Buffalo Turkey Sloppy Joes....now that's a mouthful.

I had ground turkey in the fridge and the only thing I could think of making was sloppy joes at the time.  I proceeded to brown it and found I didn't have the exact sloppy joe sauce ingredients I usually like to use, so I started the 'thinking outside the box' thing again.  I saw 1/2 bottle of Frank's Red Hot Sauce and remembered an episode of Rachael Ray where she made Buffalo Sloppy Joes, so I looked it up and did my best with what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

Brown : 1 1/2 lb grd turkey
Saute with turkey:
small onion (diced)
1 celery stalk (diced)
1 carrot (diced)

Whisk together and add to turkey and simmer until heated through:

(what was left in the Prego spaghetti sauce jar; seriously!)
3 T brown sugar, 3 T red wine vinegar, 1 T worchestershire sc, 1/2 C Franks Red Hot Sc.)  or more, if you want more sauce!

Top bun with pickle chips and crumbled bleu cheese (I used light bleu cheese dressing)]]]
(optional:  roll up in your favorite tortilla)

Taste of Thai in my kitchen

Ingredients I used:
1 T sesame oil
1 1/2 lb Jennie O Ground Turkey
2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1/2 small chopped onion
1 T crushed red pepper flakes (for additional heat)
3 T Grated ginger root
1 Red Pepper, Diced
1/2 bottle of Bankock Thai Peanut Sauce

Directions:
Saute red pepper, onion, garlic in sesame oil until peppers are tender crisp;  add ground turkey, crumble and cook until no longer pink.  Stir in peanut sauce and ginger root.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until heated through.  Serve over Rice, Rice noodles, or in soft or crunchy tortillas.

*This dish can be made as spicy as you like; omit the red pepper flakes for more mild flavor.

Enjoy!

Leftovers + some fresh ingredients = my rendition of Frogmore Stew

If you've ever had a shrimp boil, AKA Frogmore Stew, it's simple prep and ingredient list makes it easy to prepare and eat. It inspired me to make this variation in the crockpot that you can eat with a spoon.

Leftovers and stuff from the freezer I saved for later use:
-diced potato wedges
-diced tomato
-diced carrots and celery (about 1cup)

Fresh ingredients:
-small diced onion
-3 to 4 diced potatoes
-can of corn
-diced smoked sausage
-4 cups chicken stock
4 T Old Bay Seasoning and 3 Bay leaves


Place all items in crockpot and cook on low 8 - 10 hours

Add 1-lb raw shrimp 3-4 minutes before serving, or just until pink.

Stuff to do with day-old bread

I'm simply doing a list of what I've done.  None of this is really original, but if anyone is like me, they see it online or in a cookbook and forget about it.  Usually I have a variety of stale breads in the freezer.  All types.

Homemade Croutons

Cut into cubes
-toss with garlic powder, oregano, and Parmesan cheese and a Tblspn of EVOO
- Heat until crispy/crunchy in 375 degree oven ~20 min
OR Heat in pan, stirring constantly until crunchy....


Breadcrumbs
Let bread sit out until dried out and place in blender with seasonings to make instant breadcrumbs for topping your favorite casserole

First "what the heck am I gonna do with this now" opportunity

Okay, so it's the morning after I started this blog and something came up that I want to share already!  I have a loaf of banana bread that is a bit on the dry side.  I microwaved it and it has butter, but it just isn't helping much. In fact, I freeze any bread that's about to expire and use it later.  The drier the bread, the better, when it comes to re-using it in recipes.

Banana Bread French Toast 

 Heat griddle or pan to 375 degrees and grease with a little butter or cooking spray
(Slice loaf into 1/2 inch thick slices)

Beat 2 eggs and 1/2 cup milk
Using a pastry brush, coat each slice with egg/milk mixture and cook each side until golden
Serve with your favorite syrup


*I will update how this works out, as I haven't tried it yet :) I've seen similar recipes making it into a casserole, but for non-casserole lovers, this might be better.

Why put one more thing on my plate?

I started a blog about stuff I do with leftovers a while back, but soon found it kind of difficult to keep up.  At the urging of a friend of mine to put out there, the stuff I whip up for my family, I have decided to go ahead with it again. So, here goes nothing!

I've been cooking and baking pretty much all of my life;  and was probably the only one in the 3rd or 4th grade checking out cookbooks from the library at school.  My mom didn't much care for baking, so I eagerly took over that 'chore' to add sweets to the house, which paid off of course with two brothers to help eat the results.

As time crunched with having a teaching job and being a mother, I started getting creative with not only crockpot recipes, including using many cookbooks and 'Google-ing' many recipes, but with the leftovers I swore to never waste.  I always have a use for something, even if it means storing it in the freezer for a while until I can think of a use.  I have the most fun creating using whatever I have in the pantry or refrigerator, and consider it a challenge that's worth the effort when I hear how good my masterpieces taste. 

Now leftovers aren't for everyone, as a former coworker said loud and clear, "I WILL NEVER EAT LEFTOVERS",  and it struck a chord with me.  I find not using them quite wasteful and vowed to be 'green' in my cooking from then on.

Is this an original or unique blog?  Not one bit, but I figure it's just one more to add to those out there from which to choose.  I hope you find it useful and easy to follow.  Suggestions are always welcome, as I consider myself a novice at cooking, still. 

Sincerely,
Stacey

Mom of two boys
Pet owner
Wife 
Teacher on leave
Fun coordinator