Leftovers Shmeftovers

I was really pressed for time last night. Dinner hadn’t been started when my husband walked in, our daughter was giving a cannibalistic eye to her teddy bear, and I was raising a shoe to bash out my frustration at our last-century fax machine. Home cooked meal? I would say no, except that a flash of an idea popped into my head early in the day, and if we didn’t follow-through our leftovers would become one with the earth again. I don’t like wasting food, but I could hardly stand to eat the same plain pork chops again. Since they were already cooked, I made a very quick maple-dijon sauce (from Cooking Light) and pulled together some veggies on the side. All of it was on the table in 20 minutes!

Even if you only have a few minutes, making a sauce or gravy to spice-up leftovers in your fridge can make a big difference. I’m telling you, it’s the way to go. Try it and see.

Update: Time to punt pasta

Time to Punt (again)

Have a cupboard full of everything but the Penne or Rigatoni mentioned in the recipe? Use what you've got. I made the dish with a whole box of Bow Tie pasta. It worked just as well and was fast and delicious. There was even time after the meal to assemble and cook meatloaf for the next night.

SYOAS - See you online again soon!

Time to punt pasta

My big plans to make a special dinner tonight are a bust. Work is backed up; it’s dangerously close to dinnertime our family recipe meatloaf three hours to cook. So I am going to punt and make some sort of pasta. I usually keep a jar of good marinara handy for times like these. There is also the possibility of my version of the Giada De Laurentiis quick Rigatoni with Red Peppers dish (link below). You make it with cooked pasta, a breadcrumb/almond mixture, olive oil and roasted red peppers. It's easy to throw together and tasty.

My slightly altered version:

1 pound pasta

10 ounce bag garlic & butter croutons

½ cup roasted almonds

¼ cup shredded parmesan

1½ cup roasted red bell peppers

¼ cup jar juice from bell peppers

½-¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Cook pasta according to directions.

2. While pasta cooks, combine in a food processor: a 10-ounce bag of garlic & butter croutons, ½ cup of almonds (I use roasted right out of the can) and ¼ cup of shredded Parmesan. Mix until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs.

3. Drain pasta.

4. Toss pasta in large bowl or pan with the crouton/almond/parmesan mixture, ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1½ cups of roasted red bell peppers and ¼ cup of jar juice.

5. Mix and serve.

Time to get cooking -

SYOAS - See you online again soon!

Recipe link to Giada De Laurentiis/Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/rigatoni-with-red-pepper-almonds-and-bread-crumbs-recipe/index.html