Leftovers Lunch

Once again, I wanted to use up some of the leftovers and random things i had in my cabinets to make something healthy for lunch. Now that the baby is a toddler, she has a lot of her teeth and can eat just about anything. I'm going to recommend you either buy good-quality brown rice or rinse off the rice in a colander before you start cooking it, as mine came out tasting a little dirty.

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 scallion, chopped
2 white mushrooms, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup leftover roast chicken/poultry, chopped up
1/3 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup frozen corn
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. parsley flakes

Prepare the rice as directed; in other words, boil the water then throw in the rice and turn to a simmer for about 30 minutes. When rice is close to done, leave on low and throw in all other ingredients, mixing well. Cook another 10-15 minutes, or until water is all sucked up.

Makes about 4-6 servings. We ate this for lunch, and I ended up throwing a little sweet and sour sauce on it to spice up the taste a little. But hey, at least it's healthy!

Leftover Duck Concoction

I posted in my Christmastime entry that I made Duck with Orange Sauce for my family, using the recipe you find if you click on the link. My husband and I bought a frozen duck for $18 at the same butcher where we found the ox tails and, after thawing it for a few days, I made it again last night. The duck itself is quite easy, but the sauce in that recipe is to die for! Anyway, there was still meat left on the carcass so we stuck it in a ziploc bag in the fridge and I decided to make something with the rest of the meat today. Do not underestimate the usefulness and tastiness of duck fat. This would be best served with a side or on top of mashed potatoes, or perhaps some wild rice.

Ingredients:

Leftover duck meat, trimmed off the carcass, including skin
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 tsp white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
leftover orange sauce

Start off by dropping the butter and olive oil into a frying pan on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, swirl it around in the pan, then add the onions. Sprinkle salt and sugar on top of that, and mix the onions to coat them in everything. Let them cook on low-medium heat until they begin to turn brown, or caramelize.

Cut all the meat you can off the duck carcass, making sure everything is in bite-sized pieces.

Pick the orange rind out of the orange sauce and throw away. Then add the duck and at least half of the leftover orange sauce (about 1/2 cup or so) to the onions, stirring everything around to mix well. Allow to cook on medium heat another 5-10 minutes.

Serves 2-4 people, depending on whether you put it over rice/potatoes or not.

Chicken a la King

I was looking up ways to roast a chicken in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and after realizing that (according to them) there weren't any other methods besides the ones I already used, I came across a recipe for chicken a la king. I've never had it before, and I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but you can't argue with the results. The other night I made my Herb-Rubbed Roast Chicken for dinner and shared it with some friends I hadn't seen in a long while. I was left with a breast and a half, the back meat, and some meat on one of the thighs. I just shoved the whole thing in a storage bag for leftovers and figured I'd deal with it later. So the next day, remembering the chicken a la king recipe, I gave it a shot in my cheater, cheapo fashion. This is what I came up with:

Ingredients:

one leftover roasted chicken
14-oz (or so) can of chicken broth
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 stick butter (a little over 2 Tbsp worth)
dash of black pepper

Throw everything into a 7-quart Crock Pot (you may want to roll the chicken over a bit to coat it in the mixture before you turn the crock pot on) and turn on High for 1 1/2 hours, then change to Low setting and cook another 1-3 hours. Use a spoon or something to pull the meat off the bones and throw the remaining bones away. Serve meat and gravy over slices of toast.

I made leftovers of this tonight (since I forgot to take photos of when I was actually making it, as we had company over at the time), and used the bread I made myself in the last post, toasted in my toaster oven. Just pile the chicken and the gravy that comes with it softens up the toast wonderfully. This is a great way to get rid of leftover chicken!

Spicy Chili Night

It's time for chili again! I plopped the baby in her high chair in the kitchen with me, handed her her favorite butterfly toy, and went to work making chili. I used the same recipe as last time, found HERE. But I took a few more pictures this time to help you out.

Brown meat:


Rinse off beans and add to pot with the diced tomatoes:


Chop vegetables:


I also wanted to add that this chili takes about 20 minutes to prepare and cooks for at least 6 hours on low in a 7-quart Crock Pot. It will feed at least 6 people, which means my husband and I always end up with leftovers. And this chili is excellent reheated as well! Let me know how yours turns out if you try making this with my recipe.

What it looks like in the pot all mixed together before it cooks all day: