Saturday, August 28, 2010

My Earliest Food Memory

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The first time I remember something about food was when I was about 6 years old.

My mom had spent the day painting a very old picnic table.  She had dropped it on her foot and broke her toe.


That evening, I walked into the kitchen and saw my DAD at the stove frying hamburgers in a pan.  I had never seen a MAN cooking before in my life, and the thought of a man cooking had never crossed my mind!  What a sight.

It's a memory I cherish and one of the few I have of my dad.  I don't remember my dad cooking anything else.  He passed away about a year later in a car accident.

What is your earliest food memory?




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Thursday, August 26, 2010

Sausage with Wild Rice

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I mentioned before that I recently found the book Six Ingredients or Less: Slow Cooker at a thrift store.  Here's another recipe from that book.  This one I improvised to make it freezer friendly.


Sausage & Wild Rice

1 (12 oz.) package sausage
3/4 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 package (6 oz.) Long-grain and Wild Rice mix with seasoning packet.

Brown sausage, celery and onion in a large skillet; drain.  Place in a slow cooker.  Add rice and seasioning packet along with 2 1/4 cups water.  Cover and cook on low 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.


To make this more freezer-friendly (and because I only had sausage links), I cut three links into 1-inch pieces and put in a quart-sized freezer bag.  I wrote the amount of water I would need to add and how long to cook it on the box of rice (pictured above).  I then taped the bag of sausage to the rice box and put into the freezer.  I don't care for celery and not crazy about onion, so I omitted those ingredients.


On the day I wanted to make this, I put the sausage, rice package, and water into the slow cooker.  I cooked on low until the rice and sausage was done.

It turned out great.  I thought the sausage and wild rice went well together and cooking two things at once is a big plus!





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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Beef N Cheese Fold-Over

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This is one of the few recipes I learned to make when I was a teenager.  My mom found the recipe in a magazine and asked if I wanted to try making it.  I think one reason I love it is because it's one of the first successful recipes I've made (with my mother's coaching).


Beef and Cheese Fold-Over

3/4 - 1 lb. lean ground beef
1/3 cup chopped onion (about half a small onion)
1/2 - 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
2 8-count rolls refrigerated crescent rolls
4 slices American, Velveeta, or cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)



Preheat oven to 375˚. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is browned. Stir in barbecue sauce. On a large cookie sheet unroll the crescent rolls into two squares; place side by side to form a long rectangle. Press seams and edges together. Spread meat mixture onto crescent rolls, leaving about 1/2 inch on the ends and 4-5 inches on the sides. Lay the slices of cheese on top of the meat. Fold sides of pastry towards the middle (it can still be open), pressing to seal the ends. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.


I strayed from the original recipe in a few things.  I have NEVER used the sesame seeds in all the years I've made this.  I almost always used dried minced onions instead of chopping onions (I hate watery eyes), so I cooked a heaping tablespoon of minced onion with the ground beef.  I only had shredded cheese, so I used that instead of slices.

The biggest change I made was I wanted to make individual portions, so I decided to make four individual Fold-Overs.  I had never tired this before, so this was new to me.  I still baked it for the full time.


It turned out GREAT!  I think I will make individual ones from now on.  I ate one right away and put three in the freezer in quart-sized bags.

I had another one from the freezer last week.  I let it defrost for a while, then put it on a plate and warmed in the microwave.  It was just as yummy as the first.





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Sunday, August 22, 2010

Link Your Food Blog

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Flipper wants to visit your blog.

I have added a way for you to link up your blog or website if you'd like to ~ I just added this new feature to my blog so be one of the first ones to add yours.  Come back and visit others who have linked up.  It can be a fun way to get new friends and followers.

Just click here and add your link.





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Tuna & Orzo

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Sometimes you just want to use up some things that have been hanging around your pantry.  Here's some items I've had for a while and feel they need to be used up . . .


Orzo
tuna
peas & carrots
ranch dressing

I thought this would make a good toddler meal.  I cooked the half package of Orzo according to the package directions and drained.


In a bowl I mixed the orzo with half the small package of frozen peas and carrots, tuna, and enough ranch dressing to hold it all together.


It made two toddler meals for me to put in the freezer.


It feels good to use those ingredients that have been hanging around here for a while.  I've made something similar to this for the toddlers last year, Toddler Tuna Toss, and they loved it.

I don't think I'll heat this, it can be served cold.  I'll just defrost and serve.




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Saturday, August 21, 2010

Saturday Cooking

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Tuna & Orzo--recipe tomorrow









My Supervisors!




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Tuna Mac

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This is easy!


Add one pouch or one drained can of tuna to a prepared package of macaroni and cheese.


I make this ahead of time, usually three or four batches at a time.  I then put in freezer containers (enough for one toddler meal in each) and right into the freezer.

On the day I want to serve it, I get it out first thing in the morning and put it still frozen in a mini crock pot.  I stir it a couple of times throughout the morning.  By lunchtime, it's defrosted and heated through.

This is one of the meals the toddlers gobble up quickly.




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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Pizza Rolls

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When I found this recipe for Toddler Pizza Croissants, I couldn't wait to try it.


Spread out 16 crescent rolls on baking pans.  I was surprised when I opened the Pillsbury Crescent rolls I had found on sale, and there were only six in the package!  They were called "Big & Flaky".  They were bigger than usual, but only six in the package.  Next time I'll read carefully. 


The change from the original recipe I made, was I put a tablespoon of spaghetti sauce on each roll before I put the cheese and chopped pepperoni on.


I rolled them up, bigger end to smaller end.  Baked in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes.


They came out beautiful!  I put them in Ziploc bags in meal-sized portions and in the freezer.  They will make easy lunches for the toddlers--just defrost and maybe heat in the microwave a bit.





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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Slow-Cooked Stuffed Peppers Recipe

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This recipe was submitted by a Leftover On Purpose reader (thanks!)


Slow-Cooked Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Slow-Cooked Stuffed Peppers Recipe

  • 4 Servings
  • Prep: 15 min. Cook: 3 hours

Ingredients

  • 4 medium sweet red peppers
  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded pepper Jack cheese
  • 3/4 cup salsa
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn
  • 1/3 cup uncooked converted long grain rice
  • 1-1/4 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Reduced-fat sour cream, optional

Directions

  • Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the beans, cheese, salsa, onion, corn, rice, chili powder and cumin; spoon into peppers. Place in a 5-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray.
  • Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until peppers are tender and filling is heated through. Serve with sour cream if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 stuffed pepper (calculated without sour cream) equals 317 calories, 10 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 565 mg sodium, 43 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 15 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 lean meat, 2 vegetable, 1 fat.
Slow-Cooked Stuffed Peppers published in Healthy Cooking December/January 2010, p43


The author says
I have made, frozen uncooked, then cooked one serving in a mini slow cooker. Super healthy and very tasty :)

By the way, the reader who submitted this wonderful recipe is the same one who submitted it to Taste Of Home.

Thanks for sharing!

If you have a great recipe to share, I would love to see it.  You can send them to pammshouse@gmail.com





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Saturday, August 14, 2010

Chicken and Rice

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I haven't made this dish in years, but it just sounded so good!  And it was!!!

I put four boneless, skinless chicken breasts into a crockpot and cooked until done.  I made a Rice Cooker (6 cups) pot of rice.


I shredded the chicken with forks.


I put the rice, chicken, and two cans of cream of chicken soup and a few tablespoons of Adobo (recipe below) seasoning in and stirred it all up.


I put in freezer containers and right into the freezer.


On the day I want to serve it, I will pop it out of a container, and put straight into a mini crock pot and stir a few times and check it until it's heated through.  This is one I make for the toddlers as well as myself.



  • 4 tablespoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons onion powder
  • 3 tablespoons garlic powder 3 tablespoons ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons ground oregano
Put all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake well and store for up to two months in a cool dry place.





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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Ravioli Lasagna

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As I mentioned before, I found a few "new to me" recipes in a book called Six Ingredients or Less: Slow Cooker.  This is one I had never even thought of, yet so simple and delicious.

Easy Ravioli Lasagna

1 1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 jar spaghetti sauce with mushrooms
1 package frozen cheese-filled ravioli
5 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded


Brown ground beef.  Drain.  Add spaghetti sauce and brown sugar.  Heat through.

Spoon a little sauce on the bottom of a spayed slow cooker.  Add a single layer of frozen ravioli (do not thaw). Add a layer of half the sauce then half the cheese.  Repeat layers.  Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours until very hot and cheese has melted.


Here's what I did:

I didn't have any ground beef, but had half a pound of sausage and half a pound of ground turkey, so I cooked that, then added traditional spaghetti sauce and brown sugar.  I didn't bother heating it up.

I wanted to make this into individual meals, so I set them up for my mini crock pots:


I layered freezer containers like described above, using twelve raviolis per container, and three layers per container.  I put the containers in the freezer.


On the day I wanted to have this for dinner, I pulled a portion out of the freezer, run some water over the bottom of the container, and popped it out like a big lasagna ice cube and plopped it right into a mini crock pot.  I cooked it on high for about four hours.

I spooned it out into a bowl.  It didn't come out as a pretty layered lasagna, but it tasted incredible!  The ravioli was tender and cooked perfectly.  The sauce and cheese was very yummy.

This dish will definitely be a regular.





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