Leftover Chicken Recipes

Right now my fridge is full of leftovers.  I have pork chops and T-bone steak and  chicken and mashed potatoes and corn and. . . . . . . . . Now, let me explain I don’t usually have quite this many leftovers in there but we had company the other day who did not eat nearly what I expected them to.  So, that plus our usual leftovers has made a fridge full.    Chicken has many uses and I thought I’d share some that we have tried at our house.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

1 C. chopped, cooked chicken

Mayonnaise to moisten (some people like a lot, we don’t use much at all)

Splash of lemon juice

Dash of Dill or Pampered Chef Spinach and Dill mix (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine All and serve on hearty bread with lettuce.  Can be refrigerated for a few days.

 

Alex’s BBQ Chicken Pizza

Make your favorite pizza dough/crust.  (homemade is always better tasting and cheaper too!)

1/2 C. bbq sauce thinned with 1/4 – 1/2 C. water

2 handfuls of chopped, cooked chicken

shredded cheese (we used monteray jack but Pizza hut uses cheddar I believe)

Optional extras: chopped onion, chopped bell pepper

Make like you would any regular pizza and follow the crust instructions!  Delicious!

Homemade chicken and noodles

1 quart chicken broth

1-2 handfuls chopped, cooked chicken

3 eggs

flour (perhaps 2 cups or so)

salt and pepper to taste

Pour broth and chicken into large sauce pan and turn on medium high.  Meanwhile, combine eggs and 2 handfuls of flour in a shallow pan (pie plate or square cake pan work good) using a fork to mash it together.  Add more flour as needed to make a dough that is almost dry but still holds together.  note: I don’t know the exact amount because I don’t measure for this recipe and it really depends on the size of the eggs.  If you are not sure, lean toward wetter being better.   Too dry and the noodles are tough.   Now for the messy part: take a small handful size piece of that dough and flatten in slightly in your hands.  It may stick to them and that is okay.  Gently pull dime to quarter size pieces off and drop them in the now boiling broth.  Repeat this process until all the dough is in the broth.  Then scrape the pan that you mixed the dough in to get the extra flour out of it and into the broth for thickening.  Turn down your heat slightly so you don’t boil over.   After 10 minutes or so, remove a noodle, cut it in half and taste for doneness.  Stir often while cooking as this has a tendency to stick.  If you are sticking badly, add a little water.  Stir in salt and pepper right before serving. 

A prettier way to make this same recipe would be to roll the dough out very thin on a floured surface.  Cut into noodles using a pizza cutter and then drop into the broth.  We like the globs at our house but not everyone finds that appetizing!  You can do this same recipe using beef and beef broth or any broth, for that matter!

 

Chicken and Biscuits

Make your favorite baking powder biscuits or buy the refrigerator biscuits or just toast some bread.  Enough for each person to have 1-2 whole biscuits.

Make a medium gravy with enough broth to serve your whole family.  (1 cup of gravy will serve roughly 2 people)  If you are unsure how to make gravy or medium sauce, look on the side of your corn starch box or in a cookbook for “medium white sauce”.  Then replace the milk in the recipe with broth.  If you have any of the fat that floats to the top of homemade broth, you can use that instead of margarine in the recipe too. 

As gravy is cooking, add at least a Tbl of leftover chicken per person that has been chopped or cubed.  An optional addition would be a serving of mixed vegetables per person as well (drained, canned or frozen).  My husband prefers the veggies be cooked separately and that is just fine.  Simmer the gravy until the veggies and chicken are heated through.  Split the biscuit in a bowl and pour gravy over right before serving.

#1 Use a good calendar- use it well. . . .

I recommend the Flylady Calendar.  You can view and purchase it from the Flylady’s website  http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_calendar.asp

Let me tell you about it and  how I use it.  The Flylady calendar runs from August of one year through the end of the following year.  This works wonderfully for me because school starts in August (like a fiscal year for parents).  This allows me to schedule ahead of the calendar year too- you know. . .. those appts that you make in November that aren’t until January? 

This Calendar also can be purchased with stickers.  The stickers are to help draw your attention to important things like dr. appts,  birthdays, sporting events, school vacations,  date night, etc.  I don’t use them nearly as much as I should but they do a wonderful job and they look nice too!!  The stickers come 2 different ways- one is the traditional flylady stickers that also include things like zones, weekly home blessing hour, etc (if you are not familiar with the terms, check out flylady’s website:  www.flylady.net ).  The other set of stickers is for school related stuff.  I typically switch back and forth between the two kinds when I order.

This calendar also has a pocket in the back to keep important things like wedding invitations or maps to important events.  This pocket is not your typical flimsy envelope sized pocket that breaks off before the year is half over.  This pocket is the same size as the calendar and is kept sturdy by being bound right onto the spiral binding with the calendar pages themselves.

My favorite part of the Flylady calendar????  IT HAS LINES ON IT!!!!!!  Why is this such a big deal to me, you ask?  I have 5 people living in this house and a calendar can start to look prettteeee ugly in no time!!  So I have devised a system that works really well for me.  The very bottom line is for the youngest; the next line up is for #2 child; next up is the firstborn and then me and then their dad.  I reserve the top of each day for events that involve the whole family and for historical items my husband and I like to jot down (like my work hours-since we’re self-employed I have to keep track of that, when harvest starts and ends, when raspberry season is,  when a project was started, etc)

Another thing I do to help make things a little simpler- you know all those schedules and calendars the school sends home?  When they come home, I transfer the info that applies to our family onto our flylady calendar and throw the schedule/school calendar away (unless it has info that we might need later- I put that in the pocket).  No 500 magnets holding 500 different schedules for 500 different people- just one calendar, every person has their own line, it’s all right in front of us when we sit down at the supper table each night (front of fridge). 

You don’t have to use the flylady calendar but you do need one that works well for your family.  Try different ones until you find one that works!!!

14. Turn off the ceiling fans

Our electric bill went up this last month despite moderate temperatures.  Typically, mid-summer goes up because of the air conditioning but we have not used it very often and I was upset to see that our bill went up anyway.  I said something to my husband and he is sure he knows why.  He said it’s the ceiling fans!  Each of the 4 bedrooms has one and we had a bad habit of leaving them on even when no one was in the room.  I’m sure someone knows the statistics of how much you save by not using them but I don’t.  I just believe my husband.  Give it a try and see if you notice a difference!

Rain!!!

It rained last night!  With average rain of around 4 inches for the month of August and 3 1/2 inches for the month of July, we welcomed a thunderstorm last night with “go-out-and-dance-in-the-rain-in-your-pajamas” enthusiasm!  (not literally, it was like the middle of the night! lol).  It has not rained a lick in our little section of the world for more than 6 weeks!  A mere 5 miles away got short bursts of rain recently, just 35 miles north of us got some nice thunderstorms a few weeks back- but not us. 

Some farmers have started to chop their corn instead of wait for harvest.  Corn that should still be green, is yellowing fast.  Our sweet corn is done growing, our potatoes are done growing, the squash and pumpkin vines look sick.  Even soybeans, that normally withstand a lot of drought, are starting to yellow on the high ground!  Needless to say we needed the rain!  Thank you, Jesus!

Last Sunday at church someone asked the pastor to pray for rain.  The pastor was quickly reminded by someone else that when he prayed for rain last year, we got 15 inches of the stuff! (this is too much at one time- flooding in low lying areas)  He didn’t think prayers for specific amounts would be answered-LOL but he put in a special request anyway.  LOL  See, God has provided once again!

The next time you notice your yard is getting crunchy and turning brown, pray for a farmer.  The world’s food supply hurts when a farmer’s crops are in need of rain!  And on the flip side, the next time you have to drive through or around a flooded roadway, pray for a farmer too.  Too much rain at one time, kills the world’s food supply as well.  If the farmer has some stuff still growing, he may not be able to get to it either. 

Thank you, Jesus, for the beautiful rain!

Beet Jelly

Tastes like sugar not beets and looks lavender or light purple.  Beautiful jelly!

6 large beets

1 box Sure Jel

1/2 C. lemon juice

6 C. sugar

Peel, slice, cover with water, and cook the beets until tender.  Drain, saving 4 C. of the liquid.  Combine the beet juice with the Sure Jel, lemon juice and sugar.  Bring to rolling boil for 3 minutes.  Seal in hot jars.

Fried Cucumbers

Another one from an old cookbook that I plan to try but have not.

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/2″ thick

2 C. water

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 Tbl vinegar

Combine and let stand for 1 hour.  Drain, dry, and pan fry.  Let me know how these turn out!

Zucchini Pickles

A different twist on pickles and a good use for the plethora of zucchini that creep into our lives every summer! 

2 lb of zucchini, sliced thin

2 onions, sliced

1/4 C. salt

2 C. sugar

2 C. vinegar

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp mustard seed

Cover zucchini, onions, and salt with water.  Let stand 2 hours.  Drain.  In sauce pan, combine remaining ingredients and bring to boil.  Pour over zucchini and let stand another 2 hours.  Bring to boil and boil for 5 min.  Pack in hot jars and can in water bath canner for 15 min.

Eggplant Tomato Patties

Here’s another recipe that I have not tried but that looks like a different change of pace for eggplant and tomatoes.

1 egg plant

3 tomatoes

1 egg

cracker crumbs (saltines or club would be my guess)

Peel and dice eggplant and tomatoes into 1″ squares.  Salt and boil until soft.  Drain and mash.  Add egg and enough cracker crumbs to allow the mixture to drop easily from a spoon.  Pan  fry and enjoy!

Fresh corn fritters

Tired of eating corn on the cob, corn off the cob, corn with butter, corn with peppers, etc?  I found a recipe in an antique cookbook for Corn Fritters and it looked good enough to put into the blog.  I tried this for a snack for the kids this afternoon.  It is pretty bland but tasty.  I would definately recommend some sauce of some type for dipping or a strong cheese like parmesan or chedder stirred right into the batter.  I also thought that these fritters would make a nice base for something Mexican- like top them with ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and salsa- like a tostada or something.  You might also (if you like them) stir in a few chopped  hot peppers for kick.

 

Here’s the recipe:

2 C. corn

1 Tbl minced, dry onion or fresh onion (1/4 cup or so) chopped

3 Tbl. milk

1 1/3 C. flour

1/2 C. melted butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Combine this and then add:

3 beaten eggs

Drop by spoonful onto a greased skillet/griddle.  Brown lightly and flip to brown the other side.    I have also seen similar recipes for zucchini- you shred it up into a similar mixture- get creative and try some!

Garden fresh tomato recipes

My tomatoes have just started to ripen so I haven’t had enough to do any major projects with like canning salsa or juice or sauce.  I have had more than I usually keep around the house though!  I created a couple new to me recipes to help use them up and thought I would share them with all of you and also share some that I have used in the past. 

Tomato Zucchini “Lasagna”

2 medium or 1 large tomato

1 similar sized hunk of zucchini

1 medium onion  (or some green onions)

basil

olive oil (any oil would be fine)

salt and pepper

Muenster cheese (or any mild cheese: mozzerella, colby, provolone, etc)

Well grease the bottom of a baking dish the right size to fit all of this into (depends on the size of your veggies).  Preferably only 3 layers (of each) deep so the cheese will be able to penetrate through all of it.  Slice your tomatoes as thin as possible (I have a special tool from Pampered Chef that helps immensely with this) and lay a single layer into the well-greased dish.  Sprinkle some basil, salt, and pepper on them.  Next slice your zucchini about the same thickness as the tomatoes and lay a single layer into the dish.  Next layer some onion in there.  I like mine sliced really thin but if you are not a huge fan of big chunks of onion, just chop it up fine and sprinkle it on.  Repeat the layers until all your tomato and zucchini are used up.  Well, not your entire harvest, just the amount you want in this dish- silly people!!!!  Mine ended up with a layer of tomato on the top and this helped make the cheese more liquified.  But you also want to start with a tomato layer on the bottom as well to keep things from browning too much.  Next layer a heavy layer of cheese.  I just sliced my cheese and covered the entire top with cheese.  If this is going to be a main course, put extra cheese.  If this is a side dish, you can probably go lighter on the cheese.  Bake in a moderately hot oven (I think mine was 400^) for 20 min. or until the cheese is melted and browning and bubbly.  Let sit for a few minutes while you set the table before serving it- it will be really hot.   Cut in squares- I matched my squares up with the size of the zucchini slices.  Delicious!!

Real Pizza

I watched a documentary on PBS a while back about pizza and how it’s really made in Italy.  Here is my version of authentic Italian pizza:

Homemade pizza dough spread onto your pizza pan but not baked (you can fake this part if you want to but it won’t taste like mine unless you do this step from scratch- LOL)

Lay thinly sliced tomatoes on your crust.  You don’t have to cover the entire thing.

Sprinkle with basil, green onion, and feta cheese

Drizzle olive oil on top of that in a thin line (like they drizzle chocolate icing in those lines on the doughnuts at your local doughnut shop).

Bake in a hot oven until the crust is done.  Feta Cheese doesn’t melt like other cheeses so you can not tell it’s done by the cheese.

 

Warm Bruschetta

Fresh tomato, chopped

Onion- 1/2 to 3/4 the amount of tomato- chopped (I prefer green or purple)

Basil

Salt and Pepper

Shredded Mozzerella or Feta crumbles

olive oil

Crusty bread slices or English muffins

Combine all but the bread and oil.  Spread this mixture onto bread that has been “oiled”.  Broil in oven until cheese is melted (couple minutes is all it takes on broil)  You can also make this more traditionally and broil only the “oiled” bread and serve the bruschetta on it cold.  Either way is yummy!

 

Fresh Salsa (2-3 serving size, adjust recipe as needed)

1 medium tomato, chopped corsely

1 small-medium onion, chopped

1/4 to 1/2 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped up really tiny (smaller than a sunflower seed)

2-3 squirts of lime juice

1 tbl dried cilantro or 2-3 bunches of fresh cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve.  This is your basic salsa recipe that I make just about every week.  Fresh tomatoes do not keep well in the fridge, they get mushy.  So only make what will be eaten in one meal.  IF you must make ahead, add a little more lime juice and a splash or two of oil.  This helps.  You could also make a “cowboy caviar” that has less tomato in it and beans.  These keep better.

Extras that can be added to basic salsa are: avocado (chopped or mashed), whole kernal corn,  black beans (drained, rinsed), black eyed peas (drained, rinsed), zucchini (chopped), tomatillo (looks like a green tomato with husk on it- peel the husk off and chop), shredded cheese, shredded carrot, celery (chopped fine), bell pepper (chopped) etc.  Don’t be afraid to try it!!