Cook Once, Eat Twice

December 10, 2010, By S.N. Montague 0 comments

Got leftovers from cooking too big a meal? Give them a second life. Reinvent a simple grilled pork loin into sweet and sour pork, take leftover steak and create a beef stroganoff, or put that grilled chicken to work in a BBQ chicken salad.

The Leftover: Grilled Pork Loin
The New Meal: Quick Sweet and Sour Pork

There are no exact measurements for this one as the amounts and strength of flavors are up to you.

Directions:

1. Take red peppers, green onions, pineapple chunks (canned with the juice), a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, a small amount of white sugar and powdered or fresh ginger to taste.
2. Sauté in peanut oil until the peppers are crisp tender.
3. Cut pork into bite-sized pieces. Add pork to the pan and sauté until warm being sure not to overcook the meat.
4. If you desire a thicker sauce, simply mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch to 2 tablespoons water and add to pan gradually until desire thickness is reached. 

Serve over warm rice.

The Leftover: NY Strip Steak (or any tender cut of beef)
The New Meal: Simple Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• Leftover beef cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons margarine
• ½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced into thin rings
• Pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons dried mustard
• 2 tablespoons gravy flour (e.g. Wondra)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
• 1 ½ cups sour cream
• 1 cup beef consommé
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Sauté onion and mushrooms in olive oil. Add beef. Sauté on low heat until beef is completely heated.
2. Mix mustard, flour, and pepper into sour cream and Worcestershire. Add sour cream mixture gradually to the beef mixture and bring to a simmer; gradually add the consommé.
3. Simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Serve over rice or wide egg noodles and top with grated parmesan cheese. This is great comfort food for a rainy evening.

The Leftover: Grilled Chicken (BBQ or Plain)
The New Meal: BBQ Chicken Salad

Directions:

1. To prepare, hard boil 4 eggs and let them cool completely before peeling.
2. Set chicken out and allow it to come to room temperature and slice.
3. Grab a bag of mixed greens/baby romaine lettuce and toss a bit into four bowls. Add a couple wedges of tomato, a sprig of green onion, a sliced hardboiled egg, bacon crumbles and the sliced chicken to the top.
4. Make the BBQ dressing: Mix equal parts mayonnaise and a bottled BBQ sauce, pepper to taste, and a squirt of lemon.
5. Add a dollop of the dressing to each salad and serve.

S.N. Montague is a contributor to Six Apart Media.