Make Leftovers Great Again!

I hate leftovers. Well, more specifically, I hate most leftovers. When you ask the question, “what’s for dinner tonight?” and the answer is, “leftovers!”, do you find yourself salivating at the thought and eagerly awaiting your re-heated repeat of last night’s dinner? I thought not. So, let’s ditch the idea of the traditional leftover meal and “Make Leftovers Great Again (MLGA)!

Chicken-Salad Salad using “Repurposed” Roast Chicken - Photo by Laurie Geis

With few exceptions, I have really never liked leftovers. Most leftover meals consist of reheating the same food you ate yesterday or the day before, and eating a dryer, blander, and overcooked version of what might have been a great meal initially (I mean, if you cooked the protein perfectly the first time, why would you think that cooking it again in a microwave or oven would make it tastier?). If you are still undecided about this, just take a look at some of the synonyms for “leftover” in the Merriam Webster Dictionary: “fag end, oddment, remainder, remnant, scrap, stub”. Yum.

So, I used to avoid leftovers whenever possible – the exceptions for me are things like soups, stews, chilis, and the occasional dish like lasagna that can hold up well to reheating because most of these dishes actually taste better the next day once all the ingredients have had more time to integrate and meld together.

But I also hate wasting perfectly good food. So, Laurie and I started thinking differently about leftovers. First, instead of just reheating and repeating our meal from the night before, we decided to adapt and repurpose the leftover food to create new and different dishes from the original. Leftover steak cooked perfectly well with a nice pink center? We now turn that into cold steak and veggie wraps with a homemade parmesan-ranch dressing. Leftover grilled salmon? We’ll repurpose that into an Asian rice bowl with salmon, shitake mushrooms, scallions, peppers, and teriyaki sauce. The idea is to create entirely new, interesting, and delicious meals using repurposed ingredients from the original meal.

In addition, we also look for ways to use all leftovers, like using the bones from a roast chicken (what Laurie likes to call the “carcass” to remind me how gross those bones are to work with!) as the base for homemade chicken stock which is much better than any store-bought stock.

To get you started on your way to repurposing food and making leftovers great again, I have two recipes for you to try this week. One is a “chicken-salad salad” that uses repurposed roast chicken as the basis for a delicious chicken salad that I then turned into a salad with spicy greens and tomato. You can see from the picture at the beginning of this blog that “leftovers” or dishes using repurposed food can look (and taste!) just as good if not better than the original dish! One 5-lb. roast chicken serves about 4 so for Laurie and I, we usually have plenty left over for a second meal. If you have a larger family and want leftovers, just roast two birds, and proceed with the recipe below!

The second is for a homemade chicken stock. Give them a try and let me know what you think! Also, I’d like to hear how you make creative use of your leftovers so share your ideas please!

Chicken-Salad Salad (Serves 4)

Laurie created this recipe using repurposed chicken from my citrus-herb roast chicken recipe, but you can also use chicken from a store-bought rotisserie chicken if you don’t have the time to roast your own. I then turned it into a dinner entrée by adding mixed spicy greens and microgreens with a homemade mustard-vinaigrette dressing and tomato – you will love this quick and healthy recipe! Serve with a nice rose wine from the Provence region of France, like the Olema Rose Cotes De Provence, a great value for $20.

Ingredients

4 cups leftover roast chicken (or store-bought rotisserie chicken), chopped into large ½ inch chunks

1 cup good mayonnaise (Hellmann’s or Duke’s)

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, divided

2 tsp. prepared horseradish

½ cup diced red onion (1 tsp. reserved for garnish)

½ cup diced celery

½ cup diced red bell pepper

1 ½ tbsp. minced fresh dill

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. kosher salt, divided

½ tsp. fresh ground pepper, divided

1 tbsp. finely diced shallots

1 tsp. whole grain mustard

3 tbsp. champagne vinegar or other good white vinegar

6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

5 oz. baby arugula, washed and dried

1/5 oz. microgreens (any kind will do) – 2 tbsp. reserved for garnish)

2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced ¼ in. thick

Directions

Make the chicken salad. In a medium bowl mix together the chicken, mayonnaise, 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard, horseradish, red onion, celery, red bell pepper, fresh dill, garlic powder, ¼ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Cover and set aside in refrigerator for at least one hour or until ready to use (you can make this a day or two ahead if you’d like).

Make the champagne-mustard vinaigrette. Combine the shallots, 1 tsp. each of the whole grain and Dijon mustard, and vinegar into a small bowl and let set for 15 minutes to pickle the shallots. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking until fully incorporated. Add a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Make the salads. Season each of the sliced tomatoes with a pinch of kosher salt and place on paper-towel lined plate for 15 minutes to absorb juice. Combine the arugula and microgreens into a large salad bowl and add dressing until greens are fully coated. Place a large handful of dressed greens on individual plates. Top with two tomato slices and a cup of the chicken salad. Top with a sprinkle of microgreens and diced red onion.

Homemade Chicken Stock (Makes about 10 cups)

Making your own chicken stock is a great way to save some money and make full use of your leftovers from a roast chicken meal. Also, it’s better than anything you’ll find in the grocery store! Just put all the ingredients in the pot, bring to a boil, and then let simmer for 6-8 hours until reduced by about half. Once cool, you can store in plastic zip-lock bags (we use 2 cups per bag for easy portioning) and freeze until you need it.

Ingredients

Leftover chicken bones from 1 or 2 roast chickens

1 large yellow onion, cut in half and then each half quartered (keep the root end intact so the onion quarters hold together)

3 carrots, cut into 2-inch-long pieces (no need to peel the carrots)

3 large celery stalks, but into 2-inch-long pieces

6 garlic cloves, smashed

3 sprigs of thyme or any herb you like (oregano and rosemary also work well, or use all three)

2 fresh or dried bay leaves

20 cups of water (or as many as you can fit into your pot), leaving at least 1-inch at the top of the pot

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Directions

Place all of the ingredients into a large pot and stir to combine. Place pot on high heat and bring liquid to a boil. Turn down heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and simmer for 6-8 hours to reduce stock by about half. Take off heat and let cool.

Once cool, strain the stock into a large bowl. Then divide into 2-cup portions and pour into quart-size zip-lock plastic bags. Store in freezer until ready to use.