh nutmeg.

They were also extremely easy to make. I can see a few more batches of these in my near future.

Z and I are off to the Cape until Sunday to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. Until then, I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?

Second Helping Springtime Pasta

After our friend Zack made a feast for us (and our omnivorous friends), Z and I were left with quite a bit of leftovers. We hate wasting food, so we incorporated some of the leftover ingredients in a spring pasta dish.

The fresh parmesan, tomatoes, garlic, shallots, onions and mushrooms were all incorporated in this easy, flavorful pasta dish. I roasted the onions and shallots to give them an extra punch of flavor, and we also added some chopped up roasted peppers from Trader Joe's. The sauce was simply some olive oil, fresh lemon juice (also from Zack's leftovers) and salt and black pepper. I also added some crushed red pepper flakes for added heat.

Z and I were both surprised at how flavorful this dish was for how simply it came together. It also felt really good to turn a bunch of leftovers into a new, delicious meal.

Are you a fan of leftovers? Why or why not?

Baked Rutabaga Cakes

This past weekend, I made a rutabaga recipe for an upcoming Local in Season article - but still had a little bit of rutabaga leftover. Knowing the root vegetable was on its last leg, I decided to make use of the leftovers last night for dinner. I Googled some rutabaga recipes, and found a lot of recipes for fried rutabaga cakes. The recipes included a lot of ingredients I already had in my kitchen, but I wasn't in the mood for fried food. So, I decided to make my own recipe for Baked Rutabaga Cakes.

Before I did anything, I boiled my leftover rutabaga in some salted water until it was tender (i.e., a fork could pierce through it). Then, I drained the rutabaga, let it cool, and put it in the food processor to "mash" it. Then, I got started on the cakes.

Baked Rutabaga Cakes

Yields: 6 cakes (2 servings)

-1 1/2 cups mashed rutabaga 

-1 egg

-1/8 cup plain bread crumbs

-1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

-1/4 tsp. minced garlic

-Dried rosemary

-Dried oregano

-Pinch of cayenne pepper

-Salt and black pepper, to taste

-Generous squirt of lemon juice

-Non-stick spray (I used canola oil)

-Dollop of sour cream, for garnish

Directions:

1.) Mix the rutabaga, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, seasonings and lemon juice in a large bowl. 

2.) With an ice cream scoop, place six generous dollops of the rutabaga mixture onto a greased cookie sheet. Press the dollops down with a fork to form flat "pancakes," being careful not to make them too thin. Spray the tops of the rutabaga cakes with some more cooking spray, to help them brown in the oven.

3.) Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes (or until golden brown on each side), flipping the cakes halfway through. 

4.) Serve with a side salad and a dollop of sour cream.

The sour cream really complemented the slightly spicy cakes, and brought some tang to the sweetness of the rutabaga.

This ended up being a protein-filled, healthy meal - and it was also very satisfying!

Don't forget: Today's your last day to enter my giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card (and more)! I'll be picking a winner tonight, and announcing the winner tomorrow morning.

Second Helping Roasted Chickpea Pasta

Earlier this week, I realized I had way too many roasted chickpeas leftover, and I knew I'd get sick of them if I just snacked on them all day. To make use of them, and incorporate them in a new, different recipe, I decided to combine them with pasta.

I had received a bag of tri-colored pasta for Christmas, and decided to boil half of it in some salted water for this meal. In a separate saucepan, I cooked up some chopped onions with some olive oil, until they were translucent and started to brown. I then added some minced garlic, salt, black pepper and oregano to the sauce. After cooking this together for about a minute, I added the chickpeas and a little extra olive oil. When the pasta was just about done, I added a splash of white wine to the sauce and cooked it off for about 30 seconds.

I drained the pasta when it was just past al dente, and added it to the saucepan - which I immediately took off the heat. I stirred everything together, added some grated parmesan, and poured my pasta into a bowl. 

Despite how simple this dish was to make, I can't get over how delicious it was. The combination of the crispy, slightly spicy chickpeas with the soft pasta, all coated in the light and refreshing sauce, was comforting without being overly filling. Now that I'm not eating meat, I also liked how the chickpeas added a tasty protein to this otherwise protein-less dish.

Have you ever combined chickpeas with pasta? Are you a fan?

One Weekend Meal; Five Weekday Lunches

A Boston-based Marketing-Communications professional, Meghan is the writer of the blog Travel, Wine, and Dine, a site that encompasses “Food, wine, travel, and the everyday adventures of a 30-something Boston girl.” A love for food and travel have been prevalent since Meghan’s childhood and were only amplified when, during college, she lived in Ireland and traveled extensively throughout Europe. Multiple recent trips to Napa and Sonoma Valleys have spurred an increasing interest in all things wine, leading her to Boston University’s Wine Studies program. 

If you are like me and you love to eat, you don’t want to settle for a boring, expensive, or unhealthy lunch option during the week, whether at the office or at home. Early in my career, I really did not look forward to lunch time. Cafes and restaurants near most offices can be overpriced and often don’t offer the best choices. I ended up with soggy sandwiches or canned soups which were loaded with sodium and that “just out of a can” flavor.

Bringing my own lunch saves me about $50 a week, possibly more considering the lunch options near where I work. When I factor that out over the course of a year, taking a few weeks out for vacation; that makes over $2,000 in savings!

An easy one pot meal that I can use for a variety of lunches is three bean vegetarian chili. I start with a basic recipe like the one I posted on Plummelo, and then add in whatever I have. The more veggies, the better! Incorporating frozen veggies is a great way to get nutrient-rich, flash-frozen produce year round on the cheap, and they are a great addition to chili. Packed with nutritious, filling, and inexpensive ingredients, chili keeps well for days, can be made to the individual’s taste, and provides endless opportunities to create “new” meals with one base meal.

Monday:
Rice and Beans. Mix ½ cup brown rice with ½ cup chili. Add hot sauce, chopped raw onion, and chopped jalapenos if you are adventurous!

Tuesday:
Hot and cold salad - serve warmed chili atop a bed of shredded romaine lettuce, spinach, and shredded cheese. Make two servings, and save one for Wednesday.

Wednesday:
Mix a serving of Tuesday’s salad with 1 tsp. plain yogurt, and ¼ chopped avocado. Roll into a whole wheat wrap/burrito shell.

Thursday:
Chili empanadas! Split a cup of chili into two ½ cup servings. I would suggest using a slotted spoon to move the chili so that the liquid is as drained out as possible. Roll out store bought pie dough or puff pastry dough into large squares. Scoop chili into the middle of each square, fold dough, and seal around the edges using a fork to press down and create a decorative edge. Bake according to dough package directions or until golden.

Friday:
You made it! Hopefully the variations using your Sunday chili have kept you satisfied and happy with your lunch. For Friday, mix a cup of chili with 2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth. Adding liquid will thin out the chili into a lovely soup. You may want to add additional spices or hot sauce at this point, as the flavors may be diluted by the broth. You could also add leftover rice from Monday or small, cooked pasta to the dish. Soups are a great way to use up any random bits of pasta, bread, meat or beans you might have from other meals during the week!

It only takes a couple of hours and, most importantly, a little bit of creativity to stretch your dollar and on-hand ingredients to make five delicious meals for the week!

Second Helping Cheesy Corn Tortilla Pizzas

I am literally sticking to my couch from humidity as I type this. Probably way too much information for most of you, but the fact is, it's hot in Boston tonight. Only me and a few other, hungry wack-jobs would turn on their stoves on a night like this. But that's exactly what I did.

I'm leaving for Italy in less than five weeks, so it's really crunch time for saving every extra dollar I can. So, over the next few weeks, expect to see a lot of out-of-the-pantry recipes like this one.

Since it was so hot tonight, I wanted a quick yet delicious dinner. I had whole wheat tortillas leftover from last week's Tofu and Black Bean Quesadillas, I had corn in the freezer, and I always have cheese and a jar of sliced jalapenos in the fridge. I decided to throw them all together and made some Cheesy Corn Tortilla Pizzas.

Cheesy Corn Tortilla Pizzas

Yields: 2 servings

-2 whole wheat tortillas

-2 cups of corn

-10-12 jalapeno slices

-1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

-1 tbsp. olive oil (plus a little extra for the tortillas and cookie sheet)

-Chili powder

-Cumin

-Cilantro

-Salt and black pepper, to taste

-Squirt of fresh lime juice

Directions: Preheat oven to 350*. On the stove top, heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan on low heat. Add corn, and season with chili powder, cumin, cilantro, salt and pepper. Once mixed and slightly heated, take off burner and squirt some lime juice over the corn.
Place both tortillas on a greased cookie sheet (I just rubbed some olive oil on the sheet), and brush a tiny bit of olive oil on each tortilla, to help them brown in the oven. Coat each tortilla with the shredded cheddar cheese, and pour equal amounts of the seasoned corn on top of the cheese layers. Place 5 to 6 jalapeno slices on each "pizza," and pop the sheet in the oven. Let the pizzas bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the edges of the tortillas are lightly browned and crispy.

The end result was a light, cheesy, slightly spicy dish that was perfect for a hot, humid evening. I loved how crispy the tortilla got in the oven, and how well the buttery, well seasoned corn complemented the richness of the cheddar. This was a fantastic use of leftovers.

Are you a fan of leftovers? Why or why not?

Financial Friday: Learn to Love Your Freezer

If you're sick of throwing away food that's gone bad before you've had a chance to eat it, it's time to make your freezer your best friend.

Let me start off my admitting that frozen food doesn't always taste 100 percent delicious after it's defrosted. Obviously, if you want your food to taste as fresh as possible, you need to eat it at its freshest. However, I also don't believe in wasting perfectly good leftovers - and that's where my freezer comes in.

When I go grocery shopping, I am usually only buying for one or two people. With that being said, I almost always end up with leftovers. Case in point: Last week, I picked up a loaf of sourdough bread from Russo's, and ate about half of it over the course of the week. Due to the humidity in Boston these last few days, I had put the bread in the fridge, and it turned rock hard - but is still useable. Now, it's in my freezer, and I'll be defrosting it next week and making something new out of it. For instance, I can cut it up into cubes and make croutons, by baking the cubes on a cookie sheet with some olive oil, salt and pepper. I could also cut the bread into slices, smear some marinara sauce on top, sprinkle with cheese, and bake it to make little, personal pizzas.

Leftover bread isn't the only thing my freezer saves, though. Soups, lasagna, chicken (cooked or raw), bananas, and many other items can also be frozen and re-used at another time. If you have grapes in your fridge that are days away from going bad, stick them in the freezer. The ice cold gems make an awesome summer time snack.

Using my freezer for leftovers not only acts as a "savings" account for future meals, but it also saves me from taking extra trips to the grocery store to replace rotten food that I recently bought. By consistently using my freezer, I'm saving about $10-20/month, I'd say, just by saving my excess food from going bad.

My only words of caution are that all different types of foods have different "shelf lives" when frozen. This is a good source to use to know how long you should keep certain foods in the freezer until they should be discarded.

Do you freeze leftovers? Why or why not?

Stay-at-Home Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna

When it nears the end of the month, I have next to $0 in spending money left. Since I have a trip to Connecticut and New York planned this weekend for a friend's bachelorette party, I have to be even more strict on myself than usual when it comes to spending money. So, last week, Z and I opted to stay in for dinner and make a meal with ingredients we already had in our cabinets and refrigerators.The end result was one of Z's culinary masterpieces (with little help from me): Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna.

I can't even list out the ingredients and directions here on the blog, mainly because Z did most of the work (this is his recipe, after all). However, I wanted to share this meal with you all because we were able to make a delicious, satisfying, spicy meal without having to take a trip to the grocery store.

Basically, the "pasta" layers were organic tortillas, and between each layer was vegetarian refried beans from a can (that had been heated), cooked corn, crushed red pepper, and diced jalapenos. We also added some salsa and shredded jalapeno cheese to the top layer.

Just like regular lasagna, all we did was layer all of the ingredients and pop the casserole dish into the oven for 25 minutes or so. The dish came out bubbly, cheesy and ultra spicy - a perfect, comforting meal made without having to leave the house. On the side, we just had a simple salad with leftover arugula.

What meals have you made out of leftovers lately?

Second helping pizza

Growing up in my parents' house, leftovers for dinner was a regular occurrence. There were six of us total, so when my Mom cooked, she cooked enough for an army - and we'd eat the leftovers until they were gone. So when I started cooking for myself in college, I realized that you can still use the same leftovers (as I hate wasting food), but you can turn them into a new dish the next night, to prevent a horrific case of Dinner Boredom.

And that's what I did the other night. I used up the rest of the chicken sausage from my whole wheat pasta recipe (I had frozen the leftover sausage), bought some pizza crust and crumbled goat cheese, and used up the rest of the arugula in my fridge to make one healthy, indulgent pizza.

The crust I used was Molinaro's Thin Crust ($4.49 at Hannaford), which comes with two pizza crusts, both with their own package of pizza sauce. The end result was a crispy, decadent pizza, and the Italian chicken sausage paired perfectly with the creamy, tangy goat cheese and peppery arugula.

How have you used leftovers to make a brand new meal?

Turning frozen burgers into warm quesadillas

I am a sucker for freezing leftovers. I’m just not one of those people who can eat the same dinner five nights in a row – I need variety in my life. So, when I ended up with four spicy beef burgers a few weeks ago, I ended up eating two of them over the course of the week, and froze the remaining two. The other night, I broke out the frozen burgers and turned them into one of my favorite quick, go-to meals: quesadillas.

Even though it had been a good two weeks since I had the burgers, I just wasn’t in the mood for eating a hamburger patty on a roll. So, I cut up the burgers into strips, placed them inside a whole wheat quesadilla, threw in some defrosted frozen corn, and “glued” everything together with freshly shredded habanero cheese for some extra kick.

On the side, I had the rest of my Newman's Own Peach Salsa that was in the fridge.

And walla! I was eating dinner within 10 minutes, and didn’t have to make an extra trip to the grocery store. Thankfully, I also didn’t have to eat another damn hamburger.

Do you freeze your leftovers? Why or why not?

The underestimated orzo

Orzo is one pasta I’ve wrongly underestimated. I used to think, “What, besides soup, could I possibly make with pasta that looks and feels like rice?” Well, after Market Basket offered orzo at the smallest price in the pasta aisle, I made do with the rice-shaped pasta – and now there’s no turning back. Orzo is extremely versatile, and I always have random leftover veggies, meats and cheeses in my fridge that need to be used up in new, delicious ways. Orzo allows me to use up these ingredients, while not having to eat the same dinner three nights in a row. Below is one such orzo dish I made with jarred kalamata olives, feta cheese, and tomatoes – a light, healthy meal that made use of still-fresh produce and sale-priced orzo. Mangia!


Out-of-the-fridge Orzo

Yields: 1

-1/3 cup dry orzo

-4 jarred kalamata olives, chopped

-1/8 cup crumbled feta cheese

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1/2 plum tomato, diced

-1 tbsp. jarred minced garlic

-Dried parsley

-Italian seasoning

-Crushed red pepper (for heat)

-Salt and black pepper

Directions: Boil 1 quart of water, with salt. Add orzo, and let cook for 5-7 minutes, or until al dente. In a separate sauce pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Throw in tomato, and add salt, black pepper, red pepper, parsley and Italian seasoning (amount to your taste preference/tolerance). When tomatoes are near mushy, add garlic. Cook for 30 more seconds, then add orzo, and toss with the remaining tbsp. of olive oil. Sprinkle in feta cheese, and serve with an extra dusting of parsley.

Blogger’s note: I include the serving size of the pasta (and will in past/future recipes), because I am a stickler for serving sizes. Paying attention to a packaged product’s recommended single serving not only keeps my weight in check, but also my wallet – by eating only a serving size of orzo, for example, I get the full eight servings out of the box, versus half that.