Here's one way that I have used up a chicken breast. If the breast is already cooked, then cook onion in step 2 and add chicken pieces to onion in pan to warm them. Chicken & Chunky Pesto on Whole Wheat Spaghetti I made the pesto (the yellow one at left) rather than the food processor as it was such a small amount and it turned out lovely and chunky. Here's the recipe as I made it for the two of us, using half of my usual pesto recipe: 1 chicken breast cut into bite sized strips 1 small onion - sliced 2 portions of whole wheat spaghetti 1/4 teasp sweet smoked Spanish paprika (optional) olive oil for cooking Pesto - this is the halved version: 2 cloves of garlic - minced 1 cup of loosely packed basil leaves - chopped 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 teasp salt 1/4 teasp fresh ground black pepper 1/4 cup grated parmesan 1/4 cup pine nuts 1/2 teasp water 1. Put a large lidded pot of salted water on to boil for the spaghetti. 2. Prepare chicken and put into a small frying pan with onion and a bit of oil. Saute until cooked, turning and shaking pan.....about 12 minutes or until chicken pieces are cooked and all is lightly browned. Sprinkle with paprika and stir. Put on lid and keep warm while preparing the rest. 3. Meanwhile put in a ceramic mortar the salt, pepper, minced garlic and a few drops of the measured oil. Pound to a medium paste and add pine nuts, pounding some more, then add the chopped basil leaves, grated parmesan and some more of the oil. Continue grinding to a paste then add the rest of the olive oil. If it looks a little dry, add a few drops of water, up to 1/2 a teaspoon. 4. Boil the spaghetti 12 minutes or according to package. Drain and return to pan. Scoop out the pesto with a spoon and spatula and stir it into the spaghetti, mixing well. Serve on heated plates or platter and top with the chicken-onion mixture. Garnish with a sprig of basil and pass around the block of parmesan with a grater. SharonCb

we have been grilling, smoking or rotis every weekend since the last snow fall early spring. With a big wood fired side box we cook for the day, Saturday, and use the fire space for meals for the week. I don't consider them leftovers as they are part of the creation of various meals. Garden in full production now i decide what will become what...fresh corn and lots of it is grilled in husks at the far end and becomes corn salsa etc and enjoyed that evening...salsa for salads all week. Smoked or rotis chicken makes a great chicken salad either Asian with toasted sesame or lots of veg and grapes, apples, olives. I always add an extra salmon fillet when we smoke on cedar planks with lemon and dill for Sunday morning leftovers. Love it warm, love it cold. A mixed seafood grill, if a prepped lemony fresh dressing is ready for tossing and chilled, is a lovely cold salad. A classic Italian seafood antipasto. Our burgers have improved since grinding our own and i will grill 4 and prep two for 'leftovers'. Enjoyed cold the next day. (never thought they would be good) but delicious though different. A bit like a great meatloaf sandwich with fresh tomato salsa and i've been making my own mustards. I always re-heat in the oven, covered to braise, then open to roast things like a half rotis chicken. I have created some failures, but solved that by adding something fresh like lemon and fresh herbs or any type of moisture when re-heating. If i'm clearly cooking for a later meal for tomorrow or a day or two later, i take it off the heat early, the grill, smoker, rotis, ...get it chilled as fast as possible knowing it will get a full cooking later. Avoids the drying out and over cooking 'leftover' taste. A braised and lightly smoked pork tip becomes shredded and sauced for tacos... If i have no plan i foodsaver and freeze it for an easy meal some stressed work day dinner. Then those 'leftovers' become a decent lunch over some sprouted mixed grains i've been consistently making once a week. I suppose my point is...if you have oven or grill space and have an abundance of produce...go ahead and cook more than you need for that evenings meal, but take off half of it early and toss it in a fresh marinade or fridge it. For a cold dish or a re-heat in the oven will 'finish' the cooking time. A squeeze of lemon works wonders on many dishes. Steak or a pork chop left over i would slice really thin and toss in a cucumber tomato salsa with some basil or coriander and fresh corn cut off the cob. Over a salad of garden greens....yum. (a bit crazy garden year...just picked my last big fat pea pods and sliced them thin, pods and all, and into a salad 'pickle' for the next week of lunches. With lemon cukes and early carrot.)

* Posted by coconut-nj (My Page) on Sat, May 30, 09 at 11:27 Sally, anywhere that has alot of British imports would probably have it. I was checking out who had it online the other day and while you might not want 6 bottles of it.. smiles... Amazon has 6 bottles for $27.05. It's free shipping too. Most places sell it for between five and six or up to eight dollars, so that's a great price. They say they're 15 oz bottles. Maybe somebody else would want to go in on it with you?? I've always heard of it described as a mayo with more vinegar and also with a mustard taste. Sounds good. Smiles. My DW used it when she used to travel to the UK all the time for buisness. Surprised she didn't bring any back. I have a head of savoy cabbage so I'm going to make my easy 'stuffed' cabbage casserole that I described above. It makes it so easy and quick which is just what we want on a Saturday night. Steam the cabbage briefly, layer it with dirty rice, pour some tomato juice mixed with onion and garlic powder between layers and on top and bake for about 40 minutes. I'll see if I can manage to take a picture. I seem to be terrible at that. The camera is always in the other room and it's a kind of big house and by the time I'm done cooking I'm not walking very well. LOL.. We will see. Oh btw, I always make two dishes of this because Christy gets burnt out on "red" since I always have something made with red sauce around I make her a version with just some broth on it. I do stuffed peppers for her the same way. No red. I do love the red on it but prefer tomato juice since it's nice and light although I'll just water down tomato sauce or puree with chicken stock/broth, if I don't have any handy.

I made ham and tenderloin for our family Christmas and tenderloin and Mongolian Beef for Elery's family. We sent all leftovers home with our children, so there were no sandwiches or pots of soup, unfortunately, although I did keep the ham bone and made a pot of split pea soup with it. I love scalloped potatoes with ham, but Elery does not. By the time the tenderloin is reheated it's too well done, as far as I'm concerned it's just really expensive pot roast at that point. I love turkey pot pie, turkey and gravy over biscuits, turkey and wild rice soup. Elery doesn't and it's not exactly health food, so it's not happening this year. My Mother is here with us and she's uber picky. She's eaten one banana so far today, she had a bowl of broccoli cheese soup last night. Elery doesn't eat any grains or dairy, mostly subsisting on boiled/microwave vegetables, a couple ounces of baked or roasted chicken or fish, large salads with no-calorie dressing and fresh fruit. I've given up even trying to cook. Annie