Category: Leftovers

Salmon Pasta Salad

If you follow my blog, you know how much I love turning leftovers into something fabulous. This salmon salad is no exception. Back on Succos, I prepared a huge portion of salmon and although delicious, I still had so much left over. Because salmon tends to get a bit fishy the next day, I wanted to serve it up in a way that I could mask some of its fishiness. And that’s how this recipe was borne.

This year, we go straight from Shabbos into Shavuous and I’m sure many of you are going to have lots of leftovers. And since not everyone has the luxury of leaving on their oven for 3 days, we’ve all got to make the most of what we’ve got. This recipe will take your leftover salmon from fishy to delicious! I’ve upped the ante for Shavuous by using soft Israeli cream cheese instead of mayonnaise. Make sure to bake your salmon in a pareve oven so you can make it dairy.


Salmon Pasta Salad

1 12 oz box bowtie pasta (reserve 2 tbsp cooking water)
2 slices leftover salmon (see note)
1/2 c peas, thawed
1 small red onion, diced (about 1/4 cup)
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp dill
1/4 cup soft Israeli cream cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Prepare pasta according to package directions, making sure to reserve 2 tbsp of cooking water before draining. Add the pasta to a mixing bowl and stir in cream cheese while it’s still hot. Add pasta water 1 tbsp at a time to help thin out the cream cheese. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Serve immediately.

Note: If you don’t have leftover salmon, you can use chunks of canned salmon or you can bake fresh. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Squeeze some fresh lemon on fish, sprinkle salt, and drizzle a little olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes.

Variation: For a pareve version, use mayo instead of cream cheese. Omit the pasta water.

1 year ago: black bean & chorizo chocolate chili

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BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Jalapeno Pizza

I’m not usually one for making yeast doughs. I mean, it’s not like I can’t do it, it’s just that I can’t be bothered. With all of the flour mess and sticky dough, I usually just leave it to the companies who prepare the frozen variety. This week, however, the rainy weather was a good excuse to play around in the kitchen. And my leftover hickory BBQ chicken was the perfect inspiration for this dish.

I have to tell you that with Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast, making the dough was super easy. There was no rising time. Simply mix, knead, top and bake. I don’t think I can go back to freezer pizza dough again!

Obviously, cheese on this pizza would probably be delicious but because I’m kosher, I have to leave it out. If you’re brave, you can try using soy cheese but personally that stuff freaks me out!

BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Pizza

2 cups flour (I used spelt)
1 envelope Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup very warm tap water
3 tbsp olive oil
BBQ sauce (I used Hunts hickory & brown sugar flavor)
leftover chicken, shredded
1/4 fresh pineapple, sliced into small pieces
1 red pepper, chopped
1 red onion, sliced thinly into half circles
1 jalapeno, deseeded, deveined and sliced into thin strips
soy cheese, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add water and oil and mix to incorporate. Gradually, add another cup of flour until a ball of dough is formed. Knead the dough on a floured surface, adding additional flour, if needed. Grease a cookie sheet with olive oil and using your hands (flour them, if necessary), press dough out to fill pan. Brush the dough with BBQ sauce.

If you have leftover pan-drippings from your chicken, mix it in to the shredded chicken to moisten it. If you don’t, mix in some diluted BBQ sauce (just add a bit of water to dilute) so that the chicken doesn’t dry out during baking.

Top the pizza with shredded chicken, pineapple, red onion, red pepper and jalapeno (for more heat, don’t remove the vein and seeds). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp.

NOTE: When prepared on a cookie sheet, the amount of pizza dough in this recipe yields a thin crust pizza. If you like a thicker dough, double the recipe.

1 year ago: BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches

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Rice Vermicelli

Is your pantry filled with little bags of assorted leftover pasta? That extra orzo from when you only made half the box?  Or the scraps from the 10 oz. bag of egg noodles (whose recipe only called for 7 oz.)? Well luckily, I have a great recipe to use up your leftovers before Pesach! This Shabbos, you can turn your simple plate of rice into a two-toned pilaf that is just as pleasing on the palate as it is on the eyes! It’s simple, easy, and kids love it!

 

Rice Pilaf

2 cups white rice
3/4 cup fine egg noodles, spaghetti cut into pieces, orzo or other fine pasta
4 cups water or chicken stock
3-4 tbsp oil
2 tsp salt

Method:

Heat up oil in a saute pan and add pasta. Saute over medium heat, stirring constantly, until pasta is fragrant and golden. Watch the pasta carefully because it can quickly go from golden to burnt. Add the rice and stir for a minute or two. Add water or stock and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

1 year ago: sesame linguini with marinated chicken breast

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Bubby’s Challah Kugel

With just 3 weeks left until Pesach, I’m sure you’re all scrambling to use up your chometz. While the boxes of pasta, bags of rice, and cans of beans get stored on the top of the pantry, all that extra bread  in the back of the freezer has got to go. And what about all those bags of chips from shalach manos? And the gazillion types of crackers you have leftover in the closet? Well instead of throwing them all to the birds, I’ve compiled a list of some ideas to help you turn your leftovers into delicious pre-Pesach meals.

If you’ve got more ideas for using up chometz before Pesach, please share them with me in the comments below!

Leftover wraps (tortillas):

– quesadillas
– breakfast burritos
– tortilla chips
– thin crust pizza
– tacos (soft-shell or toasted)
– cigars (spread with cream cheese and jelly or mayo and turkey and roll up like a cigar)
– taquitos (like cigars but baked or fried and filled with meat)
– chicken avocado wraps

Leftover challah or bread:

– french toast
– bread pudding
– challa kugel
– croutons
– stuffing
– grilled cheese
– meatball filling
– garlic bread
– panzanella salad
– toasted bread sticks to dip into soup
– bread cups for quiches (roll our flat with a rolling pin and place in muffin tins and fill)

Leftover cereal:

– marshmallow cereal bar treats
– breading for french toast
– mix into cookie batter
– coat fish or chicken

Leftover chips or pretzels:

– coat fish or chicken
– add to chocolate chip cookie dough
– crush and sprinkle on mac ‘n cheese
– add chips to cold cut sandwiches
– sprinkle over stuffed mushrooms

Leftover crackers:

– use in stuffing in place of bread
– add to salads in place of croutons
– use in meatballs in place of breadcrumbs
– use as coating for fish patties
– crumble on mac ‘n cheese or any casserole

Leftover puff pastry:

– pinwheels
– cheese straws
– franks in blanks
– pot pie
– pizza
– deli roll
– asparagus and cheese tart
– knishes
– turnovers
– rugelach
– croissants
– napoleon
– palmiers
– cinnamon or chocolate twists
– strudel
– apple galette

Bubby’s Challah Kugel

Growing up, we would relish a piece of Bubby’s challah kugel on erev Shabbos. This recipe is made using leftover challah, but is completely different than bread pudding. Here, the challah is soaked and then squeezed to remove the water. The result is a sweet doughy kugel that kids really enjoy!

1 large leftover challah
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (optional)
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
cinnamon-sugar

Method:

Peel or thinly slice the crust off the challah and tear into pieces. Add to a large bowl, cover with water, and soak for several minutes. Remove the challah from the water and squeeze it out thoroughly. Mash the dough and add remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased dish and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until browned around the edges.

1 year ago: leftover cereal bar treats

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{Leftover} Turkey Pot Pie

With the weather turning cold and rainy, pot pie is the perfect comfort food to usher in the fall. It’s also a great dish to make when you’ve got lots of leftover chicken or turkey, and other root vegetables that are on their way out. With a large chunk of turkey roast leftover from the chag, I knew I had to come up with something light and tasty to turn it from “leftovers, again!”, into something fresh and exciting.

Chock full of healthy veggies and low fat turkey, this “litened up” version of a chicken pot pie is even better than the classic. Sweet parsnips, carrots and squash are the perfect accompaniment to the turkey, while the filo dough makes for a rustic, flaky crust.

Visit my guest post on Cookkosher.com for the recipe!

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