Fried Rice

You can do that fried rice with any leftover meat.. In fact, whenever I make fresh rice for a meal, I always make extra and put it in the freezer.. fried rice is best with day old cooked rice. So, any time I have any leftover meat (chicken, ham, pork, bacon, shrimp, - I've never tried it with ground beef - that sounds odd) - it makes a super quick meal - 20 minutes at the most. Perfect for Sundays.

[from Harmony]

My dad owns a chinese restaurant and the key to their fried rice is massaging the rice. Lol They rinse it a few times, then cook it, let it cool, and then they take their hands and break up every tiny clump. They do it over and over again until the rice falls through their fingers like sand.

[from Brittney]

Tilapia

Last night I made a show stopping left over dish. We had one and half tilapia loins left over from the other night. I kept seeing it in the fridge and couldn't stand the thought of it going to waist. And I had a HUGE bag of spinach I just got from COSTCO. I bought it thinking I"ll try to chop it up small and sneak it into all of Savannas meals this week... .


So here's what I did.

In a 8x8 casserole dish Layer in this order:

Cooked Rice

Sauteed spinach (seasoned with s/p)

Rough Salsa (I just threw it together last minute: chopped tomatoes, frozen chopped onions, chopped fresh cilantro from an herb plant I have, squirt of lime juice from those little plastic squirt bottles that are shaped like limes or lemons)

broken up pieces of leftover fish.


Cover and bake for 30 mins.



My husband could not stop raving about it. He said he'd order it in a restaurant. And he said that next time I need to make it on purpose not on accident.

[from Charisa]

Turkey Fritata

INGREDIENTS


Orange/Yellow bell pepper (diced)

Tomato (diced)

Onion (diced)

Ground Turkey or leftover Thanksgiving turkey (cooked)

10-12 Eggs

1/4 c. cream (I've used milk too)

Shredded cheddar cheese

*You can add any veggie really, spinach works well too... or potatoes would go



DIRECTIONS

1. Saute bell pepper and onion in an oven safe skillet

2. Add Tomato and turkey (couple minutes)

3. Whip eggs and cream (I add salt and pepper here)

4. Pour into skillet and stir gently until it sets around the edges (eggs should look both runny and lumpy)

5. Broil in oven until puffy (on the bottom shelf)

6. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and broil until melted

[from Improvingmama]

Leftover Ground Turkey Meat

Make soft tacos?

Put it over rice with veggies (like stir fry)?

Make quiche?

Put it over pasta like a stroganoff?

I don't know what other spices it includes... but I'm thinking I want ground turkey now.

[from Charisa]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for the ground turkey... flatbread tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, sloppy joes, mexican rice/spanish rice, taco salad....

[from doodiebug30]

Leftovers

I'm always using up leftovers in weird ways.... the other day I had some leftover pasta meat sauce I layered it over some leftover rice and added a couple slices of provolone to the top and baked it until done. Turned out awesome.... Joe Loved it and Savanna had seconds and thirds.



When I say "always", I think half of my cooking is going through the fridge and pantry and finding something to put together. It's fun! And I've grown much in creativity. I'll meal plan around creativity!

[from Charisa]

Leftovers: Potato Bake Casserole

I do a potato bake casserole. I use up any left over meat and left over veg layer it on some cut up potatoes, bake it until the potatoes are done and top it with cheese. Sometimes I'll need to supplement with frozen veg, but it always works out in the end.


Here are some combos I've tried.

• BBQ Chicken, Carrots, Corn (potatoes, Cheddar)
• Bacon, Broccoli (potatoes, Cheddar)
• Turkey, Greenbeans, (potatoes, Swiss)
• Smoked Sausage, Peppers/Mushrooms/Broccoli (potatoes and Mozzerella or Provolone)

But we usually do the basics of one of Bacon, or Ham or Sausage with potatoes and cheddar. :)

[from Charisa]

Leftover Ham

With our leftover Easter ham, I cubed up a bunch to make omlets. I was too lazy and ended up just doing ham and cheese scrambled eggs, but it was still good. :)

[from Kristi]

Turkey Leftovers

I read a recipe for thanksgiving leftovers that sound so yummy. It was kind of like shepard's pie. Layer of turkey with gravy, layer of leftover veggies, layer of potatoes. It sounded good to me. :)

[from Kristi]

Leftover Roast

One thing we will do is slice up the left-overs and have french dip sandwiches. I like this WAY better than buying sliced roast beef from a deli.

Another thing we do is use the roast to make Shepherd Pie instead of ground beef.

[from Valerie]