Not So Leftover Potato

We all do it, make an extra baked potato since we have the oven on anyway. Well I took a leftover potato and added a leftover piece of bacon, crumbled, a dish of leftover broccoli,  chopped, a dollop of sour cream, and some shredded cheese, to create an outstanding lunch. 
I scooped out the potato and filled the skin with the broccoli and bacon. I added the sour cream to the potato and some salt/ pepper, and replaced it atop of the broccoli and bacon. Added some cheese and popped it in the toaster oven for 5 minutes. 

It is a pretty good and fast way to use up some leftovers. 

Pulled BBQ Chicken Burger

Ahhh the question comes at least once a week, "What to do with leftovers?"
Since we were getting tired of BBQ pulled chicken I decided to some. I wanted to do something different with it later. Today, I decided to make chicken burgers. 
I took 3/4 cup of the pulled chicken, added 1/3 cup of grated cheese, an egg, and some bread crumbs to thicken. I made 2 nice sized burgers and cooked them in a hot cast iron skillet about 3minutes/ side.
Plated them up on buns and they were delicious once again.

Liver and Onions

Liver and Onions with sauteed beets and mashed potatoes. 
Today for Dad's birthday, I made calf liver and onions, sauteed beets, and mashed potatoes. 
First, dredge your liver in flour to somewhat dry the meat. Saute 3 to 4 cut up onions in butter and some olive oil in a large pan on low heat. After onions are translucent, fry liver in a cast iron skillet 2 minutes per side for 1/4" liver. Place liver in pan and let sit until all liver is done.
Serve with sauteed beets and mashed potatoes. 

Happy Birthday Pop.

Coffee Turtles

We saw a commercial on TV about homemade candies, specifically Turtles. I said, I can do this.
I liberally sprayed and filled mini muffin pans with about 1.5 tbs of slivered almonds and 1 caramel cube cut into 4 small pieces. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the caramel is melted. In the meantime, using a double boiler, I melted chocolate on the stovetop adding 2 tbs of instant coffee after it melted. Don't let the bubbling water touch the bottom of your chocolate bowl.
After the caramel is melted, top each muffin cup with the chocolate and place in refrigerator to set. After they set  pluck each Turtle out of the pan and let set at room temperature 1 hour before serving. Well my picture didn't look as good as they tasted but they turned out delicious.

Spinach Stuffed Shells

     Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cans (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Dash crushed red pepper
Salt & pepper to taste

Stuffing

1 pkg. (12 oz.) jumbo pasta shells
1 pkg. 910 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & cooked
1 lb. ricotta cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Salt & ground black pepper
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese, Romano opt.
Dash of nutmeg (optional)
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese.

For the sauce, using a large saucepan, cook the onion in the oil over low heat until it is soft, but not browned. Add the tomatoes, garlic, crushed pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.For the shells, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Rub the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with olive oil. Cook the shells in boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender (about 15 minutes). Drain and transfer to ice cold water.
In a bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, salt and pepper, spinach and nutmeg. Spread half of tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish. After filling each shell with filling, place them in the baking dish. Spread remaining sauce over all and sprinkle mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over top. Cover with foil and bake 40-50 minutes. Spoon 2 shells onto each plate and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

I saw something interesting on TV last night and decided to hit the kitchen. I mixed up some ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses with one egg. Added some bacon crumbled and stuffed them into cleaned Jalapeno peppers.
I cut the peppers and baked open at 350 for 15 minutes, stuffed with cheese mixture and returned to oven for an additional 15 minutes. This was a killer appetizer and the heat from the peppers was kept at bay by cutting the seeds and pith out and cooking first. Don't be afraid of the jalapeno when cooking.

Chicken Taco's

For our Superbowl party I made 8#'s of pulled BBQ chicken. Since we have the best friends in the entire world, I know how cliche` right, they all brought wonderful goodies to share. Today I decided to make chicken taco's. Easy peasy, but since they looked so good, I had to share. Enjoy your leftovers, they can be delicious!

Smoky Firehouse Mary's

Although this is not dinner, it can be a good start to making dinner so I'll add it. 

Today I made us some Smoky Bloody Mary's. I have always added some beer to my Bloody Mary. I believe it adds some flavor and fizz.  
Today, I made our normal Bloody Marys as 
1.5 oz pepper vodka
5 drops Worcestershire sauce
Dash of celery salt and pepper
6oz V-8 juice
Few dashes of hot sauce
But Wait; There's More!!!
Add 2 oz of Shiner Smokehouse Beer.  
The Smokehouse made it taste of sun dried tomatoes and mesquite smoke. 
If you see Shiner Smokehouse at your grocery, Buy Some. It is very good.