Holiday Leftovers

December 30, 2015

Holiday Leftovers

I think the best part of cooking a meal is deciding on what to make with the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch or dinner.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I always serve champagne and appetizers before going to my usual favorite restaurant spot in NJ to celebrate with friends. It's tradition.

Here, I repurposed leftovers to make festive appetizers......and anything on toasted bread has my name on it.

I had leftover cooked butternut squash in the freezer from Thanksgiving and some roasted Brussels sprouts from last night.

Here's how:

Toast up some bread and spread some leftover cooked butternut squash on each slice (leftover sweet potatoes would also work here).

Top with the cooked sprouts and saute up some onions. Add in a splash of balsamic vinegar to the warm onions in the pan.

I added some chopped honey roasted peanuts and pomegranate seeds for a festive and delicious appetizer.

In case you missed the gorgeous crown roast of pork my friend Sally made for my birthday dinner the other night, I will show it to you again.
It not only looked spectacular, it tasted fantastic as well.

I was fortunate enough to get the leftovers for lunch the next day, but pork can dry out after being refrigerated.....so I repurposed the other white meat to make a completely different meal.

I made a pork lo mein that will knock your socks off.

And if you don't have crown roast of pork leftover (and really, who does?), then use leftover pork chops or pork loin.

Shred the cooked pork and set aside.

Saute vegetables such as sliced onion, green or red peppers, broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas and mushrooms (any combination will do) in some vegetable oil.

Add in 2 cloves of roughly chopped garlic to the vegetable mixture. Season the veggies w/ hot pepper flakes to taste.

You can make a sauce with 1/4 cup soy sauce and 6 tbps honey mixed with 2 tbsp of sesame oil.....or buy a bottle of SOYAKI (Trader Joe's sells it) and pour about 1/3 cup of the sauce over the pork and vegetables.

Add in some cooked linguine and some chopped cilantro and your kids will think you are the best mom in town (and my husband thinks I am the best wife in town).