It seems that with the economy down and continuing to slide further, many people are jumping on the frugal bandwagon. I’ve seen many articles lately about people saddled with credit card debt who turn to frugality to eliminate their debt and stay debt free. Even folks without a ton of debt are turning to frugality to live a better life for less. It seems chileheads are no different.
I just received the Nov 2008 issue of Chile Pepper magazine (yes, I actually do get a magazine called Chile Pepper) and found an article called “Embracing What’s Left” that has recipes for using left overs to make some spicy dishes. I’ve been getting Chile Pepper magazine for many years and this is the first such article I can remember.
The recipes included are pretty straight forward but have some good ideas for different ways to use up left overs. Here is a summary of the recipes:
- Hot and Sweet Asian Leftover Salad – A hot, sweet, sour and salty dressing over leftover turkey, chicken or ham with shredded cabbage, glass noodles and vegetables.
- Leftover Stuffing Hash – This is more like a stuffing frittata with onions, bell peppers, leftover turkey and stuffing sauteed and then mixed with eggs and cream and finished under the broiler.
- Wild Rice and Leftover Salad – Wild rice and left over turkey with dried cherries, pecans, chiles and vegetables drizzled with a dressing of cranberry sauce, dijon mustard, champagne vinegar and olive oil.
- Leftover Pot Pie – Just like it sounds using a prepared pie crust. Personally, I’d make the crust myself.
- Leftover Mish Mosh – Pureed cooked brussels sprouts and root vegetables with an egg as binder started in a skillet and then transferred to the oven.
The specifics of the recipes aren’t that important. Take the ideas and make your own variations on these using ingredients you already have that you know your family likes.
