Egg Foo Young Pie

Okay, you are going to LOVE this! You know how the best part of Thanksgiving is the sandwich the day after? Well, THIS dish is the best part of having Chinese take-outs! I came up with the idea from a dish I used to love as a child called Egg Foo Young - similar but changed up a bit, this has many, many possibilities.

This recipe works with any combo of Chinese food leftovers you have. Just make sure if any of the leftovers contain a lot of sauce, you'll want to remove the meat/veggies from that particular dish before adding it in with the filling ingredients for this pie. Tonight the leftovers I had on hand to work with were crispy honey glazed chicken, sweet and sour chicken, two egg rolls and about a cup of fried rice, plus another cup of white rice.

Here are the instructions for this amazing dish that I promise, once you make it - you'll be sure to order extra Chinese every time to insure leftovers so that you can make this Egg Foo Pie again and again.

EGG FOO YOUNG PIE
Leftover Filling:
1 refrigerated pie crust
3 cups leftover Chinese food, chopped
1 cup white rice
Custard filling:
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 cup milk
1 T. flour
1 T. soy sauce
 Gravy:
2 tablespoons Sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons Sweet & sour sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup cold milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package Hollendaise sauce mix, highly recommend Knorr brand!
Topping:
Crunchy chow mein noodles
2 - 3 green onions, sliced on a diagonal

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Gently lay out refrigerated pie crust dough into a pie plate. No need to flute edges, as we will fold them over the filling in a rustic stil after the filling has been added.

Empty Chinese leftovers onto cutting board, again, make sure if any of the leftovers contain a lot of liquid, such as a sweet & sour sauce, to remove the meat/vegetables from the sauce and discard the sauce. Chop all of the leftovers together into small bite-size pieces, approximately 1" chunks. Put the leftovers into a microwave safe bowl and heat just until warmed through.

Pour the warm leftovers into the pie crust and spread out evenly across bottom of pie. Crumble the white rice evenly over the top of the leftover filling. Top with the grated cheese.

In medium-size bowl whisk together 3 eggs, 1 yolk, 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Pour egg mixture evenly over filling ingredients.

Gently fold back pie crust edges up over filling. Pinch together any folds in the dough as you go, for a rustic edge.

Bake for 55 minutes or until top of pie is golden and eggs have set.

Check the crust about 30 minutes into the baking, if edges are already golden, cover with pie ring or foil trim to protect so the crust does not burn before the eggs have set.

Gravy:  In a small saucepan whisk together 1 cup cold milk with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 2 tablespoons each; Sweet chili sauce, Hoisin sauce and Sweet & sour sauce, add in Hollendaise sauce mix and whisk until smooth. Add 1/4 cup melted butter and whisk sauce over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

Pour gravy over slices of Egg Foo Pie. Top with crunchy chow mein noodles and chopped green onion. Because you'll have different leftovers each time, depending on what you order - you will have fun playing with the different combos.

'Confucious say:  Man with one chopstick go hungry'
(You'll want to show up for this meal with a fork in each hand!)

Another Successful Recipe Renovation! Sloppy Joe leftovers into Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie
2 cups leftover sloppy joe filling
1, 8.5 ounce package Corn Muffin Mix (I prefer Jiffy brand)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1, 15.25 ounce can corn, drained - divided
1 teaspoon Taco Seasoning - divided
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 dozen black olives, quartered
1/2 cup pre-shredded Mexican blend  cheese

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
In small bowl whisk together egg, 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning, and melted butter - add corn muffin mix and stir together, adding 1/2 can of drained corn kernels. Mix until combined and set aside.

In medium bowl combine leftover sloppy joe filling with quartered olives, 1/2 can corn kernels, 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning, ground cumin - stir to combine. Place filling in bottom of small casserole dish.

Pour muffin mixture atop meat filling. Using back of spoon, smooth out mix, mounding slightly towards outer edge of casserole. Muffins tend to dome as they cook - to compensate, keep the center of the mix thinner in the center so it will raise evenly. 
Bake for 30 minutes or until center of corn muffin top is cooked all the way through (test with a toothpick).

Remove from oven, cover with shredded cheese and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until cheese is nicely golden. Let set for approximately 5 minutes before serving. I promise, no one will recognize that this dish was once Sloppy Joe's.

OMG! - This original newbie got snatched up so quickly, I couldn't even get a picture!!! Meet my newest invention...

When a food disappears as soon as you set it out, that is a very, very good sign. Tonight I invented ...wait for it...PIZZA FRIES!

I kid you not - I didn't even get a chance to grab the camera on this one. You won't believe how simple these are to make. And the best part is (besides the taste) ...they are made from LEFTOVER pizza!
Here is what I did:

Pizza Fries
Ingredients:   
Leftover pizza (any style)
Pre-shredded cheese blend
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On cutting board, cut cold pizza into the shape of a French fry - in approximately 2 & 1/2" x 3/4" strips.
Place willy-nilly in a single layer onto parchment covered backing sheet.
Cover modestly with shredded cheese - don't be afraid to let the cheese fall where it may - one of the best things about these pizza fries is the crunchy cheese that melts under and beside the "fries" and crisps up to make this beautiful texture that literally makes these pizza fries irresistable.
Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes until fries are golden brown and cheese has toasted up nicely on top as well as inbetween the fries.
Next time I make these - I will have to do so in secret so I can post a photo. Enjoy! I know you will!

More stretching techniques...

Working with leftovers can be challenging. First of all, if you're like me, you don't look forward to eating the same meal two nights in a row. Secondly, there is often a smidgeon of food left - you hate to throw it out but there's not quite enough for another meal. This is where creativity comes in handy.

For today's dinner I had 1 cup of leftover taco-seasoned shredded beef and 1/4 of an avocado that needed using. (We had taco salads the night before).  So I nuked the shredded beef until it was heated through and stirred in approximately 1 cup pre-shredded Mexican blend cheese. Spread this mixture over one side each of two spinach-flour tortilla wraps - rolled them up,  individually, and heated them in my paninin press until just slightly browned.

I smashed up the leftover quarter of avocado with a pinch of salt and added 1/2 cup sour cream - stirring together until smooth.

Piled some shredded lettuce in the center of the plate. Topped that with the cooked wraps, which I had cut each into thirds. Added a few leftover salad veggies - topped it off with my avocado-sour cream dressing and we had a beautiful dinner that in no way resembled leftovers.

I so love to play with my food!

Stretch Your Pasta

Last night we had pasta. It was one of those meals where it is the day before I do my grocery shopping so I make what I call "Garbage Pail Pasta" from whatever leftovers are in the fridge. I call it garbage pail pasta because if it doesn't go in the pasta, it will end up in the garbage pail. Not to mean that we're eating rubbish...just veggies that may be on their last leg (if they had legs). Don't let the name fool you, some of our best pasta meals have been a Garbage Pail Pasta. Last night our larder brought forth spinach, red onion, yellow pepper, zucchini and a bit of goat cheese as well as some Asiago cheese.  I melted the cheeses together with a cup of fat-free half-n-half, plus a half of a jar of marinara for the pasta sauce. 

It was quite good so there wasn't much left. Too much to throw out but not enough for another meal. I tucked it into a zip-loc baggy for lunch the next day...only I never got to it...In fact I got back from the grocery store so late I decided to use the leftover pasta for our dinner. To stretch it out, I added to it a bag of microwavable cauliflour (microwaved on high for 3 minutes), as well as one can of cheddar cheese soup, plus the other half of the jar of marinara sauce I didn't use last night. Stirred it all together and put it into a casserole dish - topped it with a few slices of smoked gouda and baked it at 350-degrees for 25 minutes.

Tip:  Adding cooked cauliflour and a can of cheddar soup to a leftover pasta dish works beautifully - especially for odd shaped pastas (kind of noticible in spaghetti dishes). The cauliflour makes a great "mock pasta" and it lightens up the dish without drastically changing the flavor. Adding the can of undiluted cheddar soup stretches out the sauce and the cheddar flavor compliments most any sauce you add it to. This little trick doubles the amount of food you have on hand. It's a nice trick to have up your sleeve if extra people pop-in on a leftover pasta night.

Teriyaki Chicken Turned Asian Fusion Pizza

Teriyaki Chicken

4 cups Yoshida Teriyaki Marinade
6 pieces raw chicken, bone-in, skin on (I used breasts and thighs)

Place chicken and marinade in re-sealable bag and refrigerate overnight and all day the next day.

1 1/2 to 2 hours prior to dinner remove chicken from the fridge and bring to room temp (approximately 30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Drain marinade off chicken and place meat in roasting pan that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake chicken for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from the oven and place on medium-high grill. Bake 5 minutes or until meat has seared and releases easily from the grill. Turn chicken over and bake another 5 minutes. Remove from grill and cover with foil until ready to serve.

I served the chicken with steamed broccoli and made a "faux Asian noodle" side dish using a spaghetti squash, grated carrots, chopped spring onion and a dressing of soy, sherry, sesame oil, and hot chili oil (served warm).

Re-inventing leftovers, I came up with this incredible blend for a pizza. Enjoy!
(We sure did!)

Asian-Infused Pizza
1 batch pizza dough
2 cups leftover Teriyaki chicken shredded
1/4 cup bottled Hoisin sauce
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup julienned red onion
1/3 cup julienned green pepper (capsicum)
1 roasted pineapple (instructions below)
1/2 cup cashews, shelled and roughly chopped
2 cups Gouda cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Lightly oil baking sheet or pizza pan. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons corn meal over oil. Shape pizza dough onto pan and lightly coat with oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and put toppings on in the following order:  Hoisin sauce, shredded Teriyaki chicken, shredded carrots, julienned red onion, julienned green pepper and top with 1/4 inch thick slices of pineapple, chopped cashews and lastly the Gouda cheese. Return to oven and bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until dough is cooked through and cheese is slightly golden. Serves 4 (Unless one of the four is my husband - he practically ate the whole pizza himself!)

Instructions for Roasting a Pineapple: Slice both top and bottom off of pineapple. Remove skin by standing the pineapple up on the counter and running your chef's knife down the sides of the fruit. Then cut the pineapple in quarters, lengthwise and remove the center core from each piece. Toss fruit in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Bake in oiled roasting dish at 350-degrees F. for 230 minutes.  Once fruit has cooled to room temp, slice as needed for whatever dish you are using it for...don't let it sit out too long - roasted pineapple has a tendency to disappear as quickly as candy when left out!

Sunday Night Garbage Pail Pasta

Once a week I make a “Garbage Pail Pasta” - the idea being to use up any leftovers that may be lurking in the fridge while disguising them so that I don’t recognize I am eating leftovers. Not a big fan of leftovers (unless they involve pizza, pasta or meatloaf). However, I am also not a fan of waste - Garbage Pail Pasta has become a fun solution!

This week there were no leftover meats to contend with – so I defrosted some pre-cooked hot-link sausages and made use of whatever fresh ingredients I had on hand.

Although the name "Garbage Pail Pasta" does not invoke mouth watering images - this conglomerate of ingredients often turns out to be amazingly memorable and my husband and I have come to look forward to this weekly tradition. Occasionally we’ll come across a combo of ingredients that must be recorded in my cache of recipes and tonight’s pasta is one of those rare beauties – simple, tasty and a hit on the Oo-Mm-Ah meter – which is my barometer for a culinary success.

Let me explain – you set out the meal and the response is "Oo” – which equals an impressive presentation. Then during the meal you hear “Mm’s” all around the table – which equals delicious eats. And last, but not least the “Ah’s” emitted after everyone has had their fill indicates total satisfaction was achieved. Oo’s-Mm’s and Ah’s = A perfect meal!


Today's Garbage-Pail Pasta:
1/2 red capsicum, sliced into 1" cubes
1/2 yellow capsicum, sliced into 1" cubes
1/3 large red onion, sliced into 1" cubes
1/3 cup pesto sauce
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
4, pre-cooked, hot-link sausages (approx. 16 oz.), sliced
   diagonally into ¼ inch coins
1/2 cup Parmesano Reggiano cheese, grated
16 oz. dried pasta noodle of choice, for this dish I used Penne
1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon
Salt and pepper to taste

Set Panini press to high-grill. In medium bowl toss red pepper, orange pepper, yellow pepper, and red onion with ¼ cup olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place vegetables in single layer on preheated Panini press. Cook in batches for approximately 2 minutes at a time or until caramelized and striped.

Meanwhile bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and dried pasta. Cook per package instructions until past is al dente. Strain and place in large bowl. Toss hot pasta with pesto sauce and Kalamata olives - set aside.

Once veggies are grilled add to pasta and grill sausage 'coins' until done – again, approximately 2 minutes per batch or until caramelized stripes appear.

Toss meat and vegetables in with the pasta. Add cheese and toss again until well blended.

Bon appétit!