Veggie and Pasta al Forno

I made this recipe a while ago and was just eating the frozen leftovers. It's so daggon tasty (and I have the notes from when I made it) that I thought I'd share. It was based on leftover cooked pasta. I always make too much pasta so I freeze what I don't need and then I have it when I want to make a casserole!



This is a great recipe to make before the holidays and have ready to pull out of the freezer on a night you don't feel like cooking or when you have guests over (planned or drop ins!). I got 6 plus servings out of this but some were more lunch size than dinner size. Make double and you'll have a spare dinner ready to go when you need it most.



Veggie and Pasta al Forno
Serves 4 -6



Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked medium pasta such as penne, fusilli, bowties or wagon wheels


• 3 cups cooked and chopped veggies. I used broccoli, cauliflower and green onion


• 4 cups shredded 3 cheese mix. I used swiss, cheddar and mozza (use light were possible!)


• 1 tsp salt


• 2 tsp garlic powder


• 1/2 - 3/4 cup light sour cream


• 3/4 cup bread crumbs


• cooking spray.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350


2. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray, use one big dish or individual ones


3. Mix together the pasta, veggies, cheese, salt, garlic powder and sour cream.


4. Pour into casserole dish or dishes


5. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and spray the crumbs with cooking spray


6. Bake until bubbly, about 30 - 40 minutes.

Holiday Veggie Leftovers

I've been meaning to share some leftover ideas for the veggies from your big holiday meals. There are always lots of ideas of what to do with the leftover meat but what about those veggies?! Well I have 2 ideas for you.

Risotto! Yup, I'm talking about it risotto again. Here's the basic recipe from my"Lets Talk Risotto" post. Leftover veggies, mashed or diced, are a natural to make into a risotto. Just heat them a bit in the microwave before adding them at the end of the cooking time. Make a big pot! Nothing is nicer when folks drop in then being able to offer them lunch or a snack of yummy risotto and it's a nice break from the deluge of turkey or ham sandwiches. I made one Thanksgiving weekend with the leftover can pumpkin I had opened to make pumpkin biscotti. You can use your leftover carrots, turnip, parsnip, squash, brussel sprouts, asparagus.... about the only thing I wouldn't use is potatoes and I already mentioned freezing your mashed potatoes for Shepard's pie later. Everything has a purpose!

Okay, what other use can you make out of those leftover veggies... SOUP! The mashed veggies can be made into a pureed soup while the diced, chunked or whole veggies can make a great broth soup with barley, pasta or rice or creamy soups. Leftover sweet potato, squash or pumpkin makes great pureed soups while leftover carrots, turnip and even potatoes go great in a hearty pea soup. Leftover green veggies like broccoli or asparagus make great creamy soups. (the underlined items are recipes here on this blog, not descriptions of the items!)

And most of these leftovers freeze beautifully! Just be mindful that pasta and barley in soup will continue to absorb liquid so you can end up with a gloppy soup. If you want to freeze those types of soups, freeze the pasta or barley separately.

Happy Holidays!

Leftover Tips - Potatoes and Gravy

We're roundin' the corner to the holiday season. And it's time for a reminder to make good use of those leftovers. I just pulled together a quick Shepherds Pie with some goodies out of my freezer. After the holiday's you'll be grateful for any quick fixes you can scrounge from your freezer.



Multi-step dishes become a lot simpler when you simply defrost some of the steps. Save all your gravy, no matter how little you think you have. Even a small amount will make a good base for more gravy or sauces.



Any mashed root veggies freeze well and you can use them as toppers for casseroles.



For my Shepherd's Pie I used some leftover Chicken and Turkey Gravy. I wanted to empty out some of the leftovers out of my freezer before I start piling in new leftovers from the upcoming holiday meals. Even though I'm using ground beef, these gravies will still work. I added a bit of Worcestershire sauce and the leftover gravy into the pan where I had browned the onions and beef. I heated it until it bubbled and thickened a bit more. I would have mixed some cornstarch with a bit of water if it was too thin but today that wasn't necessary.



I used leftover mashed potatoes, potato scooped out to make double stuffed potatoes and leftover potato parsnip mash for the topping for my pie. Defrost and mix them together. I used a frozen mix of veggies; broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas and corn for the middle. So the only real work I had at prep time was to dice the onion and brown it with the ground beef.



You could also use any leftover beef bits you have instead of ground. That's how the dish was originally made. Sometimes you get tired of eating the leftovers. That's when it's time to freeze what's left. You can do this pie with beef or even your leftover chicken, turkey or pork. I'm telling you now, come those cold January nights you'll be glad to have these comfort foods to throw together a casserole. And if you cook like I do, you'll have make one to eat now and one to put in the freezer for another night!

Horseradish Dipping Sauce

Last night I had sweet potato fries with my steak. I made a little dip for the fries and it ended up being great with the grilled steak too.

Horseradish Dipping Sauce - Serves 1 -2
Ingredients

• 2 tbsp mayo
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 tbsp horseradish
• 1/2 tbsp ketchup

Mix, adding more horseradish if you want a bigger kick.

This is a nice way to bump up a meal a bit! Yum!

Quick and Easy Harvest Pork Chops with Potato Parsnip Mash

Here is a quick recipe that tastes like fall on your plate! The instructions list for the pork chops looks long but it's quick.

Easy Harvest Pork Chops - Serves 4

Ingredients

• olive oil and/or butter
• 4 center loin pork chops
• 2 apples (I used Gala but whatever tickles your fancy will work), cored and cut each into 8 to 12 wedges.
• 1 cup apple juice
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Instructions

1. Heat oil and/or butter in a skillet that you have a lid for. (I used both olive oil and butter)
2. Cut slits in each pork chop so you can stuff apple slices inside.
3. Heat apple slices until golden on both sides. Remove from heat and let cool a bit so you can handle them
4. Stuff each pork chop with as many apple wedges as you can. Don't worry if they are mushed in tight. You'll use any remaining wedges.
5. Return the pan to the heat.
6. Saute the pork chops on both sides until browned.
7. Add apple juice and sprinkle with rosemary, throw in any remaining apple wedges.
8. Turn heat down to medium low, cover and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes until the pork chops are cooked through. Check occasionally to ensure the liquid has not completely evaporated. If it has, add more.
9. Take out the pork chops and cover with foil on a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.
10. While the pork chops are resting, reduce the juice in the pan if it is not already thickened, by simmering it over medium-low heat.

Serve with the potato parsnip mash and drizzle the pan juice over it all

Potato Parsnip Mash - Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes
• 4 medium parsnip
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder.

Instructions

1. Peel and dice the potatoes and parsnip.
2. Put in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender.
3. Mash potatoes and parsnip with remaining ingredients.

Salt and Pepper both dishes as necessary.

Sorry there are no pictures but it was so simple I didn't think I'd blog about it until after I ate it. It was super tasty!!