Recipes for Leftover Spaghetti/Pasta

Mock Clam Sauce

I love white clam sauce but don’t always make so I have adapted the sauce for leftover spaghetti as either a main dish or side dish.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-7 cloves garlic chopped,sliced or minced
crushed red pepper(i probably put in about 1/2 teaspoon
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon butter
grated parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley

heat the oil in a pot that will be big enough to hold your leftover pasta, medium heat. Put garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in and cook only a few minutes, just til you smell it good, do not brown. Then add the chicken broth. Cook about 5 minutes on medium to medium low. Add 1 tablespoon butter, mix until melted then add the pasta and parsley. Cook until heated through. Serve with parmesan cheese.

To make this a main course you can add 1 cup of cooked chicken when adding the broth and or some leftover veggies. any veggie combination goes with this sauce. Enjoy!

For those of you that love real clam sauce – just add clam juice instead of the chicken broth. Fresh is best but otherwise they sell Doxie (I think that is the brand) clam juice in bottles in the ethnic section of the grocery store. Add more if making it a full meal. After the juice, no butter, add 1 can of chopped clams or chopped fresh clams. Cook for about 8-9 minutes but do not let it boil.

Genius Chocolate-Chip Blondies

(makes 15-20 squares)

1 1/2 cups chickpeas or white beans (1 can, drained and rinsed) (250g after draining)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
level 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar (See note below, for substitutions)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup ground flax or quick oats (20g)
1/4 cup peanut butter (or other fat source) (see nutrition link below, for lower-cal options)
optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Not “optional” if you’re CCK!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend all ingredients (except chips) until very smooth in a food processor (not a blender). Mix in chips, and scoop into a greased (or tinfoil-lined) 8×8 pan. Optional: for “prettiness” you can stick some chocolate chips on top of the batter as well. Bake for around 30 minutes. They’ll look a little undercooked when you take them out, but they firm up as they cool, and you don’t want them to get hard.

View Nutrition Info

Sugar note: I also made a batch using stevia, which I thought were delicious! But my friends informed me they tasted like bars of soap. Therefore, I’ll keep making the stevia version, but just for myself… a tray of blondies all to oneself is never a bad thing! (Edit: commenters have had success with subbing some of the sugar for stevia, with xylitol, with evaporated cane juice, with banana, etc. Please feel free to try any of the ideas people have left in the comment section. But don’t be upset with me if the experiments don’t work out well. I can only vouch for the results if you make the recipe as written!)

blondess

General Tso’s Chicken

Can’t remember where I got this recipe but it is so yummy!!!!

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sherry
14 oz. can chicken broth
1- 1/2lb chicken breast – boneless cut into chunks.(amount depends on your size family)
oil for frying
1 cup green onions chopped
4 dried chilies
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup additional cornstarch and 1/4 cup water to thicken sauce

Place first five ingredients in a jar and shake to mix.
Meanwhile make cornstarch slurry – 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 egg and 1 cup cornstarch

Heat oil to 350o. dip chicken pieces in cornstarch slurry, let excess drip off and cook in hot oil for a few minutes until crisp and lightly brown, usually 3-5 minutes. repeat with remaining chicken.

Heat a tablespoon oil in a small pot then cook garlic green onions and chilies a few minutes, don’t brown. Add sauce heat to a low boil then add the mixture of 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water to thicken. Pour over chicken and enjoy with some steamed white rice!

Basil Pesto

5-6 cups freshly washed and firmly packed
1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup grated hard cheese – parmesan or romano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste(kosher salt)
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

Add all except oil to a food processor. Pulse until a paste forms, stopping to scrape down sides.
With processor running on low, stream in the olive oil until the consistency of soft butter. Use right away or put into little 1/2 cup freezer safe container and pour extra olive oil over pesto and freeze.

Suggested used – eat out of the jar :). Serve with your favorite pasta(just toss a couple spoonfuls with hot pasta and sprinkle extra grated cheese on top. Serve on toasted bread or add to a sandwich or stuff into a chicken breast before cooking.

Sweet Potato Souffle aka. cake

4 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 lb (2 sticks)unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar(can mix white and brown)
6 eggs room temp.
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375o. Either cook potatoes in microwave or boil til fork tender. Peel and mash.
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar til fluffy. Beat in sweet potatoes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, add spices, zest and juice. Beat well. Pour into a baking dish. Now you can bake as it or add the cake top – 1/2 yellow cake mix from a box or the following recipe plus melted butter poured over top. Probably 1/2 stick butter.
Bake 40 minutes uncovered.

Homemade Cake Mix
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup non fat dry milk
Mix all and keep in airtight container. This will make one cake and I forgot to all the rest of the recipe for making the full cake.

PIZZA RECIPE
Here is the recipe for my sauce and dough for pizza

Dough – Makes two 12″ pizzas or one 14″ and one small bar pan size as in the picture.
1 cup warm water(105-115o)
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pkg. active dry yeast
3 cups all purpose flour(i like to use 1/2 cup whole wheat in place of 1/2 cup AP)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; sprinkle yeast over mixture,stirring until dissolved. Gradually add flour, mixing after each addition.

turn dough out on lightly floured board, and knead until smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise in warm place,free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down, divide in half if making two 12″ pies. Lightly grease hands and pat dough onto pizza pan or stone. No rolling needed, it presses and moves nicely. prick bottom just a couple times, roll edge of crust higher if you’d like. Bake in preheated 450o oven for 5-10 minutes. Then add sauce and topping.
Bake again for 10 minutes.

Sauce Recipe
2 large cans(28oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon dried basil or 2 Tablespoons fresh
1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or more to taste
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Cook garlic in olive oil for a few moments, just til you smell it, don’t let it brown. Immediately add tomatoes, paste and spices. Mix well. Cook on medium til slight boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 1 hour. I leave a lid on but cracked.

Cremini Mushroom, Bacon, and Shallot Crustless Quiche

From Food Network Kitchens

Prep Time:: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time:: 1 hr 0 min
Cook Time:: 50 min

Level:: Intermediate

Serves:: 1 (9-inch) quiche, 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

8 thin slices bacon, about 6 ounces
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms or a combination of cultivated and wild mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
6 medium shallots, finely chopped, about 1/2 cup
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups half-and-half
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
Freshly ground black pepper
Generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
4 ounces grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese, about 1 cup
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet, over medium-high heat until just crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan. Add 2 tablespoons butter, the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring over medium heat, until the mushroom juices evaporate, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the shallots and cook until tender and mushrooms are golden, about 3 minutes more. Add the garlic and parsley. Remove from heat, cool slightly.

Brush a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan with the remaining butter and sprinkle evenly with the grated Parmesan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Scatter half the Gruyere into the pan and crumble the bacon on top. Add 3/4 of the mushrooms, then the remaining cheese.

Whisk the half-and-half, eggs and yolks in large glass measuring cup. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Pour the custard over the fillings. Top with remaining mushroom mixture and sprinkle with chives.

Bake until the quiche is just set in the center, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a rack before serving.

***Recipe below from Michelle at The Corner Homestead***

Breakfast Casserole

Anyway, I make a breakfast casserole and freeze several of them at one time to have on hand in a pinch.

It’s just 3 cups of hash browns,

a nice amount of sausage or bacon or ham,

2 cups of cheese,

4 eggs,

a can of evaporated milk,

and salt and pepper. Chopped green onions are optional. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Bake at 350 for an hour. If you freeze it before baking, let it thaw over night and bake the next day.