I love a meal where I can use up leftovers. Transform them into something new. That is exactly what this recipe is today. Back in January, I shared how to make Spicy Italian Sausage Subs with Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce in the Slow Cooker. Super simple meal that allows your slow cooker to do all the work for you. Then a few weeks later I showed you how to Roast Red Bell Peppers. Well, I don’t know about you but when I have lots of leftovers I like to transform them. And thus this beautiful Fire-Roasted Tomato & Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta Bake came to life.
Not only did I utilize some of the leftovers I had on hand, but I used a few more pantry staples include Dreamfields Pasta, some fresh herbs from my garden, and cheese in the refrigerator. After boiling up my pasta, I toss all the ingredients together and voila a beautiful pasta bake ready in less than an hour. Typically, most pasta bakes are loaded with cheese. This pasta bake just so happened to not be loaded with cheese. I chose to place a few dollops of ricotta in the bake. Every now and then we don’t need our pasta loaded with cheese, right? Ok, maybe I’m wrong, but I loved it just the way I made it. If you love cheese feel free to load it up! Either way–its a great way to use up leftovers!
Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Then add in pasta, chopped roasted red bell peppers, spicy Italian sausage, and sauce. Toss well them add 8 dollops (tablespoons) of ricotta, sprinkle with caramelized onions and grated cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the inside of the pasta is hot and the cheese is melted.
This recipe is brought to you by Katie Jasiewicz of Katies Cucina
Disclaimer:I received pasta from Dreamfields pasta; however, I was not compensated nor required to write about them. This is a brand I buy on a regular basis and enjoy eating. As always, all opinions are my own.
I think there are two types of people in life. Those who embrace leftovers and those who hate them. We embrace them in my house. I try not to let any food go to waste, although it does happen on occasion, but not as often as some households throw out food. I love to transform my leftovers into something magical — into a brand new meal!
So if you are a part of the waste no food club, I dare you to head over to Food Fanatic. It is a new website that I’ll be contributing to twice a month. Every food blogger on the site will be writing about a particular niche. Mine just happens to be one-pot meals. So get ready to see leftovers transformed, crock pot recipes, and skillet sensations from yours truly!
I don’t know about you but when I make a big holiday meal I want to stretch the leftovers as far as possible. This means transforming leftovers and re-inventing them so your family and friends don’t get tired of eating essentially the same foods over and over again! A few weeks ago I co-hosted a holiday open house with Julie from The Little Kitchen. We invited food bloggers from Central Florida to celebrate the holiday. Since we were having the get-together at my house I decided that I would roast a turkey breast. We had more than enough and of course it left me with an abundance of leftovers! Since I’m not one to waste for the next few days I cooked up a wide variety of dishes that utilized the leftover turkey. First up, I made this Turkey Pesto Pasta.
I used Dreamfields Pasta which I adore because it has twice the amount of fiber of regular pasta. Making this a healthier pasta dish than the traditional. I also incorporated a few vegetables such as peas and spinach and utilized some roasted sun-dried tomatoes to kick up the flavor profile. I typically always have pesto frozen in my freezer, so I just took out a half cup portion to cook in the dish. I made this meal in less than 30 minutes and no one realized they were eating leftover turkey!
Optional: fresh basil and more parmesan cheese for garnish
Directions
Cook Dreamfields Spaghetti according to package. Cook it 2 minutes less than required. Make sure to RESERVE 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Once cooked, set to the side until needed.
In a large skillet heat olive oil, butter, and garlic on medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Then add frozen peas, frozen pesto (*If your pesto is fresh add it towards the end when you are adding the pasta to the dish), and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes until pesto and peas are defrosted.
Then add 2 cups turkey to the skillet as well as 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water. Stir until incorporated then add pasta and parmesan cheese. Mix well and if needed add the remaining pasta water to the skillet. Serve pasta and garnish with additional parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Notes
Katie Original Recipe. Copyright 2012 KatiesCucina.com
I don’t know about you, but I’m sure starting to get tired of eating multiple Thanksgiving dinners. Don’t get me wrong–I’m plenty grateful that I have the opportunity to eat just one, but when its days after and we are still eating the same meal I’m in need of a change. I love transforming my leftovers into something new! This pasta dish will do this and then some.
*Don’t fret… if you don’t have leftover turkey available, bake some skinless, boneless turkey breast and use that in replace of leftover turkey.
Ingredients: 1 cup pappardelle 3/4 lb skinless, boneless turkey breast, cut into chunks salt and pepper to taste 6 tbsp butter 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced 1 tbsp thyme, chopped 3 tbsp flour 2 cups milk 1 cup chicken broth 1 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cook the pasta according to package directions until just barely al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, season the turkey with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl
3. Add 2 tbsp. butter to the skillet. Add the mushrooms and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms start to soften, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the turkey.
4. Melt the remaining 3 tbsp. butter in the skillet. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and broth and bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Stir in ½ cup parmesan and the peas and carrots. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the pasta and turkey-mushroom mixture to the sauce and toss well to combine. Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup parmesan. Bake until the top is golden-brown and the sauce is bubbling, 12 to 15 minutes (shorten the baking time by at least 5 minutes if you’re planning on freezing this for later).
I made this awesome spinach dip for my Tombstone Pizza Halloween Open House a few months ago. No matter what time of year it is this is a great dip to make. The best part is that I use leftover creamed spinach and within minutes what was once your leftovers is now the main star of the show!
1 cup parmesan cheese (plus extra to sprinkle on top)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree’s. While oven is preheating microwave leftover creamed spinach until warm.
2. Once the creamed spinach is warm add the chopped artichoke hearts, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. Place in a well greased pan. Top with remaining parmesan cheese.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately with tortilla chips and vegetables!
Ok, here is another way to use leftovers. After I made the amazing Individual Taco Pie’s I saw that I had a egg wash and some pie crust scraps, leftover. Me being the savvy person, I could not bare to throw either of the items away, so I started thinking about what I could make for dessert. I decided to throw some apple slices in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and then coat the apple slices with the pie crust, and roll again! I served them with a vanilla bean ice cream and it was delicious! Mini apple pies or as I would like to call them apple fingers!
Source: Katie Original
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Leftover pie dough
Leftover egg wash
1 apple (6 slices, peeled)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream
Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree’s.
2. In a shallow bowl add cinnamon and sugar and mix well. Toss apple slices in mixture, then start wrapping the apples in the leftover pieces of pie crust.
3. Roll apple’s stuffed in pie crust in the left over cinnamon-sugar mixture, then brush egg wash on top.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until the “fingers” are golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
I had some leftover’s from our taco night the other day, and instead of making my infamous taco soup (which I just realized I’ve yet to blog about) I decided to try something different. My husband loves pot-pies, so I figured I would take my taco leftovers and make individual taco pie’s! This was super delish and easy to make on a busy week night after work!
Source: Katie Original!
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 egg, scrambled (for wash)
1 pre-made pie crust
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1-2 cups leftover ground beef or turkey
1 cup black or kidney beans
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup water
1-2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbsp taco seasoning (*if desired)
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree’s. While oven is preheating thaw out pre-made pie crust.
2. While the pie crust is thawing and oven is heating up in a medium sized pan add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Followed by the diced onion, tomatoes, and green onions. Saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then add beans, corn, leftover meat, taco seasoning, and a 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat off, and let the mixture sit.
3. Roll out the pie crust, turn your ramekin or crock upside down on top of the crust, and trim 1/2 inch around it. Repeat so that you have 2 circles for your pies.
4. Add cheese to skillet, mix well, and then divide the mixture into both crock’s. Place the pie crust on top and lightly pinch the ends to the crock. With a pastry brush paint egg wash around the crust, then cut a few slits in the pie so that it can breathe.
5. Bake at 350 degree’s for 20 minutes or until pie crust is golden brown. Remember, to be careful when you first start to eat your pie since it will be extremely hot!!!
*I forgot to add the cheese! Just after I took this picture he asked where the cheese was and I dumped a generous amount of shredded cheese into his pie where he mixed it up and ate the whole thing and then asked for another one!
I am always looking for ways to transform my leftovers into something original for the next day. I saw this recipe on Food Network’s; Thanksgiving Top Ten Countdown Part 2 prior to Thanksgiving. As soon as I saw Sandra Lee cooking this dish I knew this would be one of my leftover recipes. After we ate these scallion pancakes I asked my husband what he thought and he was in awe over the flavors. Then I mentioned that I used some of the leftover turkey and he was even more in amazement! This is an easy recipe to make and a crowd pleaser!
2. Remove the biscuits from the tube. Flatten out each one slightly. Place 1 teaspoon of sliced scallion into the center of the biscuit and drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil. Wrap the edges of the biscuit around the scallions and roll into a ball. Repeat with remaining biscuits. On a clean, floured work surface, roll out each biscuit ball into a round about 1/8-inch thick.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a rolled out pancake and fry until crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Once cooked, place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining pancakes and canola oil.
4. Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil over medium heat. Add the turkey and soy sauce and cook until heated through. Turn off the heat and add the remaining teaspoon of sesame oil.
5. In a mini-food processor, combine the cranberry sauce and 1/2 cup hoisin sauce and blend until smooth.
6.To assemble: Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the remaining hoisin sauce onto a scallion pancake. Top with some cucumber, scallions, and some of the cooked turkey. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of thecranberry-hoisin sauce. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve and enjoy.
I had a container left of beef stew and wanted to stretch it and make it into something new! It was a cold night here in Florida, and I figured why not make my own version of Shepherds pie–combining two comfort food classics into one dish! I made this three days after I originally made the stew and it turned out excellent!
Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 40 minutes Serves: 2-4
Ingredients:
2-4 large red potatoes (1 large potato per person)
1. Preheat over to 400 degrees. Warm up left over salsa chicken.
2. Lay tortillas out flat on a sprayed cookie sheet. Place chicken mixture evenly on half of each tortilla. Add cheese on top and fold tortilla over to make a half moon. *If you have refried beans available you can add a layer prior to adding the chicken and cheese!
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden brown.
4. Cut quesadilla into 4 pieces each and top with sour cream and salsa. *Guacamole if available
Serving Suggestions: black bean soup, chips & salsa, salad
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. {more}
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. 
