Leftover Salads

Leftovers.

Images of warmed over, unappetizing lumps of food kind of plopped on a plate or microwaved in a sad looking take out container. Rarely does the term have any kind of positive image. Still, if you are trying to be a more frugal cook, using up leftovers needs to be part of your "kitchen skills."

Maybe you can revitalize your attitude toward leftovers if you start to think of these ingredients in the refrigerator as "idea starters," "creativity makers" for coming meals.

My mother was a creative cook, and she always found ways to u leftovers so they were appetizing and never dull. Probably one of the biggest disappointments with her leftover cooking was the problem of duplication. I remember often having a main dish that was so wonderful, we all asked her to make it again and, if there were guests, there would be requests for the recipe. Her answer would have to be, sorry, but I just stirred some leftovers together and then tasted for seasoning. Since there would never again be quite this same combination of ingredients to work with, that very appealing "casserole" or stew or soup couldn't be exactly re-created.

I was reminded of this today as I stirred up a main dish salad. After a potluck this weekend, a friend shared a wonderful pasta salad, enough for several servings. Yesterday I had some of this with turkey breast and squash, but today I wanted to lighten it up, and have enough to share with several guests. There was also just a tiny smidge--about 2 to 3 tablespoons--of the coleslaw I had made last weekend (posted here http://frugalfastfun.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-best-cole-slaw-ever.html.) Though the weather has turned cold again, it still was a day for a main dish salad with warm homemade rolls on the side, so it was time to make a Leftover Salad.

Salads like this are great for this time of the year, when I try very much to avoid the hard imported tomatoes that are the only fresh ones available. Some of the other summer salad ingredients are also harder to find. I haven't gone completely to local foods, but I do like to stay at least somewhat with the seasons as I choose salad ingredients. There were radishes and green onions on special this week, both very springlike tastes for me, and Aldi's was featuring cucumbers and mixed color bell peppers at very reasonable prices. (Yes, I know they aren't local, but the price was such that I could splurge a little here.) There is still cabbage in the crisper and some nice fresh spinach for color, so a salad could be pulled together quickly. The pasta salad and coleslaw each brought some dressing into the bowl, so I just tasted and added a little more (ranch dressing for this combination) as needed to dress the salad well.

The final salad proved to be just right for a hearty lunch. Some fresh strawberries (also on sale this week) and orange wedges made a great finale, and everyone had at least four servings of vegetables and fruit all in one colorful package.

Following is what I used in this salad, along with some suggestions for other additions that might be made. Note that the amounts given are very approximate and should definitely be varied, depending on what you have on hand.  When using something like a pasta or chicken salad, the key is to add this in small portions to the greens and then tossing the mixture well so that the thicker salads don't remain as big unmixed lumps in the overall dish.

Today's Leftover Salad

6 to 7 romaine lettuce leaves, coarsely chopped
about 1 to 2 c fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
2 to 4 large radishes, sliced
about 1/3 large cucumber, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely diced
1 to 2 t finely chopped onion, to taste
1 to 2 T sliced black olives
2 c coarsely shredded cabbage
about 1 to 1 1/2 c pasta salad
about 1/2 c cole slaw, including dressing
ranch dressing (or dip) to taste

Toss all ingredients together and taste for seasoning, adding dressing as needed to moisten appropriately.

Other possible add-ins:
diced or shredded cheese, any variety
crumbled bacon or artificial bacon bits
diced turkey, chicken, ham, or roast beef
chopped hard-boiled egg
other lettuces or greens
broccoli, peas, corn, or other leftover cooked vegetables
shredded red cabbage
grated carrot
diced celery
broccoli or cauliflower
sliced mushrooms
nuts, sunflower seeds, etc.



Dressing choices:
The nice thing about including some "pre-made" salad leftovers is that you will be able to take advantage of the dressing already on that part of your ingredients. What is already included in your mix may well guide you in the rest of your dressing. For today's salad, the pasta had a mayonnaise dressing that had many of the same herbs as ranch dressing, so that was my choice for finishing the salad. Had the pasta salad been made with a basil flavored vinaigrette, I might have mixed up a little more oil and vinegar dressing or pulled a bottle of similar dressing from the refrigerator. The cole slaw's sweet and tangy vinegar dressing went well with the ranch dressing but would have also blended well with many others as well.

...or Fruits and a sweeter salad:
You can also take your salad in an entirely different direction by adding in fresh (diced apple, pear, banana, pineapple, strawberries, etc.) or dried (cranberries, raisins, diced dried apricot) fruits. My preference is to keep these sweeter elements out of salads that are more savory or vegetable-oriented, but feel free to expand your horizons with these leftovers as well. Who knows when you might come up with your own special, never to be quite duplicated recipe too!

The Last Beets from the Garden--a Fall Salad

On a late fall visit to Sekapp's Orchard just outside of town, I couldn't help but envy the baskets of beets, some of which were as big as baseballs. The beets from my garden were, as usual, very small and not very plentiful. In fact, almost the entire crop fit on the roasting pan when I prepared them last week. 

Still, even the tiniest ones have lots of the sweet, earthy flavor I love about beets, and I have been enjoying them completely unadorned.

Today, I was looking for a colorful salad to go with an otherwise "white" meal of mashed potatoes and baked fish. While broccoli would be one spot of color,  the menu still needed something more to brighten the plate.

Those roasted garden beets to the rescue. Combined with a few other colorful ingredients, they became a key ingredient in a bright, easily prepared and, incidentally, high in antioxidants salad and a nice reminder of the garden harvest I have been blessed with this year.

One caution--this is a quick to make salad, but it should be prepared just before serving, since the beets do have a very strong tendency to share their color with the other ingredients, especially the cucumbers. If you do make it a bit ahead, you may want to wait to add the beets until just before serving.

Fall Purple and Green Salad

1 c sliced or diced cooked beets (mine had been roasted, for an extra bit of sweetness)
1 c sliced mini cucumbers; if the larger cucumbers are used, dice them
1/2 c thinly sliced red onions
1/2 large orange, peeled and sliced, with each slice cut in quarters
about 4 c shredded Romaine or green leaf lettuce
prepared or homemade dressing--either raspberry vinaigrette or honey mustard would be good
freshly ground black pepper

To prepare the lettuce: wash and then roll each leaf into a kind of a tube. Cut across the leaf to form fine shreds. Place in a large serving bowl.
Slice or dice the vegetables and oranges and add to the lettuce.
Drizzle the salad with dressing and toss. Pass the black pepper for each person to add.

Variations:  

Drained, canned beets can be used instead of freshly roasted ones.

If you keep mandarin oranges in the cupboard, they could be substituted for the orange pieces here--and would probably be an even brighter addition to the salad.

Feta or fresh mozzarella could be added for extra protein--and flavor--if you need a little boost in that direction.

Dressing

If you want to make your own dressing, I had published a sweet vinaigrette earlier this year. You can find that at:

http://frugalfastfun.blogspot.com/2012/08/farmers-market-day-and-quick-salad.html

Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

2 T raspberry apple juice frozen concentrate--do not reconstitute
1-2 T balsamic vinegar, to taste
1/4 c canola oil or a light olive oil
1/2 t each dried basil, rosemary, and thyme
sugar to taste
salt to taste
1 T water

Crush the dried herbs in a mortar and pestle or process lightly in a small blender.
Combine all ingredients and whisk well with a fork or wire whisk. Allow flavors to blend at least a few minutes before tossing with greens.
NOTE-You may be surprised at how much sugar you will need to add to reach the sweetness you may have become accustomed to in prepared dressings, perhaps a tablespoon or so.

About Those Hard-Boiled Eggs

Egg salad sandwiches. Hard boiled eggs with toast. More egg salad sandwiches....

Not ready with a lot of options for all those eggs you are spending today decorating and hunting tomorrow? Here are a few ideas for using them up.

(Of course, you did keep them refrigerated except for the hour or so--at most--that you were hunting them, right? If not, don't take chances; they need to be composted rather than eaten.)

But, for the safe eggs you want to incorporate into menus this week, an old-time vegetarian main dish salad and a variation on the tried and true Chef's Salad:

Kidney Bean and Egg Salad

1/3 c finely diced sweet onion
2 c (or 15 oz can) kidney beans, drained
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 c diced or thinly sliced celery
Yogurt Dressing

Combine all ingredients with dressing. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed. Chill for an hour or more to blend flavors. Garnish with parsley or serve on lettuce leaves if desired.

Yogurt Dressing

2/3 c plain yogurt
1 to 2 t prepared yellow mustard
3 to 4 t sugar (see NOTE)
salt or seasoning salt and pepper to taste (see NOTE)

Combine ingredients and mix well. This is very similar to "mayonnaise style salad dressing" that works well on old-fashioned potato salad or even as a sandwich spread instead of mayo.

NOTE: If using canned kidney beans, be aware that these almost always contain added sugar and salt, so don't add either of these ingredients to the dressing until you have tasted the salad to see how much will be needed.

One more thing--the serving suggestion in the photo above includes fresh orange slices. Keep in mind that the iron in plant foods (and kidney beans are a particularly good iron source) is far better utilized if you include foods rich in Vitamin C at the same meal.

Vegetarian Chef's Salad

Per main dish serving:
1 to 2 c baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1 c iceberg or romaine lettuce, torn
2 T diced bell pepper (see NOTE)
sweet or red onion--2 t finely chopped OR thinly sliced and separated into rings
3 to 4 black olives, sliced
1 hard-boiled egg, sliced
1 oz cheese, your choice, grated or cut in fine cubes
1 T chopped parsley or fresh basil (optional)
vinaigrette dressing of your choice
freshly ground black pepper

Combine the greens, peppers and onions and toss in the black olives and cheese. If serving in individual bowls, arrange the egg slices over the top of each serving and sprinkle with the parsley or basil. Otherwise, fold the egg slices in with the olives and cheese, reserving a few for garnish on top. Serve the dressing at the table.

NOTE: This time of the year, fresh tomatoes rarely are very flavorful, and bell peppers can be quite price-y. If you are making this salad with good tomatoes available, by all means add them in. If, however, you don't have either tomatoes or red bell peppers, look for roasted sweet peppers in the pickle section of the market. These are often reasonably priced (compare the weight to the cost of fresh produce) and will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks, and they add a nice touch of color to salads and casseroles when we are really looking for some brightness in our menus.

And--if you have a Trader Joe's near you, look for their frozen pepper strips. These too are a reasonable alternative for casseroles and even salads when the price of fresh peppers might otherwise keep these wonderful vegetables off your table.