Monday, January 30, 2023

Sunday Dinner Monday Leftovers

 One of the best aspects of a Sunday dinner is that it can stretch into Monday. Tose roasts and sides can d double duty on a busy first day back to the office. It's amazing what a little stretching can do.

Of course one of the easiest leftovers is a hot sandwich. This is great if you have turkey or roast beef. It's just slicing what's left  and serving it with gravy on any kind of bread. You could even get  fresh dinner or kaiser rolls and split them. This makes for a satisfying meal , especially on a cold night. The same is true if you have leftover stuffing.Keep in mind any meat chopped up , which includes leftover ham or chicken can go into a salad too. This is even easier and quicker  than  sandwich , but just as satisfying. Another idea is chopping  up the roast and serving it with pasta. Many make turkey tetrrazzini after Thanksgiving but it's also good on a Monday night. This is simply blending the leftover bird with mushrooms, cream cheese and chicken broth and already cooked spaghetti ( you could also try fettuccini or angel hair for different textures). It's then baking i the tettrazzini in a greased casserole dish for a good forty five minutes. Another idea is devilling ham or chicken It's shredding the meat in a food processor ro chopper and then  adding a tablespoon of  mayonnaise to get that creamy texture. For the ham you could add some celery salt for more flavor while the chicken gets a pinch of tarragon. Serve on toasted bread for sandwiches.

Sides can also get a make over and even turn into the main course itself. Salads can be revitalized with more veggies added or evne cheese rounds or croutons. Leftover Idaho potatoes can be sliced and turned into air fryer chips . Spike them with some lemon juice and oregano for Greek style fries . These would be perfect if you're having hamburgers.If there are a lot left over then mash them. It's just adding milk or cream along with butter and seasonings. Again these are good with any leftover gravy. As for mashed potatoes themselves. think colcannon.It's taking the mash and frying it up with any leftover spinach , scallions and leeks plus a mashed up clove of garlic if you want more flavor.  You could also make another traditional Irish dish -, boxtie or potato pancake. This time combine the mashed potatoes with flour , one egg and a tablespoon of milk. The pancakes are just seeasoned with salt and pepper but you could add chopped onions or scalllions to them for color and taste . The pancakes are then fried in olive oil or butter. These can be made large and served like a crepe with mushrooms or tomatoes inside and a mushroom gravy on top.

Yes you ca stretch that Sunday supper into Monday's dinner. It's a quick and economical way of repurposing delicious food. Try it and create an enirely new meal.