Monday, March 29, 2010

Creative Leftovers

I was raised Italian, so when I cook, I cook for lots. There are only two of us and we seem to often have leftovers. I get really annoyed when we throw out food. It makes me feel like we are throwing out money. So I try to get creative with leftovers; patiently sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be eaten. I am conscience of the fact that if we do not eat the leftovers in a few days, they will probably never get eaten. But I do not want to throw them out, so what do I do? I make a new dish out of an old dish, and make sure that there are no leftovers this time!

Tonight I took leftover quinoa with sautéed veggies and turned it into a yummy looking Casserole. The dish originally contained quinoa, onion, mushrooms, carrots and peppers. I added more of all the veggies, some leftover chicken, spinach, almonds and Raisins. Yes, raisins. I saw a recipe online that added them and it sounded good and even though I hate raisins, I figured I would give it a try. I also added some orange zest and squeezed some fresh juice in as well. I added paprika, a splash of rice vinegar and ground pepper.

I am very excited to see how it all comes together. It smells unlike anything I have ever made. I tend to use sautéed garlic and onion (What I call it Italian air-freshener) as the base for most meals. I want a new flavor and am really enjoying playing with the locally grown fruits and veggies. Soon I will have to grow my own.

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