One of the best ways to cut back on wasted food is to use it in a new recipe before it goes bad. You will notice in the recipes below that I cooked several dinners in the past few weeks and, of course, we had leftovers. I don’t mind meatloaf reheated once or twice, but not more than that. Certainly, I can freeze meatloaf but there are more interesting things I can do with it, as well as leftover pork and chicken. Do you have a leftover recipe makeover?
Pork Tenderloin with Mushroom Wine Sauce
Becomes Pork Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 3 cups chopped leftover Pork Tenderloin in Mushroom Wine Sauce (see recipe link here)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 8 oz wide noodles
Directions
Cook the noodles in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and place the noodles on a medium serving platter.
Heat the leftover pork in a small skillet over medium low heat. Slowly stir in the sour cream.
Pour the meat mixture over the noodles. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Italian Style Meatloaf
Becomes Meatloaf Panini
Serve these sandwiches with oven baked onion rings, pickles and a salad for dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 slices sandwich bread
- 2 slices leftover Italian Style Meatloaf (see recipe link here)
- 2 tablespoons spicy Italian peppers, chopped
- 4 slices Provolone cheese
- Olive oil
Directions
Layer 2 of the bread slices in the following way: a slice of cheese, a slice of meatloaf, 1 tablespoon of chopped peppers and a slice of cheese. on top of the each meatloaf slice.
Top with the remaining bread. Brush the bread with olive oil.
Warm up a large skillet over medium heat or heat a Panini maker. Place both sandwiches, oiled side down, in skillet or on the Panini press. Oil the bread on the top.
Close the Panini press and follow the directions for your machine.
If using a skillet, cook the sandwich for a few minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown.
Turn the sandwiches over and press down firmly with a spatula on the top of the bread to compress the sandwiches. Cook until golden brown.
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Becomes Leftover Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and Small Batch Chicken Broth
Being a frugal Italian cook, nothing gets wasted in my kitchen. The chicken breasts I grilled last week were large, so we did not eat all the chicken. I removed the chicken that was left from the bones and reserved it for the Caesar Salad recipe. I also find that some recipes call for a small amount of chicken broth. The breast bones that were left can solve that need.
Small Batch Chicken Broth
Ingredients
- 2 leftover chicken breast bones
- 1/4 of a medium onion
- Celery top
- Small carrot
- Small garlic clove
- 1 bay leaf
- Few peppercorns
Directions
Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cover the ingredients with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for one hour.
Strain the broth and pour into half cup containers. Freeze for future use.
Leftover Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- Leftover chicken cut into cubes
- 1 head Romaine lettuce, washed and finely chopped
- 1 cup croutons
- Shaved Parmesan cheese
- Fresh Cracked Pepper
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Directions
Combine the anchovy paste, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, garlic and Worcestershire sauce to a small bowl and stir together.
Gradually whisk in the olive oil, whisking until the dressing is emulsified.
Place the chopped lettuce in a bowl and toss it with the dressing, cubed chicken and croutons. Add shaved Parmesan and fresh black pepper. Toss and serve.
