leftovers Archives - The Midnight Baker

Parmesan Chicken Salad

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 00:04:56 +0000

If you’ve got leftover chicken, this Parmesan chicken salad is a great way to use it.

Use Those Leftovers: Parmesan Chicken Salad

Since most of us have to deal with using leftover chicken and turkey, we could also use some new ways to use the stuff.

Chicken salad is one of those all-time favorites for using leftovers and there’s many many recipes. This Parmesan chicken salad is yet another one of those recipes. The difference here is that this salad has a really great flavor and stands out as one of the best I’ve tasted. And I’ve tasted a lot of chicken salad in many years.

Basil? But Yes

Basil actually goes very nicely with chicken provided it’s used sparingly so it doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors. The original recipe I saw called for fresh, but my basil petered out a while ago and I haven’t started another windowsill garden yet. I used the dried kind you find on the spice shelf and it worked out fine. But I’m sure that the flavor would be awesome using fresh, so do it if you can but don’t sweat it if you can’t. Another plus to the fresh kind is that it will add a pop of color, but since you use green onions there’s plenty of color in this salad.

Little Mayo

This salad doesn’t use much mayo. You might want to add a tablespoon more if you find this chicken salad a bit dry. I’m a mayo freak but I found the stated amount to be just fine–and I used roasted white meat chicken too.

I made sandwiches with this and I used my no-knead peasant bread to make them. It’s a wonderful combination so I suggest you make that bread just for this purpose! The bread has the perfect texture to complement this salad.

The Recipe

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Parmesan Chicken Salad

Great way to use leftover chicken

Prep Time10

Cook Time0

Course: Appetizers, Main, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fancy chicken salads, superbowl party food, using chicken leftovers

Servings: 4

Calories: 338kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken
3 tbs finely diced celery
3 green onions finely chopped
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

Notes

If using fresh basil, use 2 tsp finely chopped.

Nutrition

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3-Ingredient Meatloaf

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 00:00:01 +0000

Try this 3-ingredient meatloaf when you’re pressed for time. It’s also a novel way to use some Thanksgiving leftovers.

Meatloaf In A Jiffy

Making real food on busy days can be very challenging. And around the holidays, this is a necessity since we have little time to begin with.

What’s even better is that this meatloaf can make use of a leftover you may have after Thanksgiving. So rather than let that go to waste, give it some new life as a different dish! I give you the 3-ingredient meatloaf.

Of course you can add whatever your favorite meatloaf add-ins are to this, but the basic recipe for the meatloaf itself is merely three ingredients.

The best thing is there are a variety of ways you can cook this. Use a slow cooker and let it cook for 5-6 hours and your air fryer works well here too–same temperature for about 30 minutes. If you use either of these methods, please bear in mind the times are approximate as individual appliances vary.

Stuffing?

Yes, stuffing. Do you have any left from Thanksgiving? If you do you’ll be glad to know that you can recycle that bread-based stuffing as the breadcrumbs in a meatloaf. This also works if you have any stuffing mix in it’s pristine state such as those bags of the basic bread mix or the stuff you make on the stovetop.

Using stuffing also replaces herbs and spices you’d ordinarily add to your meatloaf. Stuffing mix is highly flavored so it imparts a good taste to the basic mixture. And if you’re using leftover from Thanksgiving and it contains sausage, that’s even more flavorful.

Glaze Or Not

This 3-ingredient meatloaf is excellent when you use the glaze. But if you’re in a rush, it’s not necessary to do so.

The glaze is simple–just brown sugar and ketchup. However you can liven that up a bit with hints of garlic, some herbs or even a bit of hot sauce if everyone likes it.

You can apply the glaze during the last 10 minutes of cooking or do it at the end if you want the meatloaf a bit more “done.” The latter is what I do when I make this.

The Recipe

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3-Ingredient Meatloaf

Quick and easy meatloaf the family will love

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 3 ingredient meals, budget meatloaf recipe, using leftover stuffing from turkey

Servings: 6

Calories: 502kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lb lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups prepared dry stuffing mix see NOTES
2 eggs

Glaze:

1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick foil.
Place stuffing mix in a large bowl and dampen it with 2-3 tablespoons of water; toss.
Mix in the meat and the eggs. Place meat mixture on the prepared sheet and shape into a loaf.
Bake for 45-60 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted in center registers 160F/80C
If using glaze, mix the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and brush over top of meatloaf and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until glaze is bubbly.

Notes

If you have leftover stuffing that's already moist, omit the water.

Nutrition

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Crack Chicken Noodle Soup

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 26 May 2020 23:00:32 +0000

If you have some leftover chicken and odds and ends, crack chicken noodle soup makes a great dinner.

Great Use For Leftover Chicken

We all have leftover chicken at times and there’s lots of ways to use it.

I got into a rut using mine. I’d forget it sometimes and I didn’t like that because I’d have to toss it out.

This recipe caught my eye on my friend Lisa’s site. I knew I had to make this–with my own touches–because it looked simply delicious.

The Forgotten Veggies

It’s also a great way to use up any odd veggies you have in the crisper, especially celery and carrots. That’s a couple of other things I have to end up tossing because I forgot about them; especially when I’d already used the lovely green outer stalks of the celery and only the anaemic inner stalks were left. In this soup, the color doesn’t matter much, unlike a salad. As for carrots, if there’s a couple left, they tend to get buried under the newer stuff in the crisper (yes I know about rotation LOL, sometimes I’m just too lazy).

This recipe sort of encourages you to use those bits and pieces you tend to forget. That also includes odds and ends of pasta.

As for the ranch seasoning, you can make your own. I give a link to a reduced-sodium recipe in the ingredient list.

Pasta

Who doesn’t have small amounts of pasta that don’t quite make up one serving?

I don’t like to throw anything out so I hold onto those odd bits telling myself I’ll add them to the new box I’ll buy. That works out well most of the time.

However, you can use those bits in this soup. The recipe calls for spaghetti or similar-shaped pasta. But who says you can’t use elbows if that’s what you have? I don’t know if that’s a radical idea or what they call “thinking outside the box” (no pun intended here). It does use up what you have and it’s all the same regardless of shape.

The Recipe

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Crack Chicken Noodle Soup

This chicken soup is more like a meal

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: main course soups, quick chicken soup, using leftover chicken

Servings: 6

Calories: 589kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 carrots diced
2 stalks celery sliced
1 small onion sliced
2 tbs olive oil
3 tbs ranch seasoning mix see NOTES
2 tsp dill weed
32 oz chicken stock
1 can 10.5 oz condensed cream of chicken soup
3 cups cooked chicken diced
6 slices crisp bacon crumbled
8 oz spaghetti
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups half-and-half -OR- light cream

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat oil in a large, deep stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the celery, carrots and onion and cook until the veggies begin to get tender.
Add the ranch dressing/seasoning, stirring to make sure the veggies are coated. Stir in the stock, condensed soup, chicken, bacon, dill weed and spaghetti (break the spaghetti in half).
Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to low and cook until spaghetti is tender. Add the cheese and the cream. Heat through, about 5 minutes.

Notes

1 envelope of store-bought ranch seasoning/dressing may be substituted

Nutrition

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Creamy Chicken Rice Soup

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 05 May 2020 23:00:34 +0000

A quick and easy dinner soup for when the cupboard is almost bare. Here’s a soup from leftovers.

Soup Is Satisfying

I think many people will agree that there’s nothing more comforting than a nice hot bowl of soup. It always makes a great dinner especially when served up with some nice homemade bread!

This particular soup is an excellent way to use whatever leftovers you have hanging around. It’s also good for when you don’t too. What’s here is just the basics–some veggies and some stock.

It’s always best to use a rich homemade stock, but when you cannot, there’s many wonderful alternatives. But the best part about this soup is that it’s just the thing to make when your cupboard is almost bare. And face it, with what’s going on, that’s a reality for many people.

About That Stock

Stock can be made from scratch many ways. The usual recipe is to use chicken parts and water along with some aromatics added to make the broth tastier.

If you don’t have any chicken parts on hand but you do have a chicken carcass or any kind of bones, you’re set to go too. The stock for this soup I made when I boned out some chicken breasts I had in the freezer. Those bone didn’t go into the trash, they were used to make some chicken stock. You can do the same with a roast chicken carcass–just like you’d do for turkey frame soup that’s so popular after Thanksgiving.

The other alternatives are using canned chicken stock, soup base or even stock cubes. I’m not much on stock cubes but if it’s all you have, and under present circumstances it may well be, then use them!

The Veggies And Other Stuff

Again, use what you have. This soup from leftovers.

Evaporated milk is a good substitute for cream and pasta or noodles is a good one for the rice.

Any veggies you have will do too. You can really get creative here.

The Recipe

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Creamy Chicken And Rice Soup

Quick, easy and satisfying. Great for leftovers

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Course: Main, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken stock from scratch, soup with leftovers, substitutions for soups

Servings: 4

Calories: 373kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

5 cups rich chicken stock
1/2 cup celery sliced
1/2 cup carrots sliced
3-4 sprigs fresh dill with stems see NOTES
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place stock in a large saucepan. Add the celery, carrots and dill. Bring to boil, then cover and lower heat. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Discard dill (if using fresh)
Stir in the rice and cream. Heat through.
If you want a thick soup, add 3/4 cup of instant mashed potato flakes or 1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/2 cup water. Stir until thickened.

Nutrition

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Chicken Alfredo Pot Pie

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 00:00:46 +0000

If you have leftover chicken and a sheet of frozen puff pastry, this chicken alfredo pot pie should be on your menu!

Here’s something really tasty to make with that bit of leftover chicken!

Making this up as a pot pie is very elegant looking, but if you don’t have the sheet of puff pastry and don’t want to make your own pie crust (puff pastry made from scratch is too involved for something so simple), this meal does very nicely over rice or pasta! So it’s very versatile.

Ready-made pie crust–the traditional kind–may be substituted here for the puff pastry. I just happened to have one sheet of it left after making my Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels and I wanted to use it for something before it got all dried out in the freezer. And that’s something I’ll never understand–why they don’t wrap each sheet of pastry separately! So you have to open up the wrapper to use just one and then you’re stuck with the remaining one in the freezer. It should be used quickly. I’ve tried every repackaging method to make it last–none of them worked.

This recipe makes two hearty pies, but the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you have a lot of people. You can even make them in mini ramekins as an appetizer.

I got a little fancy schmantzy with the crust on these–it gave me the opportunity to use a small kit of autumn pie-dough cutters I bought ages ago. Since I rarely attempt making my own pie crust (because I usually have a 90% FAILURE RATE with it), I never got a chance to use these cute little cutters. On this one I used the maple leaf.

If you don’t have larger ramekins, this can be made in a regular baking dish–I suggest a 9 x 9-inch or a 10 x 7 (that’ll be 1.8L if you have Euro sized pans, i.e. Revol, Pillivuyt). Just add the chicken mixture to that pan and lay the sheet of puff pastry over the top–no fancy cutting involved!

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Chicken Alfredo Pot Pie

If you have leftover chicken and a sheet of frozen puff pastry, this chicken alfredo pot pie should be on your menu!

Prep Time25

Cook Time30

Total Time55

Course: Chicken, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken Alfredo, chicken pot pie, chicken recipe

Servings: 2

Calories: 1177kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup sliced mushrooms*
1/2 cup tiny broccoli florets*
2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk or cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup cooked chicken diced
1 sheet frozen puff pastry defrosted

THICKENING

3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup water

EGG WASH

1 egg
1 tbsp water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
*Substitute any veggie combo you like. Here I used fresh broccoli, but frozen will do. If using frozen, just run it under cold water to remove the frost. It will cook in the pie.
**Thickening is optional but you'll have a thin sauce
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until mushrooms begin to brown.
Add the stock and the cream; heat through.
If you choose to thicken the sauce, mix the flour and water together and stir into the sauce, stirring constantly until thickened.
Add the Paremesan cheese. stirring to blend well.
Taste the sauce and if it needs salt/pepper, add it now.
Stir in the chicken and veggies.
Cut 2 circles of dough the size of the ramekins; make an "X" or small hole in the center as a vent.
Divide chicken mixture between 2 oven-proof 8-9 oz ramekins (or suitable oven-proof dishes)
Top with dough circles.
Lightly beat egg with the water; brush over pastry.
Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until crust is a deep golden brown and puffed up.

Nutrition

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Easter Leftover Favorites

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Here are some great ways to use those Easter ham or turkey leftovers!

Creamy Chicken (or Turkey) Rollups

Clean The Fridge Quiche

Two-Cheese Baked Chicken (or Turkey) Alfredo

Cheesy Lasagna Rolls (Meat Version)

Classic Split Pea with Ham Soup

Cream of Turkey with Brown Rice Soup

Cream of Ham and Potato Soup

Lo Mein

Ham Alfredo

Egg Baskets (Great for Easter Breakfast or Brunch)

Use those ham leftovers!

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Easter Leftover Favorites

Here are some great ways to use those Easter ham or turkey leftovers!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Chicken, Dinner, pasta, Pork, soups

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicen, ham, Leftover favorites, pasta, pork,, soups, turkey

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 1014kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
Water to cover macaroni about 1/4-inch above the macaroni in the rice cooker pot
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp oil or butter

SAUCE

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk I generally mix 1 1/2 cups milk with 1/2 cup half and half cream
1 cup cubed Velveeta
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups diced cooked ham
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

TOPPING

1 cup soft breadcrumbs
1 tbsp butter melted

Instructions

Place the macaroni, water, salt and oil in bowl of 7-cup rice cooker. Set rice cooker to COOK. Check macaroni in about 10 minute. If water is almost absorbed, switch cooker to WARM. When water is absorbed, the cooker will automatically switch to keep warm mode, but it's better in this case to catch this before it does. However, if it has already gone to keep warm, it's no tragedy, but some elbows on the bottom may have started to brown (which is perfectly OK). Leave the cooked elbows in the rice cooker's pot.
Add sauce ingredients to cooked macaroni in the rice cooker's pot. Switch cooker to COOK and with lid open, stir until cheeses are melted. Add the ham and peas. Close lid and cook for about 5 minutes, or until sauce is reduced by 25%.
While sauce is reducing, mix breadcrumbs with the melted butter. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease a 1.5 quart deep casserole.
Add macaroni and sauce to prepared baking dish. Top with buttered bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until sauce bubbles along the edges and the crumbs are nicely browned.
Serves 4-6
**For Conventional Cooking**
Cook elbows as per package directions; drain and set aside.
In a medium saucepan ,combine sauce ingredients. Stir constantly over medium heat until cheeses are melted.
Reduce heat and stir constantly until sauce is slightly reduced (about 25%). Add the ham, peas and cooked, drained macaroni. Proceed from here as in the directions above.

Nutrition

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Biscuits & Sausage Gravy Pot Pie

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Biscuit & Sausage Gravy Pot Pie

An old-time favorite in casserole form. Not unhealthy if made with reduced-fat ingredients.

I have always loved this dish. However, as I aged, the fattiness tended to give me “agita” so I rarely ate it.

I found a way to do it by using reduced-fat alternatives to the usual culprits. Of course you can use regular sausage and regular biscuits in this and it will taste just as wonderful.

Another great tip on this recipe–turn it into a chicken pot pie! That tip came from Facebook fan Michelle E. What you’d do then is just replace the sausage with leftover cooked chicken, blanch about 1 cup of frozen mixed veggies and add them to the “gravy.” Then just proceed as in the recipe for baking.

NOTE: The bottom biscuits will not be crisp. If you don’t like “soggy” biscuits, then omit the bottom layer.

GREAT TIP!! Especially with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas (which will be here sooner than you think!!)

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Biscuits and Sausage Gravy Pot Pie

Biscuits and sausage gravy pot pie is pure comfort food! An old-time favorite in casserole form. Not unhealthy if made with reduced-fat ingredients.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: biscuits and gravy, pot pie, sausage gravy

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 543kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 pkg refrigerated biscuits* 8 count large (i.e. Grands)
16 oz. ground breakfast sausage
2 1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Brown sausage meat, breaking up lumps. Drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut each biscuit into quarters. Place HALF of the cut up biscuits on the bottom of a 1.5 quart casserole dish.
Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare sausage gravy by melting butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add flour (make a roux) and whisk so there are no lumps. Cook roux over medium heat about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. While whisking, add milk slowly, making sure there are no lumps. Add salt and pepper. Cook sauce until it begins to thicken. Add cooked sausage.
Remove baking dish with partially-baked biscuits from the oven. Pour sausage gravy on top of biscuit crust. Place remaining biscuits on top of the casserole; return to oven and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, or until top biscuits are golden brown.

Notes

*I used reduced-fat biscuits. Also reduced-fat sausage or turkey sausage may be substituted

Nutrition

Biscuit & Sausage Gravy Pot Pie

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