Sometimes I hear someone mention that they don't keep leftovers, or they don't eat them, or their husband doesn't eat them; I am always shocked and can't help but wonder why. Leftovers turn into the next day's lunches in our house, unless I freeze them and then they contribute to different meals later on. I find it is so convenient having prepared ingredients on hand; the only downside is having a freezer full of plastic containers.
I cooked this for dinner last week, and apart from the baked chicken thighs it was made almost entirely of leftovers. I thought I'd break it down for you to show just how useful those leftovers are!
Steamed Wontons
- Wonton wrappers (not leftover, bought on sale)
- 1 roast chicken breast previously marinated in Portuguese spices and frozen. Leftovers!
- about a cup of steamed Chinese broccoli from the night before. Leftovers!
- 2 finely chopped green onions
- a teaspoon of minced ginger
- a splash of soy sauce
- Chicken stock (from powder is OK)
- sesame oil
Defrost the chicken! Place the filling ingredients (chicken, broccoli, green onion, ginger, soy) into a food processor, pulse till well blended. Fill wonton wrappers using water as glue. When ready to cook, put a splash of olive oil in a large fry pan, place as many wontons as you can fit without crowding too much, and turn the heat on for a few minutes. Pour half a cup of chicken stock on and put the lid on for about 3 minutes, remove cooked wontons and sprinkle with sesame oil. I don't have a steamer so I used the same method of cooking as I use for pot stickers, without letting them fry too long.
Chickentastic Fried Rice
- 2 cups of cooked basmati rice. Leftovers!
- 1 cup of riced raw cauliflower. Leftovers!
- 1 cup of frozen garlic prawns. leftovers!
- The other breast of Portuguese chicken. Leftovers!
- The other cup of steamed Chinese broccoli. Leftovers!
- 1 cup of steamed vegetables. Leftovers!
- 1 chopped red onion
- 3 rashers of bacon
- 1 tin of baby corn.
- a glug of kecup manis, or whatever you like to season your fried rice with.
Defrost everything that needs defrosting. Fry off the bacon and onion in a wok, add the rice and cauliflower and stir until heated through. Add in the rest of the ingredients and the kecap manis, and continue stirring until everything is hot. I like to squeeze some lime juice over this and serve chili separately at the table.
Baked Chicken Thighs
- Chicken thigh fillets
- soy sauce
- olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of minced ginger
Place the chicken in an oven dish, combine the soy, oil and ginger, pour over the chicken. Cook until done. This didn't use any leftovers but I did manage to freeze some for a later day!
I quite often cook extra of something for the freezer, without knowing how it will be used. My freezer is full of containers of stock, soup, meat with and without sauces, pasta, rice, various cooked and raw vegetables, croutons, bread, bananas; the list goes on. At the moment there is a packet of leftover cinnamon walnut sugar from this recipe, as well as some squid ink destined for home made pasta.
Do you cook with leftovers? Tell me your tales of leftover cookery, I am always after some new inspiration!
xx