Leftover Casserole

I know if I go to bed without committing this to the blogosphere, I'll never get back to it, so I'm pushing through sleepiness to make it so.  I have spent the last year working on making better use of the food I buy and letting as little as possible go to waste.  I've put a number of innovations to use to make this happen, not the least of which is finding creative ways to make one meal stretch into a second meal that is completely different from, but as delicious as, it's first incarnation.  And tonight, I hit the jackpot!

All this time I've been tweaking differnt casserole strategies trying to get the sauce right, thinking that the right bechamel sauce, or the right can of cream of something soup would meld the leftovers together in perfect harmony.  But tonight I stumbled upon a recipe that made me rethink that concept.  And instead of using a sauce as the unifying agent, I used eggs.  EGGS!!  Who woulda thunk!?  And it was MARVELOUS, miraculous even, what happened to my leftovers from the entire last week.

Leftover Happiness Casserole

See?  And it tasted as good as it looked.  At least Marc, Jack and I thought so.  Molly and I had to have a conversation about how it was not appropriate behavior to look at dinner and fall down on the floor, shrieking and writhing in mock pain, insisting that it's so gross you won't survive the meal if you have to look at it for even one more second.  Once I had removed the casserole from her plate, wiped the residue off, and hidden it behind a giant box, she was able to sit at the table and practice more polite behavior.

In her sweetest, most polite voice she said...

"Mommy, may I please not have to eat, or smell, or even look at that dinner because it is too disgusting for me and I would prefer something different, please?"

Well, it was an improvement over her Linda Blair impersonation, so I went with it!

Regardless of what five year old tastebuds say, this was DELICIOUS and here's what went in it.

1 cup leftover garlic spinach
1 cup leftover stir fried french beans
1 cup leftover sauteed diced peppers and onions
2 cups leftover cubed, poached chicken
4 cups leftover brown rice
3 eggs scrambled with one cup milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella
4 cloves garlic, minced with a garlic press
garlic salt and fresh ground black pepper

I heated some oil in a skillet, threw the garlic in, followed quicly by all the leftover veggies and chicken and seasoned to taste with the garlic salt and black pepper.  In a separate bowl, I mixed the eggs, milk, cheese and rice.  Then I mixed the veggie mixture into the egg/rice/cheese mixture and dumped it into a casserole dish.  I kept it in the fridge until dinnertime was afoot and then tossed it into a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  I sprinkled a handful (or two) of mozarella over the top and let it bake another 15 minutes until it was all melted and bubbly.  And then I ate enough of it to sink a small ship.

Ben also was not thrilled with his piece of casserole, but unlike his sister who voices her complaints loudly, Ben just throws the offending food at you.  Luckily saw it coming and had my plate ready!

Alright, the cherubs will be up in five hours, so I'm calling it a night.  G'Night!