I'm kind of sad, tonight I might actually have to cook something from scratch for dinner! We have been living on Christmas leftovers since Sunday and its been a bit of a vacation for me. I've had a little extra time for other projects, like those darn drapes that I don't think I'm ever going to finish! So how do you keep the family from revolting when you're serving leftovers night after night? Here's how I did it.
First you may need to vary the presentation. In general, leftovers presented in the same crusty pot they were cooked in are unappealing to anyone. Having said that, some things work really well in the original pot. For example, the Tofurkey was long gone but the pot still had a good amount of stuffing in it, as well as a spoon or two of mashed potatoes and some leftover roasted veggies. We also had a huge amount of leftover gravy. I added some rehydrated tvp to the pot and mixed in some gravy. Viola, faux turkey casserole.
The Red Bens and Rice returned first as itself served with some leftover squash biscuits that were toasted to give them a new lease on life. They made their final appearance as burgers when I mixed the last bit with some oatmeal and flaxseed meal (these work as binders to hold the burger together.) I served the burgers with a soup made from the leftover veggies and broth from the gluten pot roast recipe and some leftover foccacia bread. The gluten roast itself never made it long enough to become anything but itself, my daughter and I really enjoyed it.
The leftover pasta was combined with the sauce, sprinkled with a cheese substitute called Fake Fake (its a mix of walnuts, nutritional yeast and garlic powder), and baked in the oven. I served this with focaccia as well.
The White Beans and Tomatoes haven't made a second appearance yet because I opted to freeze them. This will make my world an easier place on some future hectic night.
The baked goods have all made appearances as quick breakfasts for my husband on his way to work. A quick toasting does wonders for biscuits, breads and Apple Butter Pull Aparts that have gotten a little soggy from being in the fridge.
Shayla asked for some input on her new slow cooker, my response is in the comments section of yesterday's post for anyone else who might be interested.
Tomorrow I'll share some of our goals for 2006.
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