When I first started cooking after Nouman’s mom left, I had a hard time figuring out quantities. I still sometimes do. I would often make so much food that it could feed a family of 4 for 2 days. Regardless of the quantity, I think we all sometimes have leftover foods that nobody wants to eat by the end of the week. Right?
Well, one day, I had made so much keemay and aloo walay chawal (rice with ground meat and potatoes) that it seemed like it would never end. Out of desperation, I decided to make a casserole. It turned out really yummy so now I do this every few weeks.
This past weekend, we had numerous odd leftovers: aloo ki tarkari (potato curry), refried beans (I had made these 1 week ago hoping to make nachos but we didn’t get time), ground chicken, plain white rice (we had been eating this batch for 6 days) and 1 pack of mushrooms that would have gone bad if I didn’t use it asap. In order to somehow finish everything before the end of the weekend, I shoved everything into a casserole!
So what do I normally do?
- Heat up some oil in a pot
- Dump 1/2 a chopped onion and saute it until its translucent. Now, either add some ginger/garlic paste or a few cloves of garlic (yeay I’m desi!)
- Salt to taste (if I’m making a casserole with cheese, I usually put 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon)
- Add in any raw veggies – i.e. mushrooms this weekend
- Put any other outstanding items – ground chicken and beans
- Since the rice will get dry when it’s baked, I add in a sauce. This week, I had some leftover pasta sauce so I included that. I have also used cream of mushroom soup – it tastes so good!
- Add the rice and any herbs you want to use (I generally use parsley or oregano)
- Let it simmer for 2 minutes
- Spoon the mixture into a casserole dish
- Bake on 400 degrees F until the cheese melts and browns at the top
I took this picture at the halfway point – the cheese has started to melt but hasn’t fully melted nor has it browned
I took this picture after I put it in my plate. Notice the cheese browned and melted in the back? Oooh yeah, everything tastes better with cheese.
What do you do with your leftovers?
