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

Leftover rice! Right up my alley. What I do with it depends on what type of rice it is, long grain or short grain. Vacuumfreak, if you like "mushy" rice, you might want to try short grain rice, which is the rice Japanese people favor as it is naturally softer and "stickier" than long grain. First of all...what Joe said. :D I don't usually bother with the leftover rice from Chinese restaurants as it most likely had sat in a warmer all day before it was served and is now dried out from the fridge...though DH likes to mix it up with eggs and fry it in patties, which he eats (believe it or not) with maple syrup. :P I'm going to assume we're talking about long grain rice here. To refresh leftover rice to make a side dish for another meal, saute it gently in butter to reheat and add a good amount of chopped cilantro or green onions,sometimes some chopped tomato salt & pepper. Rice can be simmered until it falls apart into a soothing gruel called "Jook" in a light chicken stock and then flavored with your choice of cooked meats, veggies etc. It is very good for sick people or people with upset stomachs. I like to use it in salads too. A mixed green salad with rice, veggies & chopped meats is good. Also, a rice salad is good as well, with rice sort of instead of lettuces, chopped veggies & meat, maybe some beans & a vinaigrette. I have posted this recipe in another thread somewhere but here's a good grain salad recipe that one could certainly make with leftover rice: Mixed grain salad with roasted butternut squash A mixture of grainstry to use at least 3 kinds, of different colors. I use varying combinations of basmati rice, long grain brown rice*, barley, bulgar (tabuleh), quinoa, wild rice, millet, and sometimes, to lighten the texture, I add couscous. Onions, celery, carrots-chopped Green peas (frozen are fineÂif you have fresh, blanch them first) Roasted butternut squash cubes** Cranberry vinaigrette*** Chopped parsley & green onions Chopped, toasted nuts (I like pecans or hazelnuts) Cook grain selections separately, according to directions, but remember that they will absorb dressing and soften, so a bit al dente is better than over cooked. Saute onions, celery, carrots until tender, but not too soft. Toss with grains, parsley, green onions and vinaigrette. Gently fold butternut squash cubes in. *Short grain rices are too sticky for this dish, in my opinion. **Roasted butternut squash. Peel squash. Cut into ½ inch cubes. toss in olive oil and roast in the oven, checking frequently until just cooked, but not mushy. If it doesnÂt brown at all, pass under a broiler after cooking just to brown the edges a bit. ***Cranberry vinaigrette. Make a basic vinaigrette with olive oil, red wine or champagne vinegar, garlic & onion powders, salt & pepper. Put the vinaigrette in a blender with about 3/4 Tablespoon dried cranberries per cup vinaigrette, and puree until smooth. Then, add about a quarter cup of dried cranberries for every cup vinaigrette, and pulse blender until cranberries are chopped, but not pureed. Let vinaigrette sit over night. Before tossing the grain salad in the dressing, taste the vinaigrette for sweetness and add a bit of sugar if need be. It shouldnÂt be too tart or too sweet. Sprinkle the toasted chopped nuts on top and garnish with sprigs of parsley, green onion tassels or carrot curls and a few whole dried cranberries

OMG, for a year or two I made breakfast for my office buddies (around 20-25). I have a whole slew of great recipes. I tried all different sorts of dishes, many of them savory. Here are a few... Sue Breakfast in a Loaf 1 round loaf bread (8- to 9-inch diameter) 4 ounces sliced ham 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced crosswise 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces) 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces) 1/2 cup sliced pitted ripe olives 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced and cooked Prepare Scrambled Eggs. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut 2-inch slice from top of loaf; set aside for lid. Remove soft interior of loaf, leaving a 1-inch-thick wall and bottom. Place ham on bottom of loaf. Top with bell pepper rings; sprinkle with half of cheeses. Layer Scrambled Eggs, olives and tomato over cheeses. Top with remaining cheeses and mushrooms. Place lid on loaf. Wrap in foil. Place on baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes or until heated through. Cut into 8 wedges. =========================================== Don;t forget crustless quiches. Just triple or quadruple your favorite quiche recipe and pour into greased large baking dish. Bake at 325-350 for an hour or so. For a crust, you can pre-bake some hash brown potatoes in the pan for a half hour before adding egg/cheese mixture. ===================================== Sue's Breakfast Lasagna Filling 1 package no boil lasagna, Ronzoni 3 Packages Jimmy Dean breakfast bulk sausage 2 medium onions, chopped 7 garlic cloves, chopped fine 6 Tablespoons Olive oil 2 10 oz packages white mushrooms, sliced 2 Portobello caps, sliced, chopped 3 Tablespoons olive oil 4 garlic cloves, chopped 1 large can Whole, peeled tomatoes, crushed Salt 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese Bechamel 6 ounces butter 6 ounces flour 9 cups milk 4 bay leaves 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg Brown sausage with onions and 7 cloves fine-chopped garlic. Heat oil and saute mushrooms over high heat until all juices are rendered and evapoated, and mushrroms are nicely browned. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil and saute 4 garlic cloves for a minute over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes; Add some salt to taste. Bechamel In large saucepan, melt butter. When melted, add flour and stir to blend. (its a roux at this point) Cook for 2-3 minutes, frequently moving the paste around the pot to cook. Remove roux from pot. Add milk and heat until boiling. Add roux and whisk constantly until very thick (mixture will not reach full thickness until it reaches boiling point). Set aside, but keep warm. Assemble lasagna Lightly coat bottom of 9 x 15 baking dish with cooking oil. Coat bottom of dish with a cup or so of bechamel. Lay 4 pasta pieces over the bechamel, breaking the last one to fit. Cover pasta with a 2 cups bechamel. Layer half of the sausage and mushrooms. Cover with more bechamel. Layer down more pasta. Cover with bechamel. Layer last of the sausage and mushrooms. Cover with 3/4 of the tomato sauce. Cover with last layer of pasta. Cover with remaining bechamel. Dot top layer with tablespoons of remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cook @350° for 1 hour. let sit 15 minutes before cutting. Or, cool, refrigerate, and reheat at 275° for 45 minutes, lightly covered with foil. ===================================== Sue's Breakfast Burritos 8 Egg whites 2 Eggs Non-stick cooking spray 6 Wholewheat flour tortillas 1 Can Fat free refried beans 6 Slices Fat-Free American cheese slice, Kraft is best Reduced fat sour cream Fat free salsa Beat eggs whites and eggs. Coat non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Scramble eggs until set. Let cool. Spread 2-3 Tablespoons of refried beans on the bottom third of each tortilla. Place srambled eggs over refried beans. Tear one slice of American cheese in half, and place over eggs. Fold in the sides of the tortilla, then roll from the bottom. Place seam side down in baking dish. Finish assembling remaining wraps. Bake at 300° for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream and salsa. ==================================== I don't recall where I got this recipe. Ham and Cheese Strudel 1 T Margarine 2 T All-Purpose Flour 1 Cup Skim milk 1/4 teaspoon Fresg ground nutmeg 1/4 Cup Lean Ham, Finely Chopped 4 T Lowfat Swiss Cheese 4 T Parmesan Cheese 1 1/4 Cups Egg Substitute 6 Phyllo Sheets Nonstick Cooking Spray Parmesan Cheese Fresh Cilantro, Chopped For strudel, place one sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface. Coat dough with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with 2 tsp bread crumbs. Spread egg mixture over bottom third of dough to within 3/4 inch of bottom and sides. Fold in sides. Roll dough up, starting at the end with the egg mixture. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet, coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and fresh cilantro.

Clare, no reason why you can't make a chocolate bread pudding out of your leftover Chocolate Cake. Just cut up the cake into cubes and mix in to the egg and cream mixture, sprinkle with sugar and bake. I've used spice cake and gingerbread cake in bread puddings before. With the chocolate bread pudding I'd serve a sauce. The caramel would work, but this vanilla sauce is wonderful with a chocolate bread pudding. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Vanilla Custard for Bread PUdding ================================ 2 cups light or coffee cream 3 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup white sugar 1 egg beaten vanilla extract Bring milk to a boil. Mix the flour and sugar and mix into beaten egg. When milk is hot slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Pour mixture back into the pot and cook over low heat until thickened. Stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Custard should be pouring consistency. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate.