Experiment: Leftover Sunday Dinner Casserole

I had some roast and baked potatoes leftover from a family dinner we had, and I decided to try and change it up a little so it didn't seem like straight leftovers. So, I had meat and potatoes and thought, I need some sauce to go with this. The first thing that came to mind was Cream of Mushroom soup... but then I remembered that I didn't have any because I don't like it. :-D Then I remembered that I did have a packet of Stroganoff mix, so I mixed that up and added some sour cream...and voila! Dinner is ready!

4-6 baked potatoes
Leftover roast beef
1 pkg beef stroganoff mix
1 c. sour cream

Shred potatoes using a cheese grater. I just left the peels on. Pull apart meat into little pieces by hand. Combine together in large bowl. You may want to season with salt&pepper, depending on how seasoned the meat is. In small bowl, mix up stroganoff according to package directions. Stir in sour cream; mix until smooth. Add sauce to potatoes/meat; mix well. Spread into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until heated through.

Experiment: Black-eyed Pea Salad

Yes, yes...another salad. We seem to be on a salad kick lately. Husband loves salads, but I rarely ever made them for dinner (with the exception of Taco Salad) because they just didn't seem substantive enough. Granted, at restaurants they were plenty substantive, but I couldn't seem to transfer that feeling to my own dinner table. So I've been trying to change my mindframe and have been trying to create main dish salads. Here is one I made up last night that turned out delicious! I contemplated naming it "Protein Salad" but that just didn't sound so appetizing...

Black-eyed Pea Salad

1/2 head leafy lettuce
1/2 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2/3 c. cheddar cheese cubes
2/3 c. turkey lunch meat, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 can sliced olives
1 grilled chicken breast, cubed
Ranch dressing

Toss and enjoy! Also, I think sunflower seeds would have been a nice addition if I would have had them.

Experiment: Early Summer Salad

Husband loves salads, but I hardly ever make them for dinner because they just don't seem substantive enough for me. I know that is just all in my head because I was raised on meat and potatoes for just about every meal. But in an effort to please my wonderful man and to eat more fruits and vegetables, I came up with this concoction:



Early Summer Salad:

Green leaf lettuce
Strawberries
Havarti cheese
Pine nuts
Chicken breast
Poppyseed salad dressing

Rinse lettuce and tear by hand (this lessens bruising and browning of lettuce); spin or pat to remove excess water. Cut greens off strawberries and slice. Cut Havarti into bite-sized cubes. Grill chicken breast (I used a Foreman grill and it worked wonderfully!) and cube. Toss together in large bowl. Dress with poppyseed dressing.

The result: Superb! It was so yummy that I can't wait to make it again!

Taco Salad

Speaking of salads, here's another great one to make for a main dish.

1 lb. hamburger
1 head leafy lettuce
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can sliced olives
1 cup grated cheddar
1 bag Nacho Cheese Doritos
Ranch salad dressing

Brown hamburger and season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and cumin. Rinse and spin torn lettuce. Drain and rinse black beans and put in microwave for 2 minutes. We put all the ingredients separately on the table and everyone builds their own salad. Crush Doritos over the top and dress with Ranch.

Experiment: Easy Tortellini

I made this the other day when we needed a super quick dinner and had some cottage cheese I needed to use. I will definitely make it again!

Easy Tortellini

1 pkg. frozen cheese tortellini
26.5 oz can of spaghetti sauce (I use the Del Monte stuff that costs $0.84)
1 c. cottage cheese
Basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste
(For the flakes, I gave the spice jar about 5 shakes... 2 for the powders)

Boil the tortellini according to package directions and drain. In same pot, add remaining ingredients. Cook over medium until heated through. Serve with garlic toast.

Experiment: Cashew Penne Pasta

I was at my parents house one night with several of my siblings and their families when dinner time rolled around. I offered to figure out some thing for all of us to eat, and raided my parents' pantry to see what was available. This is what I came up with! It is a take-off of Ravioli with Garlic and Pine nuts (check out that post here). It turned out very yummy and even won over the skeptics (especially my mom!). Warning: I didn't actually measure anything when I made this, so everything below is just a estimate.

Cashew Penne Pasta

1 pkg. penne pasta, cooked according to directions
1/2 c. butter or margarine
3/4 c. cashews (I used salted ones)
2 Tbsp parsley flakes
2 cloves garlic (the first time I made it, I just used garlic powder...1-2 tsp)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Melt butter in saucepan over medium/low heat. Toast cashews and seasonings in butter for 10-15 minutes. Toss pasta with butter/cashew mix. Enjoy!

Ravioli with Garlic and Pine nuts

Source: my sister-in-law

I was at WinCo (the best grocery store) and saw that they had dried cheese ravioli in their bulk food section. What a great thing for food storage! So I bought some to try out before I stocked up. I fixed them up for dinner with this awesome recipe that I got from my sister-in-law:

(Umm...she didn't give me any measurements-a sign that she is a good cook, I think- so I kinda made these up on my own. Do whatever you think would be good.)

3 handfuls dried ravioli, boiled*
1 stick butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 TBS parsley
1/3 c. pine nuts

Toast the garlic, parsley, and pine nuts in the butter over low heat. The trick is not to burn the butter. Mix in the cooked ravioli until it is well coated and serve.

This was the first time I have ever used pine nuts, and they are pretty tasty, although pretty pricey too. I will have to find more things to use them in. This dish was so delicious we had it twice this past week!

*With the dried ravioli, you really need to make sure that it is done. The second time I made this dish, I just boiled them until they floated which usually means they are done. Not so in this case! Boil them for at least 15 minutes, I'd say, maybe longer. Definitely check to make sure they are done before adding them to the butter mixture.

Experiment: Southwestern Pasta over Rice

I was on my way home today around 4:30pm and realized I needed to have dinner ready within 30 minutes (so we could eat before heading out for the evening). Since I hadn't even thought about what we should have, I started brainstorming what I had on hand, and this is what I came up with:


Southwestern Pasta over Rice

1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can cream of chicken soup + a half can of milk
1/2 pkg. extra-wide egg noodles
1 chicken breast, cooked and cubed
Minute rice

After boiling and draining the pasta, in the same pot add the rest of the ingredients except the rice. Heat over medium until heated through. Serve over rice.

The verdict: It was okay. Definitely had to add some salt and pepper at the table. Yet, it still lacked some flavor. It made plenty, so with the leftovers tomorrow I think I will try to add some salsa and see how it goes. A definite pro is that it can be made from entirely from food storage items.

* Update: I stirred in a little salsa to the leftovers and {viola!} flavor! Not much is needed at all--I would estimate maybe 1/2 cup for the entire dish. I also thought about maybe adding sour cream for a little tang instead of the salsa, or spices such as cummin... I will definitely have to experiment more with this one. Leave me a comment with any suggestions or if you try something that works!