The Thrifty Cook: Lots of Leftovers; I'm in my Glory!

I love leftovers. They represent a challenge to the thrifty cook who wants to present them in a new way that makes them a special meal unto themselves.

Holidays provide a real opportunity to make the old new and fresh.

Tonight I had a lot to work with: the Christmas ham, Texas "caviar" made by my daughter-in-law which is a combination of black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, onions, etc. and rice from the parmesan chicken with rice. (I always make enough rice to feed an army.) Now, what can I do with these?


Ah...the hydrator drawer has a bag of colorful peppers that I bought with the intention of making beef-stuffed peppers, but who says beef is the best stuffing?

So I combined a cup of  theTexas "caviar" with about a cup of rice, cut up a sizable portion of ham, added about half a cup of grated cheddar cheese which I almost always have on hand, mixed in a beaten egg to help bind it together and stuffed it into two peppers cut and de-seeded and steamed for about five minutes.

I arranged them in a pyrex pie plate (perfect fit) and baked them in a 375 degree oven for about twenty minutes and topped them with a little salsa halfway through the baking.

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 Served with a tossed salad topped with homemade honey-mustard dressing (honey compliments of our bees) and a slice of fresh pineapple on the side and we have a colorful, healthy dinner with two leftover peppers for lunch tomorrow.

Yummy! How are you serving Christmas leftovers at your house? Pretty as a picture compliments of the leftover queen as I've been designated by my kids. come over any time.

And for tomorrow?

Hmmm...that leftover parmesan chicken would be great with some added Italian sausage to stretch it and served on spaghetti noodles instead of rice. Add a little white cream sauce and sprinkle with crumbled crispy bacon?

Tune in later to see the results.