Trail Mix, Remixed = Granola on the Cheap

I like granola every now and then - it's great on yogurt and fruit, and makes a nice little breakfast when paired with almond milk. But it's kind of expensive. 

Upon discovering the forgotten remnants of five bags of trail mix intended for Greg, I figured there's a way to make something good out of these leftovers instead of tossing them. So, I picked through them all and saved the best stuff for a stellar batch of granola. Voila! - trail mix, remixed! 

I made this recipe from about 15 recipes - switch up your ingredients however you like. The basics are oats, nuts, seeds, fruits and a binding ingredient. Spices are up to you.

You'll need:

3 cups of old-fashioned oats
1 cup (approx.) of raw almonds/cashews/hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup (approx.) of seeds - pumpkin (green ones), flax, chia, sunflower, etc. 
1/3 cup (approx.) of shaved coconut
1 cup (approx.) of dried fruits - raisins, cranberries, dates
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey 
1/4 cup vegetable oil 
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
pinch of nutmeg

To make:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In large bowl, mix together oats, nuts, seeds and coconut. In small bowl, mix sugar, syrup/honey, oil, vanilla, salt and spices. 

Drizzle over dry ingredients and mix well. Place on large cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking pad or parchment. 

Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring gently a few times, until it's golden and smells incredible. 

Remove from oven, cool for a few minutes and then put in a big bowl. Add fruits and mix gently. Let it cool completely before putting it in a container (I just throw it in a large zipper bag). 

Enjoy!!

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Found a use for leftover kolaches

Before the syrup

Those leftover kolaches don't need to be chucked, after all.

A highly popular pastry in Texas, kolaches are of Czech origin. The 'real' kolache is actually a wedding pastry filled with fruit - never meat. What we call the kolache in Texas is actually a klobasnek, which is essentially a little hot dog and cheese baked inside a rather large, sweetish airbag of fluffy dough. 

Kolaches are a twice a year occurrence for us. When Greg is given the green light to fetch said treats, he buys too many. Which in turn means there will be one or two strays which are popped in the fridge and promptly forgotten. 

Last night, in my usual bout of insomnia, I thought - why not slice up the remaining kolaches and make them into Czech French Toast? And - whattaya know - it worked.  

Czech-ish French Toast

2-3 leftover kolaches, sliced diagonally in 1/2" slices
2 eggs, beaten 
1 T milk or half and half
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
Shake of cayenne pepper 
Shake of nutmeg
Maple syrup

Beat together egg through nutmeg, dip kolache pieces in mixture and do your thing as you would French toast. 

Drizzle over the maple syrup and enjoy! 

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On the go beauty shot: fruit, dairy, fiber and vitamin E

I needed to pack a snack which could be respectably consumed around a bunch of people who eat super-healthy. 

Try filling your little container with this deliciousness:

Plain yogurt
Strawberries
Almonds
Basil
Agave nectar 

Refrigerate or even stick in the freezer for a few minutes until you're ready to enjoy. It's like eating a decadent dessert, guilt-free!

Oh, and I looked respectable too. 

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Pineapple coconut chicken curry with basil

It was time to get back into the kitchen. We've been chaotic playing catch-up with projects and people, so I insisted on dinner made at Cocina Candelaria. Here's my modified version of a super-easy weeknight chicken dish.

Pineapple Coconut Chicken Curry

1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 tsp. of your favorite curry powder blend 
1/2 tsp. of salt (I used a flaked sea salt)
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips 
1/2 of a large ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces
1 large serrano chile, minced
1 can coconut milk
1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
About 6 large basil leaves, torn 

To make:

Put chicken, curry powder and salt in a large ziplock bag and smoosh around to marinate. Overnight is best, though you can just leave it on the counter for a bit to come up to temperature and let the flavor begin to sink in.

Heat large pan to medium-high and add your oil of choice. I used this lovely coconut oil since it's so popular and it fit thematically anyway.

Saute chicken until it caramelizes, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Turn heat to medium and cook it for another 3 minutes. Remove and put in covered dish. 

Now turn the heat back up and saute red pepper, pineapple and serrano. You'll know when it's done because the pineapple will begin to caramelize and it will all smell great.

Add chicken and its juices back to pan. Add coconut milk and brown sugar; stir gently. Let it bubble. If needed, add cornstarch-water mix to thicken.

 

Serve over brown rice, with fresh basil torn over the top. YUM!!

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The I-don't-have-time-for-this leftover soup

Soup du jour

I probably make soup three times a year. It's not really Greg's thing, for whatever reason. He doesn't even like tomato soup with grilled cheese! That's just inhuman if you ask me. 

Half inspired by Corey's leftover ham soup recipe and half inspired by whatever I had on hand, I threw together my version in the slow cooker and it turned out great. Even though I make soup three times a year, and consume ham once a year. Oh, and the ham was in a Food Saver bag in the freezer labeled "Christmas 2011." Yep, we love that Food Saver.

I-don't-have-time-for-this Hammy Kale Soup

You'll need:

• 2 cups diced cooked leftover ham
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 medium potatoes (your fave kind), peeled if you like and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 large or 8-9 baby carrots, sliced into about 1/8" slices
• 5 or 6 big leaves of curly kale, cut into narrow ribbons
• About 5 cups of good chicken or veggie stock 
• 1 1/2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. pink Himalayan salt 
• A few grinds of pepper

Kale and carrots? I'm in!

To make:
Heat large frying pan to medium, add a glug of olive oil and add the ham. It needs to start to carmelize, about 8 minutes. Add onion and garlic, and saute for about 5 minutes to soften the onions.

Dump mixture in the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients, stir gently. 

Cook on high for four hours or low for six or seven hours. 

And that's it!
  

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Lighter fare: kitchen sink summer soup

It's summer, the appetite is a little more in check, and so we crave lighter, healthier fare. I'm not a huge soup fan, but every now and then it's so pleasurable. I made up this recipe by accident. This soup lets you throw in everything but the kitchen sink - as long as you stick to vegetables and stay away from fatty or starchy additions.   

Collard and kitchen sink summer soup

This soup starts with a quick saute, followed by the addition of the remaining ingredients and a short simmer. You can switch out ingredients according to whatever is in the fridge.

Collard and Kitchen Sink Summer Soup

What's in it:

• About two smallish carrots or 6-7 baby carrots, thinly sliced with a mandolin
• One large clove of garlic, minced
• Half a head of collard greens or kale, cut into thin strips
• About 5 cups of good chicken broth or stock (I make my own in large batches and freeze it in one-cup measures)
• 2 green onions, tops cut off then sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
• About 8-10 square wonton wrappers, cut into smaller squares or triangles
• One teaspoon dark sesame oil  
• Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• A dab of Sriracha (to your heat preference)

How to make it:

Saute carrots, garlic and collards or kale over medium heat with cooking spray or olive oil for 7 or so minutes, until they begin to get tender. 

Add broth, onions, wonton wrappers, sesame oil and salt and pepper. 

Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve it up, add your Sriracha and enjoy!

Ideas for substitutions or additions: shaved leeks instead of green onions; cabbage instead of collards/kale; add in sugar snap peas at the end

 

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Turkey Meatloaf ... Living on Leftovers

Ready to go into the oven

Since it's summer, one of the last things to hit the menu is meatloaf. But I'd contend that comfort food is year-round. Since I only purchase ground beef about four times a year, I moved to meatloaf made with ground turkey some time ago. I've gradually been updating one of my fave recipes to sneak in more of those healthful veggies. Try this one out - it's a barbeque theme and makes awesome leftovers!

Finished product! I couldn't help taking a bite first.

Turkey Meatloaf with Secret Veggies

[the loaf]

1 egg

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 - 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey

1/2 - 3/4 c. fresh bread crumbs (process in your food processor)
About 6-8 sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 onion or 3 green onions or 1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/4 large green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped

2 peeled carrots, put through the food processor until finely chopped

1/3 of one large zucchini, put through the food processor until finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

[the sauce]
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water or beef stock (can use bouillon)
3 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the egg and olive oil. Add in remaining loaf ingredients (hint: mix veggies in separate bowl then add to turkey, etc.) and 2/3 cup of the sauce. Mix gently. If possible, put the bowl in the fridge and let the flavors steep for a few hours. 

Place into shallow 7x10 in. pan or bread loaf tin, lightly oiled. I prefer the 7x10 pan so I can free-form it. Brush just enough sauce over meat loaf to coat. Bake in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for up to one hour and 15 minutes. Let it sit for 15 or so minutes before serving.

When the meatloaf is nearly finished baking, put the rest of the sauce in a small saucepan and gently simmer on the lowest heat, mostly covered, so it reduces just a bit and the flavors concentrate. Drizzle some of this lovely sauce over each piece.

This meatloaf is great with mashed cauliflower as a substitute for mashed potatoes (also better for summer eating). 

 

[leftover ideas]

- Enjoy cold meatloaf sliced and tucked into whole wheat pita along with homemade coleslaw. 

- Make a shepherd's pie out of crumbled meatloaf along with leftover sauce as the base. You might have to make extra sauce.

- Pizza! Cut meatloaf into bite-sized pieces as a pizza topping, along with extra barbeque sauce, thinly sliced green onions, sharp cheddar or Jack cheese, jalapenos and maybe some cilantro sprinkled on after baking.  

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Leftover chicken goes Bollywood

Most non-vegetarians like a savory roasted chicken, right? And probably at least half of them like this chicken as leftovers, correct? Well, when it comes to mixing leftover chicken with curry, we venture into a smaller proportion of the culinary population. I totally understand - it's not for everyone. I began the great love affair with curry when living in the UK, and I see no signs of that waning. 

Nutty Fruity Curried Chicken Salad

Since our doggie has kidney disease, I've been feeding him a special diet which includes roasted chicken and homemade low-sodium chicken stock (as for the latter, Greg rolls his eyes and mutters something about the spoiled rotten dog). So, on any given day, chances are there will be a roasted chicken in the fridge. Here's a great little curried chicken salad that adds a bit of Bollywood magic to leftovers.

I didn't really measure when making this, so the amounts are rough approximations.

Nutty Fruity Curried Chicken Salad 

• About 8 oz. of roasted chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• About 15 red seedless grapes, quartered (or halved if small)
• One Granny Smith apple, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• Two stalks of celery, peeled with a veggie peeler (to remove the stringy bits), sliced in half lengthwise and then chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
• About 1/3 cup of sliced or blanched almonds, lightly toasted in the oven or in a dry fry pan over low heat (you'll know they are toasted when they become fragrant)
• About 1/4 to 1/3 cup of light mayo, plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream
• About 1 Tbsp. of your favorite curry powder 
• About 1/2 tsp. of turmeric
• About 1/8 tsp. of cayenne pepper
• A few grinds of the pepper mill
• A few pinches of kosher salt
• About 1 Tbsp. of parsley, chopped
• About 3 chives, snipped with kitchen scissors (optional)

Mix the first five ingredients in a bowl. Put in a few tablespoons of your 'binder' (mayo/yogurt/sour cream) and gently mix. Add more if needed (remember that the salt brings out moisture in the ingredients, so you don't want to overdo it). Add the spices and herbs, stick in the fridge for an hour and let the flavors sit. Remove from fridge and adjust any of the ingredients to taste. 

Enjoy in pitas, on top of a bed of lettuce, on top of Wasa crispbread - use your imagination!

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And to top it all off...

Greg digs pizza night. Ok - 'adores' is a more accurate verb. For me, the game is finding stuff in the fridge and pantry to use as toppings. In fact, the decision to have pizza is often contingent upon the discovery of said potential toppings. 

Here's a pic of a recent pizza, and I'd like to share the toppings with you because this worked really well.

 

On this pizza:

• chopped tomatoes (soaked for a bit with salt, pepper and basil)
• peeled and thinly sliced asparagus (peeling it is key)
• paper thin onion slices
• sliced black olives
• zucchini 
• mushrooms
• turkey pepperoni
• mozzarella 
• Gouda
• Parmesan 
• red pepper flakes

And of course for me, a drizzle of truffle oil.

I always keep ingredients on hand to make the pizza sauce (tomato paste, Italian seasonings, garlic and onion powder, bay leaf, salt, pepper, sugar and water) and just do a store-bought crust. I discovered that putting the chopped tomatoes on the pizza after the sauce and before the cheese makes the pizza even nicer. 

When the fridge and pantry don't look so promising, I'll resort to frozen spinach or other frozen or canned veggies for toppings. I even eyed a can of water chestnuts recently until Greg made a small gagging noise. I wisely put it back. It should still be usable when I re-discover it two years from now. 

Do you put weird things on pizza? What unusual toppings do you like?

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Waiter, there's a turkey in my soup ...

Many of us have that leftover turkey in the fridge. And while 82% of us promise to make soup out of the remains of the bird, probably only 23% of us actually carry out this plan.

Here's a secret from a foodie: I never cooked a turkey myself until this year. Yep, with all the cooking I do, you'd think I'd be expert in the art of the bird, but no. I'm conditioned by the squeaky, snapping noise created from opening the package of neatly trimmed chicken breasts, arranged in a row like soldiers.

You can probably make this soup with what's already in your kitchen. I did, and I'm happy I tried it! This recipe is a slight adaptation of one from Michael Chiarello (you'll find many similar ones):

Lovely Leftover Turkey Soup

Ingredients

• 2 quarts chicken broth (or enough to cover turkey in pot)
• 1 turkey carcass (pull off the meat and cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 2 medium onions
• 3 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed 
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves (or about 1/2 t. Bell's seasoning)
• 2 or 3 cups turkey meat in bite-sized pieces (both light and dark are fine)
• 3 to 4 ounces of wild rice (uncooked)

To make it:

1. Put turkey, chicken broth, 1 onion (quartered), 1 carrot (cut into about 4 pieces), 1 celery stalk (cut into about 4 pieces), and 1 bay leaf in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 1 1/2 hours. 

2. Remove all the turkey bones and big chunks of veggies from the pot. Now, strain what's in there over a big sieve set on top of a big bowl. Chuck out the contents of the sieve. Notice the rich smell and nice color.  

3. Wipe out the stock pot with a paper towel. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat,  then add the garlic cloves, 1 onion (diced), 1 carrot (diced), and 1 stalk celery (diced). Sweat until softened (7 or 8 minutes).

4. Add sage or Bell's seasoning, 1 bay leaf, parsley, turkey meat and that yummy broth. Stir in wild rice, and simmer for about an hour (wild rice takes a while to cook through).
5. Revel in the praise you'll get for your awesome re-purposed leftovers. 

Makes a whole lot of servings - enough for freezing.

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