Leftover leftovers?

Okay, so it's really freaking cold outside, and I don't really want to go out there right now.

Which kinda sucks, because I need to pick up groceries soon.

I looked over my fridge, tossed the items that needed tossing (how did 4 month expired yogurt get missed in the last clean out?), and assessed what was left. Not much. A couple eggs, a splash of milk, some mouldy cheese and a container of spinach cheese dip from going out with a friend a couple days ago. On the counter was some bread crusts leftover from having some friends over for an english tea a little while back.

My fridge is not usually this barren. I blame the weather.

I have a reasonably stocked pantry, but I was feeling the need to use up what was in the fridge before tapping that. Well, tapping that too much anyway.

I trimmed the mould off the cheese and cut into small, meltable pieces (there was too little to shred). After cooking a pot of penne and draining it, I threw the cheese pieces to melt, and added the remaining spinach cheese dip. The result was a cheesy spinach pasta, with a little kick. For whatever reason the restaurant we got the spinach dip from does theirs with a tex-mex edge. If I find the pasta is too dry when I reheat it, I can throw some salsa in quite easily to fix that.

The bread crusts (about 1/2 a loaf's worth?) were torn up into little bite sized pieces and spread out in a baking dish. My last 3 eggs and splash of milk were whipped together with a few handfuls of homemade vanilla sugar and vanilla extract. I say handfuls, because I was too lazy to get a measuring cup out of the cupboard. 3 handfuls - That's about as precise-ish as I can get on this recipe. On top of the crust pieces I liberally sprinkled nutmeg and cinnamon, as well as a few handfuls of crushed walnuts and a handful of dark chocolate chips, before pouring the egg mixture over it. I pushed the bread down to make sure it all soaked up some egg mixture, covered the dish in tinfoil, and put it in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes.

Om nom nom.

I have some Devon cream in the fridge at work to put on that bad boy.

I now have breakfast and lunch for the rest of the week :)

Then I really have to go get groceries :s

Has anyone made anything interesting out of their leftovers lately?

Staple Soup

Kelly over at Almost Frugal did a post recently on the 6 key ingredients she uses in her day to day life to make quick easy meals. It's good to have fall back stash of multi-purpose foods you can rely on in a pinch when you need to make a quick, easy and cheap meal.

Reading through her list I realized a) I don't bake as much as I should, and b) I'm running out of my staples at home and need to stock up! Haha. It got me thinking though. While initially I looked at the list and thought "Yep, those are my staples too", I realized afterwards that they really weren't anymore. My staples have shifted.

These are Kelly's 6 Staples:

1. Flour
2. Baking Powder
3. Salt
4. Oil
5. Milk
6. Eggs

These are my 6 Staples:

1. Tea
2. Milk
3. Sugar
4. Bread
5. Eggs
6. Pepper

That's not to say that I don't use the other items, because I do, it's just that these are the 6 I use most frequently and almost always have on hand. I'd be lying if I said I never skipped meals and just had a cup of tea instead because I'm busy or on the run. I almost did that tonight :s Add on some squash, onions, garlic and canned tomatoes to this list and I'm pretty content for quite a while.

I'm not going to put up a recipe for my top 6, because I'm pretty sure most of you can figure out what goes into an omelet or french toast yourself, but I will put up one I did recently with squash and garlic. Actually, I do it frequently. It's stupid simple.

Basically:

= 

You take a medium sized butternut squash, cut it into chunks that are similar in size to a golf ball, and put them in a roasting pan. Then take the papery peel off ~8 cloves of garlic, and throw them in the roasting pan with the garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap top with foil or lid, and put them in the oven at 350F/175C until they're softened and toasty (about 45 minutes). Let them cool enough to handle, and take the peel off the squash (you're supposed to do it first thing, but I find it's easier this way). Put the squash and garlic into a pot, and cover with either stock, or water with bouillon cubes/powder. Simmer on medium-low for about half an hour or so, then remove from heat. Either transfer this to a blender, or use an immersion blender, and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, reheat if necessary.

It's really easy to make, and super forgiving. You can put the stuff in the oven and walk away to do something else while it's roasting. Ditto when it's simmering. It's really adaptable too, you can add all sorts of seasoning to it. I usually like mine with just salt, pepper, and a dollop of either yogurt or sour cream.

Anywho, I have homework calling my name. Have a good night everyone. Happy eating :)

Quick Fix

I’ve always worked in what most people would consider atypical industries for a petite young woman. Material Testing Technician, Oilfield Operator, Construction Engineer… Unusual, but quite enjoyable for the most part. They pay reasonably well, but they do have their downsides too. For example, I worked on a large interchange project in Edmonton a couple years ago. The drive to work was super short (7 minutes, mostly waiting at red lights), but the hours were long. I’d find myself joining the other guys on site for fast food at lunch, and ordering in for dinner, because it didn’t feel like there was much time for anything else. I was tired, I was lethargic, I was crabby, my clothes weren’t really fitting anymore, and most importantly: I was sick of take out.

One week later in the construction season, I got a day and a half off for a weekend (rare!) I went home, flopped on the couch, and started listing all of the things I could make in 15 minutes or less. I posted it on my fridge, with the heading “No Excuses!” That way when I came home I could look at the list, pick something to eat, and make it in the same amount of time as it would take to drive somewhere and wait in line. Not only that, but I could control what was actually going into my food. The amount of oil, sugar and salt that was poured unnecessarily into my food at fast food restaurants was churning my stomach.

I no longer work for that company, and my work hours have gotten a lot more reasonable, but the appeal of having a list of quick meals I could make is still there. I have a busy couple of months coming up, as I’m going to be taking 2 university courses while maintaining a full time work load. Unfortunately I forgot the original list on the fridge when I moved out of the townhouse, so I figured it was time to make a new list! Here are some of the meals I can throw together quickly:

Fusili with Pesto and Ricotta Cheese

Super quick and tasty! Longest part of the who process is boiling the water!

Homemade Egg Drop Soup with Spring Rolls 

I keep spring rolls from the Asian market stashed in freezer

Omelet or Frittata with assorted fillings

Mushroom & cheese, chicken & salsa, ham & bell pepper, go nuts!

Green Salad with Nuts, Fruit and Cheese

For those days I really wanted to forget about working on site

Penne with Bolognese Sauce and Garlic Toast

If the meat is thawed, this really takes no time at all, even from scratch

Soba Noodles with peanut sauce

Cook noodles, mix with peanut butter/soy sauce/ sesame oil. Add chicken, carrot & green onion or eat plain

Pita Pizzas

Throw a little sauce and cheese on a pita with whatever’s in the fridge

Breakfast for Dinner

Scrambled eggs, pan fried ham, fruit salad, heck even cereal works

Paninis

Again, use whatever is on hand, grill and press it until it’s toasty

Miso Goup and Green Salad with Sesame Soy Dressing

Either grab miso paste from the health food/Asian store, or try it dried

Leftover scramble

Potatoes scrambled with eggs and whatever meat/veggie is leftover in the fridge

Apricot Chicken with Couscous and Yogurt

Pan fry cubed chicken breast, glaze with apricot jam/water/chili pepper

Quinoa Salad

Toss quinoa w/ nuts, chopped peppers, onion, seasonings, sesame oil, whatever…

That’s just a quick list. There’s lots of resources on the internet for this one too. Check out the recipe generator from Real Simple that churns out recipes for quick dinners. They all have pictures, and look really tasty!

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/dinner-15-minutes-selections/index.html

Shape magazine has a whole section on their website dedicated to quick healthy meals too:

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/meals-and-menus/quick-and-easy

Eating well also has an article with a bunch of quick healthy meals:

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/15_minute_dinner_recipes#leaderboardad

What are your quick go to meals when you’re in a hurry? I’d love to hear and add to my list before I start getting busy in January!