Taco Pizza: An Effective Use of Leftovers

If you're anything like me, you probably have tons of leftovers when you make taco salad. I always end up making endless burritos with it at best and throwing it away at worst. I ended up thinking, since Will's in Argentina, why not cook something utilizing everything that went into the taco salad and put it on a pizza? It will help extend the amount of time between grocery store trips and save me from wastage.

First, make or buy your favorite pizza dough and roll it out onto a stone. Spread any refried beans onto the raw dough; if you don't have any refried beans left over, use some leftover taco sauce or salsa instead. Next, top the pizza with the leftovers from your pizza; I used leftover ground beef, fresh tomatoes, dried chipotle flakes, and grated sharp Cheddar cheese, but I'm sure anything from avocado to shredded chicken will taste great on this.

Next, put the stone with the pizza on it into a heated 350 degree oven and bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Serve with a salad.

It was pretty good, but I think I added too many chipotle flakes. Next time, I think I'll add some queso fresco or cotija in addition to the Cheddar to help amp up the flavor profile.

Ham Broccoli Cheese Bake: Easy, But Needs Work

As I said before, I had a lot of smoked ham left over from making the tourte Milanese. I figured I would make a casserole. I couldn't get it to mesh well, but at least I stepped out of my comfort zone, right?
Combine about two cups of cubed smoked ham, a pound of frozen broccoli and cauliflower, about two and a half cups cooked rice, tarragon and seasoned salt to taste, and about a quarter cup cheddar cheese. Mix all this together, top with cheddar and colby jack cheeses, and bake in a 350 degree oven until it's hot, the cheese is melting, and the casserole is bubbly.
Will and I liked it, but because it didn't have something to make it glue together, it was really hard to cut into and get a serving. The next time I do this, I will have to remember to get some cream of mushroom soup to add to the casserole and help it gel better.

Ham and Cheddar Panini: Delicious and Easy

As I mentioned, I have a lot of smoked ham left over from when I made tourte Milanese. I decided that, in order to use both it and the squash soup I had left over, I would make panini.
As always, butter one side of each slice of your bread. To make sure the panini sticks together, put one slice of cheddar cheese on each half of your bread. Put your meat in between the cheese slices. Grill your panini, pressing down to ensure it sticks together. Once the cheese is melted and the bread's  a nice golden brown, it's ready.
This was a nice, easy dish, especially since I had something of a rousing day at school yesterday. The soup lost some of its flavor because it had frozen and my husband added too much milk in order to reconstitute it, but other than that, we had a good meal for a busy day.

Butternut Squash Soup: Tasty and Warming

As I mentioned before, I had a lot of leftover squash, so I decided to make a butternut squash and apple soup. This was really quick and easy, but super tasty and warming.
First, cube about five cups of butternut squash and three cubed apples; put them in a pan with just enough water to cover them. Boil these until tender and then blend it until smooth.
Add a quarter cup each of stock and cream, a teaspoon of thyme, a quarter teaspoon of sage, a quarter teaspoon of cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.
Will loved this; he said it ranks up there with my cream of tomato soup. I loved this, and it was a perfect way to deal with the cold snap we've been experiencing.

Mashed Potato and Sauerkraut Soup: Better Than Last Time

We had some of those amazing mashed potatoes Will made last week and about a pound and a half of Bohemian sauerkraut that I froze. This time, I think it was a drastic improvement on the last time I made it.
You make it just like I detailed in my last potato soup recipe, only this time it's four cups of milk and one cup of cream. I also added caraway seeds for a little extra kick.
Will loved it; it was much more filling than usual and had better flavor than the last time I made it. He actually had two fillings of it!

Enchilada Soup: Easy, Fast, and Fun

I had some leftover chicken from making enchiladas (don't worry; they wound up getting frozen) and I decided to make some enchilada soup. This is pretty easy to make and a solid staple in my house.
First, put your stock in a saucepan and add your chicken; season this mixture to taste. Because I made enchiladas verdes, I only used cumin, garlic powder, and a touch of chili powder. Once that starts to heat up, add some green chilies; we like our Mexican food hot, so I use a lot of it. Once your soup is boiling, add some chopped tomatoes; usually I add canned, but since I didn't have any, I used fresh. Once the tomatoes are wilted and the soup is seasoned to taste, serve it. I personally garnish my soup with a dollop of sour cream and some grated cheeses, but Will goes more for tortilla chips; get creative with this part.
Will loved the smell that filled our house and liked the flavor of the soup even more.

Mashed Potatoes With Beans and Franks: Played Around With It and Perfected It

Will bought hot dogs so we could use the buns left over from the meatball sandwiches, but they came in ten packs, so he cooked five one night and there were five left over. I decided that, since I had all the supplies for the hot dog bake I made earlier in the month and Will complained about the meat content in that recipe, I would try making it with five hot dogs instead of four.
Again, if you go to my previous post, just do the same thing I did before, but with five hot dogs instead of four.
Will liked this much better, and so did I; it was definitely more filling this way.

Meatball Subs: An Effective Way of Using Leftovers

I always wind up with a ton of leftover sauce and meatballs whenever I make spaghetti, so generally all I need to do is buy or bake some hot dog buns and maybe some mozzarella or provolone cheeses and I have a meal ready to go.
All you need to do is heat the desired amount of spaghetti sauce until it's good and hot. Then add your meatballs and, once they're also hot, serve. Make sure to get a nice thick sort of hot dog bun; the cheapest ones get really soggy and can be tough to handle as a result, so your money will be well spent. If you have a grocery store that bakes bread fresh, you have a good chance of finding proper buns. As for the cheese, since it's not the centerpiece of the meal, you don't need to shell out extra money for the best; something middle of the road or even on the cheap end will do.
Will and I loved this version; we usually use fairly cheap hot dog buns that are gummy and get so soggy that you have to eat your meatball sub with a fork and knife, so we were in for quite a surprise when the buns we got actually held up enough to pick up and eat.