I had some dark meat left over from the last smoked/beer canned chicken. I sauted some onion until caramelized, added red pepper, and finally the chicken.
Top with salsa / sour cream / avocado / cheese / hot sauce in a tortilla, and you have the makings of smoked chicken fajitas. Traditional? No. Good? Yes.
Also when you smoke a chicken, you can use the skin in two interesting and fun ways. You can pan fry it over low and heat, until rendered and crisp like bacon and make a CsLT. You can also render it like bacon when making stocks for a smokey flavor like bacon would add. Basically smoked chicken skin is a kosher substitute for bacon.
Please note, it’s not bacon, nothing could replace bacon, it’s just a reasonable substitute.
When you smoke a chicken, you can make stock from the smoked bones and use it for making greens. The smokey stock brings something similar to what a hock or bacon brings to greens.
Which means I’ve not been cooking enough to have leftovers, or anything to even comment about, until today.
The closest I’ve got to left overs is all my CSA vegetables. I did however process two sugar pumpkins, and a few butternut squash. Then my lovely wife cleaned up all the seeds and I made two batches of toasted seeds (salt / sugar & cinnamon). These are easy to make, just clean, the seeds. Toss with a little bit of oil, or spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Salt or sugar and cinnamon, and roast in a 325 oven for 30-40 minutes until dry and toasty.
Tonight as a follow up I made some squash and leak risotto. It wasn’t as good as it could have been, but for having no chicken stock, white wine, or a recipe, it was do able. There is enough for another meal or two.
What have you been using, or reusing?
This past weekend we had a slow roasted beef eye round. It’s not the most tender piece of meat, and it doesn’t take to high heat applications well, nor is it filled with connective tissue, that will melt away from a low and slow cooking method. When cooked right, it’s very beefy, and tender, but that window is pretty small.
I may have missed that window. It was still good but it was a tad over done. Not shoe leather, but about 5-8 degrees beyond my target temp. It was a still a nice meal, beef, mashed, pesto green beans, and a fine cabernet.
The question remains, what do you do with the remains of a already slightly over done piece of meat without converting it to something tougher than Chuck Norris? If you read the blog, you’ve already got some ideas. You are wrong.
I took some some additional leftovers from the freezer, I transformed the roast to beef stroganoff.
Start with some stock & braising liquid from slow cooked ribs. It was already quite robust with beef flavor, and rich with gelatin. It only required a little seasoning, and sour cream. To it we sauteed onion, and mushrooms. At the last moment we added the sliced beef to the sauce and vegetables to be served over the left over mashed potatoes.
I was thinking about the Chicago tribune article, and decided, that just like hash fried rice is another great simple way to clean on the crisper, and use up your leftovers.
The Simple steps to fried rice.
The basic ratio is 2:1 rice to additions, but it is very flexible.
Chop everything finely, your proteins and vegetables should be a fine dice.
In a small pan over medium / medium high heat, add a small of oil, and saute your protein. If using raw vegetables, add immediately. If using cooked vegetables, you can add them as soon as the meat is starting to warm.
Add rice. Left over rice may be clumpy, break up with the back of your spoon. You might want to add a little water or stock to moisten the rice to free it up a bit.
Once rice has started to heat, add 1 lightly beaten egg. Stir rapidly until cooked.
Now add the seasonings, 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, 1 table spoon of soy sauce, and Siracha to taste. I may add a dash of rice wine vinegar or touch of sweet and sour sauce to balance the flavors.
From start to finsh should take no more than 10 minutes tops.
Here are some ideas for ingredients;
Protein: Beef, chicken, roast pork, bacon, tofu or shrimp*.
Vegetables: Frozen peas, green beans, onions, carrots, celery, greens, broccoli, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, etc.
*If using fish or seafood, I do not start the cooking with then, I add at the last possible moment, just to reheat them thoroughly, but avoiding over cooking.
The linked article shows another use for leftovers, making hash. Not a bad read, and a great way to use up those left over meat and veg.
I’ve talked a lot about specific meals, and recipes, but I haven’t really given my rules of thumb when it comes to what makes a good leftover.
1. It should freeze well. Who feels like having last nights dinner for tomorrow’s lunch.
Exception, mac and cheese, it doesn’t freeze well, but I’d eat it all day, every day.
2. No fish.
exception clam chowder
3. No salads.
no exceptions
4. Can’t require an elaborate reheating ritual.
My favorites?
Chili, burrito / tacos, beans kale and tomatoes, chicken pot pie, pasta dishes, beans and rice.
So, what do you do when you have a serving of pasta sauce and no pasta left? Me, I make a kale and white bean dish. For a cold winter night, when you’ve been feeling like you’ve been over doing it with the comfort food, this hearty, but healthy dish hits the spot.
1 cup pasta sauce or one can chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 small onion chopped
2 tbs olive oil
1 bunch of kale chopped
1/3 cup of water
1 can of white beans rinsed and drained.
In the oo, saute the mushrooms and onions until soft.
Add Kale, and water and sauce cook for 8 minutes, until kale has slightly softened.
Add white beans.
Serve with some shaved parm.
Take one part chili, and one part pasta, and one part queso, and you’ve got a serious chili mac. Inspired by my coworker I, I was able to use up three normally good left overs, to make something much greater than the sum of it’s parts. The end result, I had the pleasure of chili mac for lunch the next day. It’s really as easy as it sounds. The method I used, was to heat all of the left overs individually, then combined them.
This is not rocket science, but is a variation on the standard chili mac which is normally chili + mac and cheese. So with that in mind, I’ll provide my not so traditional queso recipe.
1 - can of rotel
12oz - shredded pepperjack
4oz - shredded mild cheddar
1tbls - corn starch
1 cup - whole milk
1tsp - chipotle powder
In a shaker mix cold milk and corn starch. Over medium heat, melt cheeses in milk mixture. Add Rotel and chili powder, after cheese is melted and smooth.
