Spaghetti Sauce Leftover Makeover

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know you can freeze Spaghetti Sauce and reheat it any time you want for Spaghetti. But, one of our favourite ways to use up leftover Spaghetti Sauce is Lasagna. And that also isn't a stretch when it comes to using up leftovers. You can make the simplest of Lasagnas with Noodles, Sauce and Shredded Cheese, or you can go much more complicated with Ricotta and such. But one you may not think of making with this sauce is Meatballs.

Italian Meatballs

1 Pound of Ground Beef (Lean)

1/2 Cup of Breadcrumbs (Italian)

1/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese (or Mozzarella)

1 TBSP of "Italian" Season (Club House)

Salt and Pepper

1 Egg (Optional)

Mix all the ingredients together (adding the egg should the mixture feel too loose or if it is not binding properly). Pan-fry on medium-high heat on each side for 2 minutes, then finish in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve as is or in a sandwich. Top with Sauce and Parmesan Cheese.

Leftover Makeover - Chicken Fajitas

 Chicken Fajitas is one of those dishes that can be transformed into so many different things. For something simple, instead of chicken, using the leftover vegetables and adding Shrimp, or Steak would make great fajitas. Also, using the vegetables (and adding others if desired), would make a great stir fry (with or without meat). One of my favourite things to do is make sandwiches.

My favourite is to slice a precooked sausage (I like Johnsonville but whatever you like is fine - you can even use uncooked as long as you keep in mind their cook time will differ). I pan fry the sausage to get a little colour to them. And I add the already cooked vegetables to the pan to warm them. This makes perfect Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches (and if I don't have buns or bread, I enjoy eating it just like that or with some cooked cabbage).

If I have leftover steak or meat from my French Dip Sandwiches, I also like making some quick Philly Cheesesteaks. You simply heat the steak and peppers (I usually dice them for this) and then add them to a toasted bun. I add sliced cheese when I am at home and melt it in the oven. If I don't want to use the oven, I heat up some Nacho Cheese and add that.

Leftover Makeover - Dirty Rice Jambalaya

 As promised today we are taking leftovers and making them over to create a whole new dish. For this recipe I am using the leftovers from the Easy Peasy Chili Recipe we shared last week.

First, we want to start the Jambalaya going. In a frying pan with butter, add a diced up Habanero Pepper, Three or Four Cooked Sausages (Sliced), and Tony's Cajun Seasoning (to taste). Once the pepper has softened and the sausages have some colour to them, add the contents of the pan to a Crockpot. To this crockpot add in a can of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, Green Chilis, Half a Pound of Cooked Shrimp (Cleaned) and Hot Sauce (again to taste, 1 tsp to 1 tbsp depending on how much spice you like). Let everything sit in the crockpot on high for 3 hours.

Serve over "Dirty Rice".

To make our "Dirty Rice" we use Minute Rice (Uncle Ben's) and instead of following the instructions exactly, we replace the water needed for the rice with our Chili. The Easy Peasy Chili is the best for this because it has a lot of liquid thanks to the can of beans and tomatoes we added with all the juice.

Optional - if it still isn't spicy enough for you, add some Jalapenos to the top!

Food Challenge Friday

 This is our last weekday challenge, and today we are taking everything we have made so far and looking at the leftovers. That's right, an old classic, Leftover Makeover. Today we encourage you to explore your fridge, look in your pantry and cupboard and grab all the leftovers you have from other meals and turn it into something amazing!

Again this challenge can be made easier by simply making a soup. Sometimes the best soups are made my simply throwing everything into a pot. A little harder would be to make a main dish with leftovers. And the ultimate challenge would be to make a starter and a main dish with leftovers!

For a little inspiration we are sharing our Vegetable Soup Recipe today. Feel free to add fresh ingredients to it instead of the cans!

Vegetable Soup What you'll need: 2-3 Carrots (Large - or 2 handfuls of baby carrots) 2 Stocks of Celery 1 Medium Onion 2 Cloves of Garlic 1 Can of Corn 1 Can of Peas 1 Can of Green Beans 1 Can of Kidney Beans 1 Box of Alphabet Pasta 3 Boxes of Chicken Broth (easily changed to vegetable stock if you choose) 1 Can of Tomato Juice (or Spaghetti sauce if you want it more flavourful) 2 TSP of Paprika 1-2 TBSP of Butter Bovril (optional) Getting Started: Wash/peel and chop all vegetables and add to a large pot. On medium-high heat add the butter slowly to cook vegetable as needed until the onion and garlic become aromatic. Add chicken broth and pasta. Once pasta is cooked to your liking, add the canned vegetables and bring them to a boil. Once boiled, reduce heat and taste test (add Bovril - liquid bouillon until the liquid has a bright yellow colour). Add the tomato juice and paprika. Taste and add salt and pepper and Bovril as needed.

Freebie Friday - BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Coleslaw

 Today we are sharing our BBQ Chicken Sandwich recipe again. This is a really great one for using up leftovers (chicken, buns, coleslaw). And it works great with the meal plan we are making this month. It is also piggybacking on the post we made yesterday about how versatile chicken really is. There are a million and one chicken sandwiches out there, and this one is one of our favourites. It is great for lunch or dinner and it is really simple and uses up what you have in your kitchen (especially if you are following the meal plan we are writing this month).

What you'll need:

Cooked Chicken (we used rotisserie chicken, any cooked leftover chicken is fine)

BBQ Sauce * (We will show you how we made our own)

Coleslaw (we used a Doyle package with Mayo)

Buns or Bread

Step one:

The first thing you will want to do is shred or pull the chicken. We always do this when we break apart our rotisserie chicken so it is easier to use. (You can use fresh chicken also, keeping in mind how much you expect to use per sandwich.) To reheat the chicken we pan fry for a few seconds, just letting the chicken heat through and crisp up a little.

Once the chicken is ready, toss in B.B.Q Sauce. We made our own by adding Chicken and Rib Sauce, Mayo, Mustard, and Ketchup (if you like Hot Sauce add it also!). Make sure every piece is coated well.

We like our buns toasted so we just buttered them and placed them in the pan we fried the chicken in (like you would do for grilled cheese), if you like just bread that is fine also.

Place a good helping of the sauced chicken onto the bottom bun and top with the mixed coleslaw. Feel free to add anything else you may enjoy! (Pickles would be awesome!)