Leftover Makover:Chuck Roast To Stroganoff

I hope all of you had a pleasant Easter, taking time to reflect on what the importance of the day was for you, in whatever that was, spiritual, candy, bunnies. Regardless of your own personal reflections for the day, I'm sure this lock down made it a unique one.

In anticipation of the day, I set to marinating a chuck roast on Saturday, letting it sit overnight. When it was time, I tossed it in the oven on a low heat, and let it go for a few hours. Accompanying it was a batch of homemade scalloped potatoes. Once everything was all cooked up, I took the pan drippings and made a quick gravy. The end result of everything was quite tasty.

Of course, there were plenty of leftovers, which meant I was quick to thinking about what to do with all of it. Sure, I could throw it on a plate the next day and have round two, but nah. That's no fun. My girlfriend actually ended up keeping the potatoes for herself, so I didn't have to worry about those. However, had I, they would have been the start of a hearty potato soup.

The meat, on the other hand, that was mine to do with as I pleased. And do, I did. Before I was even done with dinner, I had the plan of stroganoff in my mind as a tasty way to zsoosh up another meal.

First and foremost, I needed a sauce. For this, I sliced up an onion and threw it in a pan with a bit of butter. As those got tender, I tossed in two tablespoons of chopped parsley and a teaspoon of thyme. To that, I added 1/4 a cup of white wine, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of minced garlic, one can of beef broth and 1/2 a cup of heavy cream. I seasoned all of this to taste with a dash of salt and a whole lot of pepper.

I tossed in the leftover meat, slapped a lid on it and let it simmer on low for an hour, letting all those delicious things hang out and get acquainted. This also served the purpose of slow cooking up the meat to make it moist and tender.

After an hour, I took my leftover gravy, which was about a cup, and threw it in the pan. The lid went back on and it simmered another forty minutes. This was probably the smartest thing I did with this dish, because that gravy blasted it with a hearty beef flavor.

Now stroganoff needs noodles. But you know what's great about noodles? They'll cook in any liquid you put them in. Best of all, they'll absorb the flavor of what they're cooking in. You guessed it. In the pot they went with the sauce and meat, lid on to avoid evaporation. Another nine minutes of simmering, and the end result was well worth the wait.

Delicious! See how the noodles are brownish from absorbing all of that sauce, versus the yellowish white they would have been if cooked in water? That's flavor town! Always cook your noodles in the sauce they are for.

Mushrooms typically go in stroganoff, but I didn't have any. Honestly, I didn't miss them either. This was perfect the way it was.

There are several serving left in this pan, and I have to admit, I'm way excited to have another plate for lunch tomorrow. This was delicious! Much more so than round one. There may be something to this leftovers thing.

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Leftover Makeover: Chicken And Mashed Potatoes To Mock Thanksgiving Sandwich

Inspired by my newfound desire to zsoosh up leftovers, I'm at it again.

The original meal consisted of a pair of chicken breasts which I rolled in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper and ground sage. From there, I threw them in a pan which had a couple tablespoons of olive oil all nicely heated up. Upon giving them a good browning, I threw in a tablespoon of butter, lemon juice, a bit of cilantro and a splash of white wine and let them finish cooking.

While that was going, I took the lazy route and made a prepackaged mashed potatoes and popped a can of cranberry sauce open. The end result was this.

Now I will admit that this particular leftover transformation is far from creative. In fact, it's essentially the same thing.

I sliced up the remaining chicken breast and threw it in a skillet. On the other side of said skillet, I scooped the remaining mashed potatoes on, sprinkled some cheddar cheese on top and let everything get hot.

Once that was done, I buttered up a slice of bread and dropped it on the skillet too, letting it get all nice and grilled. When it was done, I spread a little mayo on it, layered my chicken, dropped the potatoes on top and hit it with the remaining cranberry sauce to have a nice open faced mock Thanksgiving sandwich.

Honestly, the leftover meal was better than the first round. I kind of wish I would have done this both times. Then again, if I had, there would be no Leftover Makeover post. And who wants that?

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Leftover Makeover: Spaghetti To Cajun Pasta

I'm by no means a foodie, but I'm definitely a bit of a snob when it comes to eating. I won't eat fast food. I feel like at my age my pallet should be far more refined than that of a three dollar burger. I also have a major aversion to eating leftovers. It's the food I didn't want the day before. More so because of the latter, I have grown quite accustomed in my adult life at having a variety of food, something different every day.

Unfortunately, as we all face the ridiculous mandatory transition to a communist country lock down, I am forced to make groceries stretch. Gone are the days I was freely able to go to the grocery store on a whim, shopping as frequently as I so desired. Now I have to plan meals. Make one trip every few weeks and stretch things out. This means, gasp, eating leftovers.

Despite this drastic turn of events, I've found ways to help ease the suffering. Yes, I'm still having to eat leftovers, but I'm transforming them here and there.

Now, I know this is a toy blog, but desperate times to occupy oneself means utilizing every tool at ones disposal. This means my site may turn into a garbage dump throughout all of this nonsense for no other reason than to stay productive. Bear with me. Also, if you want toy related posts, scroll down below this one. The one I posted earlier today should scratch that itch nicely.

A few nights ago I made a pan of spaghetti, because you can't exactly make a small batch once you get done making the sauce - Which admittedly took no further effort than opening a jar and dumping it out. It's not my ideal method for making red gravy, but it did in a pinch for a quick meal on a day I otherwise wouldn't have bothered making anything. For good measure, I also threw in a tray of chicken nuggets and zhoosh'd up the pasta with ample grated Parmesan and Reggiano cheeses. The end result was this masterpiece.

Spaghetti Hand Print

The nuggets didn't make it to the leftover stockpile, so I ate on just the spaghetti for a few days. For one meal I had a follow up bowl. For another, I threw some in a large flour tortilla with grated cheddar cheese and dropped that on a hot skillet to make a crispy spaghetti wrap.

However, at this point, I was over it. The pan sat in the fridge for a couple more days before I finally decided I really shouldn't let it go to waste. As I reluctantly scooped some in a bowl to nuke, I had a fascinating idea.

I dumped the pasta back in the pan and pushed it off to one side. In the newly open space I poured in some heavy cream, sprinkled in some Cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, a little more Parmesan and Reggiano cheese, as well as, some diced cilantro.

Giving it a quick stir, I positioned the pan on the burner so that it would heat up the liquid, but not the pasta. Once it was nice and bubbly, I stirred it all together.

Boom! Tired spaghetti instantly transformed into a piping hot pan of Cajun pasta. In hindsight, I probably didn't need to add the additional cheese, as it really overpowered the entire dish. I also wish I would have remembered the jar of sun dried tomatoes in the fridge, as those would have given it some needed texture. Oh well.

Transformed, it was bearable to eat once again. The downside is I now have a pan of this to eat for a couple more meals before it's gone.

Here's hoping we get back to normal soon.

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