A Leftover Kind of a Day

This was just one of those days for me... My daughter was up every two hours last night crying because she is teething. The cat gave us a wake up call by knocking over the contents of my desk onto the floor and then running around the bedroom like a mad thing... then my computer wouldn't connect to my work's server, and when it did it ran as slow as a turtle going up hill. I spent most of the day on hold listening to terrible music or talking to automated systems which were slightly more intelligent than the actual people I got when I hit zero.

My daughter didn't want to take her morning nap because she I let her sleep late... and when lunchtime came she smeared her prunes in her hair, which caused an impromptu midday bath. It was one of those days.

And then it was dinner time. Did I want to cook? No. And I love to cook. But today was one of those days. I wanted nothing more than to head out the door and let someone else do the cooking. However, in this economy we were not going to eat out unplanned. What to do, what to do?

Leftovers. But my husband despises leftovers. I have therefore devised ways to re-invent leftovers with only minimal labor. That's what I did tonight. There are a lot of ways to do this - here's some ideas:

Leftover pot roast can be cut up and thrown in the bottom of a baking dish and covered with mashed potatoes - bake it and it's Shepherd's Pie.

Leftover chili becomes burritos if you add some cheese and wrap it in a tortilla. Or pour it in a baking dish and cover it with some cheese and cornbread batter. Bake it and you have chili pie.

Leftover chicken - cut it up, add your leftover veggies from the night before, throw it in the bottom of a pan with some chicken stock. Cover that with some store bought biscuit dough and bake... or take the cold meat and thow it on leftover salad with some cheese.

Leftover rice becomes fried rice pretty easily. Fry up some onion and garlic in a pan, add the rice, a scrambled egg, and some soy sauce and you've got fried rice.

So tonight was a night for chili pie... and on the way out the door to the gym to work out my frustrations with the day my daughter spit up down my leg. Tomorrow will be better.

Chicken Wings 500 Ways

I love is chicken wings... My friend Melanie got me hooked on them many years ago. They are the perfect food for parties, those little bite sized peices of meat become the vehicle for whatever flavor you want to go for - Asian, Mediterranean, Buffalo, barbeque, jerk, Hawiian... whatever you like it goes on chicken wings.

Most people fry their wings, but I prefer to marinate them, then bake at around 400 degrees for ten minutes, flip them and go for another ten minutes. Then I throw them into a sauce of choice and back into the oven to broil (not bake) for another five minutes. The high heat makes the skins nice and crispy, and the sauces make them taste wonderful.

Here are some of my favorite marinades - unfortunately, I don't measure these out, so feel free to play around with the proportions. Marinate them overnight for the best flavor.

Buffalo Wings: marinate in buttermilk, garlic salt, and a couple dashes of hot sauce. Once you bake them, spin them in melted butter and Louisiana hot sauce. I dip them again after they come out from under the broiler.

Asian wings: marinate in 1/2 a can of good ginger ale and a couple tablespoons of soy sauce. Spin them in a decent teriyaki sauce after they are done baking.

Mediterranean/Italian wings: marinate in balsamic vinegar, red wine, olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, basil, and oregano. Divide the marinade in half and keep the second half for the wings when they are done baking. Add parmesan cheese to the second half of the marinade.

And the list goes on and on. These are also good cooked on a grill and then spun in sauce.

If anyone comes up with any combinations they like, please feel free to post them in the comments!