Tasty Tostacos

Tostaco: part tostada, part taco ... :) I've gotta say, these made an excellent quick lunch today.

This is the first Saturday I've had free in weeks. So many weeks, in fact, that I still had my alarm set, forgetting that I wouldn't need it. So I got up early, and I started puttering around the house.

Unfortunately Craig has the flu and has spent the past two days napping, so I'm trying to be quiet. Thankfully, though, he's not a typical male patient - it's hard to whine when you're buried under a quilt, comatose from meds. He wouldn't whine anyway, though. All he wants, when he's conscious, is tea and to feel better.

After getting some chores and some baking done, I realized I'd only eaten a very small treat with my coffee early in the morning; but suddenly, it was almost 1 o'clock! It was time "for a little smackerel of something," as Winnie-the-Pooh would say.

I had some corn tortillas staring at me, a smidgen of leftover guacamole, some tomatoes that needed to get used up, and maybe a tablespoon of shredded cheese loitering in a large bag ... you know how it goes here!

Sautéed some corn in a bit of oil 'til it was golden, added onion and the tomatoes 'til they softened. A sprinkling of chili powder, a pinch of salt. Toast up the tortillas, mix together the scraps and tidbits into a sauce, and then put it all together. Amazingly good!

Tostacos

1 tablespoon oil
1/3 cup corn kernels (frozen is fine, even if they're still frozen)
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped tomato
Pinch of kosher salt
Sprinkling to taste of ancho chili powder
2 tablespoons chipotle salsa
3 corn tortillas
Dollop of guacamole
Dollop of sour cream
2 tablespoons shredded Colby Jack cheese

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook until golden. Add onion, tomato, salt, and chili powder; cook until vegetables are soft, stirring frequently. Add salsa, then remove from heat and set aside.

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the tortillas into the skillet and heat for 2 minutes or so per side, until lightly toasted.

Stir together guacamole, sour cream, and cheese; spread over the tops of the tortillas. Divide the corn mixture among the tortillas, then serve. Eat them flat like a tostada or fold them up like a taco - the choice is yours.

Yield: 3 tortillas

Recipe Ready Turkey Vegetable Curry and a Giveaway Reminder

You may still be staring down some Thanksgiving leftover stragglers. If not, then in a few weeks you'll have a rematch with the leftovers from your Christmas feast. But if any of this involves turkey and sweet potatoes, I've got a quick, easy solution for you!

I had a lot of turkey left after the holiday, 'cause I always roast the biggest one I can find - a 20-pounder, in this case. The oven's on anyway, so why not make a lot of food to feed loved ones, to nibble on for a couple of days, and to freeze? I also made some fabulous mashed sweet potatoes, which I think were my favorite part of the meal.

But as much as I love turkey sandwiches the day after the holiday - some good white bread, a schmear of mayonnaise, some crisp lettuce, and a thick slab of meat - we all know how low my boredom quotient is; it's virtually non-existent. And so, I seek to move beyond the sandwich, no matter how classic it may be.

I took some onion, some Indian spices, a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat, and some of the dark meat that's better suited to cooking than to placing between bread slices. Then I stirred in some leftover yams and - for beautiful, bright color and a boost of nutrition - some of the Bird's Eye Recipe Ready vegetables I'd been given a coupon for, so that I could try them. A splash of coconut milk to enrich it all, and I had a dinner that took maybe 20 minutes to cook but which offered enticing aromatherapy and a vibrantly flavorful dish with an underlying note of sweetness. If I may say so myself, it was stellar!

By the way, while we're talkin' 'bout food: have you entered my giveaway to win a $75 gift card from Whole Foods? If yes, then that's excellent - good luck! If not, why not??? This is free shopping money for holiday gifts and feasting - what's not to love? Click here and enter now!


Turkey Vegetable Curry

2 tablespoons oil
generous pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder
generous pinch of kosher salt
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups chopped turkey, dark meat preferred
1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup Bird's Eye Primavera Blend Recipe Ready vegetables
1/2 cup coconut milk
rice, for serving

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add red pepper flakes, cumin seeds, curry powder, and salt; cook for 1 minute. Add onion and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften. Add turkey and cook 2-3 minutes.

Stir in sweet potatoes and vegetables; stir in coconut milk. Cook 2-3 minutes, until sauce is thickened and mixture is heated through. Serve hot, over rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

I hadn't eaten Sloppy Joes for ages, until very recently. Remarkably, there was a bit of the filling left over - how'd that happen? That never happens!

But this time, it did.

Sure, I could've made one more of the same ol' same ol' ... but why? Why not spiff it up a bit, make it extra ooey, gooey, messy, and delicious?

And thus, the Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joe Sandwich!


Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joe Sandwich

2 slices sourdough bread
schmear of brown mustard, to taste
very thin slices of red onion, to taste
2 slices Pepper Jack cheese
2/3 cup leftover Sloppy Joe beef

Schmear butter on outsides of bread; lay butter-side down onto a plate. Schmear insides of bread with mustard, and top with cheese and onion.

Spread beef onto one piece of bread, then carefully top with the other piece to make the sandwich.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and grill the sandwich for several minutes per side until the outside is golden and the cheese has melted.

Makes 1 large sandwich.

The Next Best Thing to a Free Lunch

I think we all know I'm a frugal girl.

That's not the same as cheap - I expect some value for my expenditures. I'm not just trying to save money, I'm also trying not to waste it. I shop sales, and am the Queen of the Thrift Stores. I also love Manager's Specials - deals at the grocery store when foods are near their expiration date, so that they're being pushed off the shelves at half-price or less. There's nothing wrong with the food, it's just that new stuff is moving in to take its place if the old stuff will go away to make some room. I'm happy to help, and do a little tour of the store each time I'm there - I'm on a mission to look for the prized orange stickers indicating reduced prices.

So, needless to say, I'm also a fan of leftovers. Sometimes I'll eat them "as is," and sometimes I'll re-purpose them. Jeremy and I watched an episode of "Chopped" recently in which the entire show was devoted to leftovers; most of the chefs groused and whined, whereas I was in my glory coming up with ideas!

When I happened to have a number of items to combine into one stellar meal recently, I made myself a lovely lunch to take to work.

Having enjoyed a fabulous Indian meal from Curry Up, I had extra sambhar sauce that had been served with lentil dumplings. Having also eaten a great Chinese meal from the Evergreen Restaurant, there was plenty of rice waiting for a new lease on life.

I also had a small carton of coconut water that my friend Deborah had given to me. She remembers having visited her grandfather in Puerto Rico when she was young, and his having cracked open a coconut for her to drink from; the fresh beverage was amazing! So when she found coconut water for sale at the market, she instinctively bought some ... too bad. She said herself that she didn't know what she was expecting or thinking, but this stuff was not even remotely close to what she remembered. So she gave it to me, confident that I could find some use for it. I'm still contemplating a really noble purpose that lets it shine; but in the meantime, it definitely served me here.

And the final piece to my ridiculously inexpensive dish was a can of chickpeas that I'd bought on sale for less than $1.

Who would have thought such a mishmash of items would make such a fabulous, nutritious lunch to bring with me one cold day when hot food was very much appreciated???

Curried Chickpeas with Spinach

• 1 cup leftover Sambhar sauce (or use a jarred curry sauce)
• generous pinch of red pepper flakes
• generous pinch of kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• leftover rice from a Chinese dinner, reheated for serving

Place the sauce, red pepper flakes, salt, curry powder, chickpeas, and coconut water into a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in spinach just until wilted. Serve over rice.

Makes 2 servings.

Hodgson Mill Giveaway!!!

You'll have to go on a bit of an adventure if you want to find my recipe for Asian-Style Lettuce Wraps, which is a great way to use up turkey leftovers after the Thanksgiving feast: it's on AnnArbor.com's Food & Grocery page.

I write for AnnArbor.com Monday-Friday, and have been crossposting from ye olde blog in recent months due to a lack of time. But I'm trying to vary the routine a bit, so that you have reasons to check out both offerings! So one site has a recipe today (and lots of other fabulous goodies, too!), while the other - this one! - has a giveaway.



I'm participating in a food bloggers' baking contest, and one of the rules states that contestants should host a giveaway. And it's a giveaway for a fabulous prize from a great company! I'm proud to offer this opportunity today to U.S. residents (the company's restriction - sorry foreign friends!).

Hodgson Mill - "a family owned company with more than 125 years' experience producing delicious stone ground, whole grain and organic foods ... with no artificial preservatives, additives or colorings" - is offering a $25 gift certificate to its online store for the lucky winner!!! You can choose anything from flours to pastas to gluten-free items to mixes ... it's up to you.

Entry into the fray is easy, trust me. You don't need to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, though of course you're always happily welcomed there ... :) I'd like it if you followed me here but, truth be told, I don't have time to check up on that.

So here 'tis: all you have to do is leave a comment below saying that you'd like to win, and make sure I can reach you by email to let you know if you've won. That's all! Oh, and only one entry per person even if you leave more than one comment; the first one will be the one that counts. It's easier and more fair that way.

I'd have the grandpuppy pick a number from all the valid entries, but he'd probably eat it. So I'll use Random.org to pick the winner. I'm too cheap, though, to pay $4.95 or whatever the fee was to earn entitlement to the winner widget. (I glanced over the seemingly endless terms, so I'm not 100% sure of it all.) You'll just have to trust me when I announce who wins, rather than my being able to post the box that shows the winning number. I hope you all know me well enough to know I'll play nice! And I work at a religious institution, so have no fear - God knows where to find me if I don't do this fairly.

The deadline is Sunday, November 27 at 8:00 a.m. EST. If I notify you of winning, you'll have 24 hours from when I send my email to acknowledge it; if you ignore me, I'll move on down the road to the next in line.

When you leave your comment, you could also tell me whether you're serving "stuffing" or "dressing" at your Thanksgiving feast, as well as how loaded it is or whether you like simpler versions, but that's not at all required for admission to the party. I just like to talk about food and to learn what people's preferences are! And I'm always fascinated by regional language quirks, so I'm intrigued by the terminology.

I'll start the conversation: I make a simple stuffing that's half-cornbread, with pecans and dried cranberries stirred in. It's baked in the turkey, which is why it's "stuffing" at my house - stuffed into the beast - rather than "dressing." My recipe won a prize several years ago in a Rachael Ray contest; if you're interested, it can be found here. (It's my recipe, by the way, even though my name doesn't appear to be found anywhere.)

Good luck to everyone!!! And have a lovely holiday!




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Lenten Friday: Asparagus Bread Pudding with Mushroom Gravy

I love bread pudding, and make some -- if I may say so myself! -- pretty exceptional (and prize-winning) dessert versions, loaded with varieties of chocolate chips and with flavored cocoa mixes added to the custard.

But I was in the mood for a savory bread pudding recently, and also had some roasted asparagus to use up. Well, since bread pudding is a great way to repurpose excess/leftover bread, why not throw some excess/leftover vegetables into the mix, too???

And so, for dinner one night Tom and I took some whole wheat English muffins that had been staring out of my refrigerator for awhile, begging for a reason to justify their existence ... the lingering asparagi ... a small scrap of cheese that had been hanging around since St. Paddy's Day ... and we turned it all into a magnificent feast!

I also had a lot of half-and-half that had originally been intended for some other concoction -- I can't even remember what, anymore -- which never materialized. So it found its way into a gravy that was not only a perfect complement to the pudding, but which would also be exceptional with meatloaf, with chicken, over pasta ... sigh.

This is a quick, easy, and delicious meal whose beauty is completely and totally greater than the sum of its parts.

Roasted Asparagus Bread Pudding with Mushroom Gravy

Pudding:
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 whole wheat English muffins, halved and cut into 2" pieces
2/3 cup chopped roasted asparagus
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 9" glass pie pan.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, salt, pepper, milk, half-and-half and mustard. Add the English muffin pieces and soak for 10 minutes, stirring and pressing down occasionally so that the custard is absorbed a bit.



Stir in the asparagus, and place the mixture into the pie pan. Sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for 35 minutes until the pudding is browned and puffed up, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.



Gravy:
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 ounces mushroom, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons unbleached flour
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup half-and-half

While the pudding is in the oven, make the gravy. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, the mushrooms, the salt, lemon pepper and pepper flakes; cook for 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are softening, then add the remaining butter and cook until it melts.

Stir in the flour and coat everything with it. Combine the wine, milk and half-and-half; slowly pour over the mushroom mixture, stirring to incorporate the liquid with each pour, before adding the next increment. When the liquid has all been added, let the gravy come to a boil; then lower heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the bread pudding is ready.

Cut the bread pudding into 8 servings, and pour gravy over the top of each portion to serve.

Love My Leftovers!

There are people in this universe who don't like leftovers. They don't want to see the same food a second or, God forbid, a third time over. It doesn't matter if the food is transformed -- say, making hash out of roast beef and baked potatoes. They want a completely brand spankin' new meal each time.

I am not one of these people. I do not understand their little quirk.

Because I, for one, adore leftovers; I will even make extra quantities of food simply to insure that there are goodies awaiting me for breakfast, lunch or dinner the next day. Sometimes it's something that is merely reheated, and other times the primary ingredient is re-envisioned into something entirely different. But I think leftovers are a fabulous thing, and I put bunches of 'em to good use on Saturday.

For starters, I had leftover latkes 'cause I'd made a huge batch for the first night of Chanukkah. Tom and I each had a couple for dinner that evening, another couple for breakfast the next day, I brought two for my lunch at work on Friday ... and still, there were two just sitting patiently and hoping that someone would pay attention to them on Saturday morning. Well, who am I to make any poor little latke feel rejected??? Show those babies some love!

And let me tell ya -- a fried egg, just crispy at the edges but over easy so that the yolk is nice and runny, makes a mighty fine accompaniment to those curried latkes ... yes, indeedy. Served with Green Mountain coffee that was part of a most thoughtful and generous Chanukkah/holiday (or, rather, choliday -- with a good gutteral "ch" at the beginning???) gift package from a beloved friend, it was an exceptional start to my weekend.

Then I moved on to lunch, almost immediately afterwards. My brain is perpetually consumed with what I want to eat, what I'm going to make, what sounds good to try, what I've eaten and enjoyed. So it was only natural that, once breakfast was over, I started getting lunch ready! I had a busy morning planned; getting the meal prepared so that it only needed to be warmed up once I got home was simply careful planning on my part, rather than obsessive behavior.

I still had turkey and garlicky mashed potatoes left over from Thanksgiving; when there's only two adults in the household -- and no 19-year-old son devouring everything in sight anymore, since I moved in with Tom -- it takes awhile to use up the food! I also had a few peas in the freezer, 3 carrots, the last dribble of flour in a bag, half a lemon ... much of it found a home in my Shepherd's Pie.

Though, really, if it doesn't use lamb -- the animal that's actually shepherded -- then can it be called "Shepherd's" Pie ...? It's not Fisherman's Pie, 'cause there's no fish. Farmer's Pie, since turkeys and vegetables come from farms??? Let's just call it what it was: Individual Turkey 'n' Mashed Potato Casseroles. Make this and enjoy!

(Yes, I know that the photo above looks more like onion soup with cheese melted on top than it does a casserole! But trust me -- I can vouch for its true identity.)

Individual Turkey 'n' Mashed Potato Casseroles

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons unbleached flour
1-3/4 cups turkey stock
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dill
juice of 1/4 lemon
1/2 small onion, diced, sauteed
1 carrot, thinly sliced, cooked
3/4 cup cooked peas
1 cup chopped leftover turkey
1 egg
2 cups mashed potatoes
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 2-cup ramekins.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour in the stock very slowly, whisking constantly, until the flour mixture is smoothly incorporated and all the stock is in the saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the gravy is starting to thicken.

Add the salt, pepper, dill and lemon juice. Stir in the onion, carrot, peas and turkey. Divide the gravy among the ramekins.





Stir the egg into the mashed potatoes until the mixture is well combined. Spoon the potatoes over the turkey gravy, smoothing a bit; yes, some of the potatoes will start to sink -- that's okay.


Sprinkle the parmesan over the potatoes.

Place ramekins onto a baking sheet to catch any drips, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the potatoes are nicely golden brown and the gravy is bubbling.

Serves 2.

Lotsa Love for Leftovers

Tom and I were finally able to join our good friend (and Tom's former neighbor) Martha for dinner at her house; we'd been talking about it and planning it for ages, but health and holidays kept managing to intrude upon our scheduling. Vivian, another one of "the girls" from Tom's old neighborhood -- where Tom was virtually the only man surrounded by women! -- completed our quartet.

Despite it being a cold, dreary, rainy day, there was such warmth and fun at Martha's!!! We talked about art, about travel, about movies, about food. And oh, you wouldn't believe the generosity of the offerings -- if I had been in "blogger mode" rather than in "friend and hearty eater mode," I would have had to take a dozen pictures to show everything off.

Martha had grilled salmon and a vegetable assortment to perfection; there was a hint of charcoal aura and flavoring, but no singeing or blackening to be found on the fish or on the zucchini, peppers and Portabellos.

There were gluten-free breads that were reminiscent of English muffins and very good; I'd never had them before. There was salad, there were potatoes and yams, Vivian had brought braised escarole, there was tempeh, there were gluten-free date snickerdoodles for dessert ... the fruit salad Tom and I brought paled by comparison to the abundance surrounding it. I am still in awe of Martha's generosity of spirit in providing such an extraordinary feast and fabulously interesting and entertaining evening!

Before we left, Martha also gave us plates full of leftovers. Now, I happen to be a very big fan of leftovers -- whether I'm re-heating and re-serving or whether I'm transforming an ingredient, it doesn't matter. Leftovers are wonderful ways to remember excellent meals, no matter how they're used.

I had debated greedily saving the salmon for myself and bringing it to work one day for lunch. But my conscience won out and I extended it by using it in a pasta dish to share with Jeremy instead.

I love Dijon mustard, and use it in everything from sandwiches to sauces. And pasta sauce is no exception -- especially when I was making a creamy sauce, rather than a tomato sauce. I took some butter, some mustard, some soy creamer (what we had on hand), and the salmon, and turned them into a rich sauce to pour over curly pasta. Jeremy -- who is not normally a fish eater -- told me he'd eat salmon every day if I'd serve it like that!

So many, many thanks to Martha for the truly extraordinary evening! And much credit to her, as well, for her expert grilling technique. I wonder if Jeremy would like this dish as much without that remarkable charcoal-infused flavor in the fish ...? It might be that Martha's skill, rather than mine, is what made him love it so!

Pasta and Salmon in Mustard Cream Sauce

12 ounces medium-sized whole wheat pasta (i.e.: rotini, penne)
1 large carrot, peeled, halved, sliced
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
2/3 cup soy creamer or half-and-half
pinch of kosher salt
1 large salmon fillet, pre-cooked
shredded parmesan cheese, for serving

Bring a stockpot of salted water to boil, then add the pasta and the carrot; cook for 9 minutes, adding the peas for the last minute of cooking, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and the mustard together in a large skillet until the butter melts.

Stir in the creamer and the salt; whisk to combine.

Flake the salmon and stir it into the sauce.

Pour the sauce over the drained pasta, and sprinkle with parmesan to taste.

Serves 4.