Tonight’s WFD diary is more about method than recipe. I want to walk you through my thought process when I want to make a quick meal that can be cooked in one dish/pot and also helps to use up leftovers, or random ingredients you may have lurking in your fridge/pantry. So, let’s start with looking at what you have on hand. Here are my guidelines:
- Protein: Look for things you may have leftover from a previous meal like some chicken or something quick cooking like kielbasa, ground beef/turkey, eggs etc.
- Veggies: Fresh quick cooking veggies that like to be sauteed like zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, greens, or frozen peas.
- Starch: Once again, you want quick cooking like Yukon gold potatoes, leftover rice or pasta. Or canned beans like cannellini, garbanzo, etc. If you have dried pasta you can easily cook it in another pot while you prep the other ingredients or you could make a Pasotto if you have stock/broth.
- Seasonings: Herbs and spices and even cheeses like Parmesan or feta.
Ok, so go ahead and look in your fridge and pantry. It’s ok, I’ll wait.
You’re back? Ok, good. Now think about flavors that go well together. Maybe you’ve got some broccoli and mushrooms, or zucchini and bell peppers. I usually like to stick with just one or two veggies but you can certainly use more depending on what you have. My next step is to determine cooking times for what I’ve chosen. So, let’s look at what I threw together in that skillet pictured at the top.
I had a link of turkey kielbasa that was approaching it’s sell by date so I grabbed that and then I decided to go with some potatoes and a zucchini. The potatoes would need to most time to cook and get nice and crispy like home fries. The sausage would then fry quickly since it’s already cooked. Lastly the zucchini so it wouldn’t just be mush by the time it was all done. So I put my largest skillet on to heat up to about medium-low and added a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. I diced about 3 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes into about 1” dice and added them to the hot oil in the skillet. I seasoned them with kosher salt and pepper and gave ‘em a few tosses in the skillet to get them all coated in the oil.
Next I sliced up the kielbasa in 1/4” rounds. Tossed the potatoes a few times until they started to get a bit of browning on them and then added the kielbasa and tossed it. Then I started prepping the zucchini. I sliced it in half and then into 1/4” half-moon pieces. At this point I wanted to add some seasoning to the potatoes while they would still soak up the spices. Now here’s where you would decide what flavor profile you might want. Italian? Mexican? Ooh, you all know I’m a fan of Mediterranean so I pulled out my cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and some red pepper. (I was out of oregano or I would have added some). You could also add curry here too but I felt it was a bit too much. Toss to combine and let the potatoes and kielbasa get some good color. Then toss in the zucchini and saute until you get some good browning on everything. You could easily make this a scramble by adding beaten eggs and cooking until the eggs are set to your preference. Shredded cheddar cheese would also be a yummy addition.
So, let’s take a look at other ideas. Say you’ve got some leftover pasta or rice. Broccoli? Check. Mushrooms? Check. Let’s see what else is in the fridge and pantry. Hmmm. . . lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese? This is sounding like a good combo. Ooooh, hey, I think there’s a few slices of bacon left in that package that need to be used up.
Sauteed Broccoli Salad
½ lb short pasta such as rotini, ziti, etc. If it’s not cooked already go ahead and cook it al dente
1 med. head of broccoli, chopped
4-6 oz. of mushrooms depending on size, you want about 1 cup when stemmed and quartered
6 slices of bacon
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup Parmesan grated
1 clove garlic, minced
Parsley for garnish if desired
Cook bacon in large saute pan until crisp. Remove and drain. Add the olive oil to the pan and then the broccoli and the mushrooms. Toss to coat and saute. Add salt and pepper as desired (keep in mind the bacon drippings will impart saltiness). When broccoli and mushrooms are starting to get tender add 1 minced clove of garlic and a bit more olive oil (if needed) to coat and saute until broccoli starts to get some good carmelization and garlic is fragrant.
Once the bacon is cool enough to handle chop or crumble.
Add the cooked pasta to the pan along with the grated cheese. Toss to combine let the pasta soak up any pan drippings. Dump into a large serving bowl and add the lemon juice and the bacon. Toss to combine and sprinkle with the fresh chopped parsley.
Now here’s one that would be good if you have leftover taco meat:
Cast Iron Taco Cornbread Bake
1 lb ground beef or turkey (or about 2 cups of leftover taco meat)
taco seasoning (bonus points if you make your own:)
1 can of diced tomatoes or 1 cup of salsa
1 pkg of cornbread mix (I like the Marie Callendar’s because it only requires water but use what you like)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Garnishes such as sour cream, guacamole, chopped cilantro, etc.
Preheat oven to 425° or what the cornbread mix calls for.
Brown the ground meat and drain excess fat. Season with taco seasoning. Stir in the canned tomatoes along with their liquid or add the salsa to the skillet. Top with shredded cheese.
Mix the cornbread mix according to the package directions then pour over the top of the mixture in the skillet.
Bake in oven until the cornbread is done. Slice into wedges and serve with garnishes.
So, what’s for dinner at your table tonight?
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Diarist |
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esquimaux |
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