Leftover Makeover

I often find myself eating dinner leftovers for lunch the next day.  Sometimes food even tastes better the next day, like soups and pastas.  I tend to get pretty sick of looking at them, however, when they are still staring me in the face after a day or two.   Sometimes disguising it all as a new meal is just the key to avoid wastefulness and trick your non leftover eating husband into enjoying it all over again.  Simple roasted veggies and chicken make for a salad the first night, then do double duty in a cozy braised white bean dish the next. These two meals are as delicious as they are inexpensive and easy. Do enjoy.

 Day 1 - roasted fennel, butternut squash and chicken salad

Ingredients:

2 bone in, skin on chicken breasts

1 butternut squash- cut into bite sized pieces

2 fennel- green stems removed halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/2" slices

8 oz arugula

parmesan 

basic vinaigrette (go HERE for the recipe)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Rub the chicken with 2t olive oil, salt and pepper place on a baking sheet.  Toss the squash and fennel with 2T olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and place on a separate baking sheet making sure all the veggies are in 1 layer on the pan.  Roast the chicken and veggies in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, turning the veggies once.  Make sure to check your chicken with and instant read thermometer (160 degrees=done).  

Let chicken rest for 10 minutes, remove skin. Next remove meat from the bone and shred with your fingers or dice with a knife.  Set aside half of the chicken and veggies and store in an airtight container until tomorrows dinner.

In a large salad bowl combine the chicken, veggies, arugula and just enough dressing to coat the salad (serve the rest on the side).  Toss well to combine, shave parmesan on top.  Add some slivered almonds for a little crunch. Enjoy!

The mighty leftovers

Day 2- braised white beans with roasted veggies and chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 med onion diced

1 bunch of swiss chard, greens and stems separate (dice the stems and chop the greens)  use your leftover arugula instead of chard for extra savings!

2 cloves garlic

1t dried thyme

1c. chicken stock

1 can of navy beans drained and rinsed (or any white bean of your liking)

leftovers from last night

In a large nonstick skillet, add a swirl of olive oil and heat the pan to med heat.  Add onions, chard stems (if using), garlic, salt and pepper to taste.  Sauté for 10 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Add thyme and chard greens and sauté another 3-4 minutes until the chard is wilted.  Pour in chicken stock, bring to a simmer, add beans and leftovers.  Allow entire mixture to simmer together for 5-10 minutes, taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.  Scoop into a bowl and enjoy!

Apple Cider Chicken

I saw this recipe on America's Test Kitchen a few weeks back. You know, that TV show on PBS with the akward guy in a bowtie?  Well I have to say I quite enjoy the show, but actually getting the recipe online is near impossible.  You have to sign up for a "free" 15 day trial, then if you forget to cancel, guess what?  You are the lucky winner of their magazine along with a big fat bill of $25 for 6 issues.  Let me tell you, this infuriates me, I despise being taken advantage of. You should have seen me in Rome when a cute Italian guy made me a bracelet and then demanded money for it, boy was I pissed. Whew, sorry for the rant, I digress.  While I will always be a supporter of PBS, America's Test Kitchen has left a rancid taste in my mouth.  Therefore I decided to take this apple cider chicken recipe into my own hands and recreate it.  My chicken dish is delightful.  Crunchy skin, juicy meat and sweet sauce with soft succulent apple chunks.  I encourage you to try it, no charge.

**Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut up- bone in, skin on, split into 4 breast halves, 2 thighs and 2 legs 

*learn how to break down a chicken here (save the rest for chicken stock) If you'd rather, you can use all thighs, breasts or legs as long as they are bone in, skin on.

Olive oil

1 small onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. dried thyme

1 1/2 c. apple cider

3T. cognac or brandy

2 small apples, diced into bite sized chunks (I used Fuji)

1T. apple cider vinegar

1T. butter (optional)

salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Pat all chicken parts dry with paper towels (this insures crispy skin) and liberally salt and pepper each side.  Heat a 12" nonstick, oven proof skillet on med high heat with 1T. of olive oil.  Add chicken skin side down (pan should sizzle when doing this, if not, it's not hot enough). Let chicken cook for about 10 min on the skin side to get extra crispy.  Flip and cook other side of chicken for about 5 minues.  Remove chicken and set aside.  Drain some of the fat off from the skillet, you'll need about 1T. of fat left in the pan.  Add onions, garlic and thyme and cook until onions are soft, stirring often.  Add cider and brandy, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil letting mixture reduce 5 minutes and slightly thickened.  Return chicken to the pan, skin side up (liquid should not come up above the chicken skin) and add the apples to the pan. Put skillet in the oven and cook until chicken is cook through, about 10-15 minutes (or until instant thermometer reads 160 degrees).  Take chicken out of the liquid and let rest for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile whisk vinegar and butter into the skillet.  Serve chicken with a heaping spoonful of the cider and apple mixure, enjoy!

**Like most of my recipes, specific measuring is not my forte, so I encourage you to taste as you go!