Leftovers make great breakfast or lunch options
In my house, we often have a lot of leftovers. I think it comes
from my mom growing up in a family with five siblings and my dad
growing up in a family with four siblings. They both came from
working-class families where wasting food was sacrilege so every
bit of vegetable, meat and bread was used in recipes the next
day.
Leftovers make great breakfast or lunch options
In my house, we often have a lot of leftovers. I think it comes from my mom growing up in a family with five siblings and my dad growing up in a family with four siblings. They both came from working-class families where wasting food was sacrilege so every bit of vegetable, meat and bread was used in recipes the next day.
My mom remembers growing up eating stale bread toasted and then put into warm milk, called kiddie toast. She just remembers it as “slimy” so I am happy to say I’ve never tried it. My dad’s family used stale corn tortillas to make something called chilaquiles. And that I have tried, and it is delicious.
When I was a kid, I never wanted leftovers. But I really grew to appreciate them when I was a graduate student. I lived alone and I didn’t have much money so I had to make every ounce count. I found lots of casseroles and pasta dishes that were perfect for warming the next day, or even freezing for the next week. One of my favorites was a broccoli tomato casserole with corkscrew pasta.
Now that I live at home again, we plan our meals so that we have at least eight servings – four for dinner and four to pack up for lunch the next day. Rubbermaid storage containers and a lunch bag with an ice pack make it simple.
But leftovers don’t always need to be the same thing. They can be reinvented into something that barely resembles the original dish. The great thing with leftovers is that it’s a chance to use up pantry items or whatever is in the refrigerator.
A few weeks ago when I woke up on a Saturday morning hungry for something other than cereal, I looked around to see what was available. We had a couple Yukon potatoes, mushrooms, eggs, cheddar cheese and some leftover beef brisket. I chopped up the meat, shredded the potatoes, scrambled up some eggs and created a hash out of what we had in the kitchen.
The same can be done with the chilaquiles my grandmother used to make for my dad when he was a kid. As long as there are stale corn tortillas, some kind of cheese and some tomato sauce, the meal can be improvised. Of course, some peppers and crema will only add to the taste.
Brisket hash
½ lb. leftover brisket (Mansmith’s sells a great one at the farmers market on Wednesdays for anyone who doesn’t want to cook one at home)
2 Yukon gold potatoes, shredded
1 white onion, diced
1 c. sliced white mushrooms
1 tbsp. grill seasoning
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 eggs, scrambled
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat a tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in the potatoes and cook for five minutes. Add in the onion and bell pepper and cook for another five minutes. Add in the mushrooms and cook until the vegetables get crispy and the mushrooms start to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Add in the chopped brisket and warm through for two minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the hash over scrambled or fried eggs.
Chilaquiles
Recipe courtesy of “The Best Tex-Mex Cooking”
Serves 6
2 c. corn oil
24-6″ corn tortillas, when they are dried out and start to crack, cut into sixths
1 ½ lbs. tomatoes
4 jalapenos
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. chicken broth powder
2 ½ c. shredded chicken or other meat (optional)
¾ c. crema or sour cream
6 oz. cojita cheese, crumbled
Heat 1 c. of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, fry tortilla segments until crisp, about 2 min. per batch, letting them drain on paper towels as they are done. Discard oil and wipe out the skillet and set aside.
Put tomatoes, jalapenos and garlic into a medium pot. Set aside ¼ c. of the onions for garnish, then add half the remaining onions to the pot. Fill the pot with water and boil over medium high heat until the tomatoes are very soft, about 20 min. Add half the cilantro and cook for 1 minute more. Drain tomato mixture in a colander. Peel and core the tomatoes, and stem the jalapenos (for a milder sauce, remove and discard seeds), then transfer to a blender. Add cooked garlic, onions and cilantro. Puree until smooth.
Heat remaining oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add all but the reserved ¼ c. of onions and cook for about 5 min. Stir in the tomato-jalapeno sauce and chicken broth powder, increasing to medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add tortillas and chicken, stirring and turning in sauce until well coated. Simmer until tortillas are tender and chewy, about three minutes.
The chilaquiles can be served over eggs for a breakfast option or as is for a lunch recipe.
