leftovers | Rosie's Riveting Recipes

Southwestern Roast Beef Soup

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, I rented a booth in an antique mall in Tucson, Arizona.

The mall included a small soup and sandwich shop. Nothing big and fancy, but it was a cozy, quiet place to grab a quick lunch whenever I was there. The food was always top notch.

One day they were serving a southwestern roast beef soup. It tasted like a cross between a beef stew and chili con carne. I wanted to ask for the recipe. However, their soups were usually made from the prior day’s leftovers, so I doubt there was a recipe. So, I did the next best thing. I let my palate decide, and then I came up with my own recipe. It’s a close match, and since it uses leftover roast beef, I’m sure Rosie would have approved.

Sadly, the antique mall is no more. While I made a profit each year, it wasn’t much, and maintaining my booth was a costly undertaking. I eventually closed it out. The mall itself went out of business a few years later, which I was sorry to see. That said, I have no regrets. I met a lot of interesting people while I was there, and I learned a lot about how the retail business works.

Gayle Martin

Southwestern Roast Beef Soup

½ to 1 pound leftover roast beef (such as round roast), including the pan drippings

1 cup beef stock
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)
1 can tomato sauce (14.5 ounce)
1 small can diced green chilis (optional)
1 cup corn or mixed vegetables
3/4 cup small, uncooked pasta, such as a shell pasta
2 teaspoons cumin
½ teaspoon lemon pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt, if desired

Chop roast beef into small, bite-sized cubes. Blend all the ingredients into a 4 quart stockpot and bring to a boil. If soup is too thick, add more stock until desired consistency. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30to 45 minutes or until meat is tender.

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Book Cover for Rosies Riveting Recipes — Cover photo by Rob Resetar

Imagine the government telling you how much meat or chicken you could buy, or how much sugar or flour you could have. Strange as it may seem, at one time it actually happened. During WWII, the United States government devised a food rationing program to help insure that every family would have enough to eat. Rosie’s Riveting Recipes gives readers a glimpse into life on the WWII home front. A cookbook and a history lesson in one Rosies’s Riveting Recipes includes more than 180 economical, back-to-basics World War II ration recipes and short tales of life on the American home front interspersed throughout.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

White Chicken Chili

I love making chili con carne. It’s one of my all time favorite comfort foods. It’s spicy, it’s tasty, and simple to make. Best of all, many of the ingredients are already in our pantries and it freezes well.

However, it’s also nice to take a break and try a different variation, such as chicken chili.

Chicken chili is a delicious alternative for those who don’t eat red meat. It has its own unique flavor, and, like chili con carne, chicken chili also freezes well. Turkey can also be substituted for chicken, making it a nice recipe for delicious holiday leftovers.

White Chicken Chili

1 to 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts or chicken tenders, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 small can chopped green chilies (4 oz)
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cans cannellini beans
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup water
1 cup Monterey jack cheese
1 chopped jalapeno (optional)

Place olive oil in a 4-quart stockpot and cook the chicken, onions, and garlic. Once chicken is cooked all the way through add chicken broth, green chilies, beans and seasonings. Place cornstarch in a small bowl, mix thoroughly with water. Pour into the chili and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Top each serving with cheese and add chopped jalapeno, if desired. Goes nicely with cornbread on the side.

Variations: For a hotter chili, add the cayenne pepper. For a sweeter chili, substitute 1 can of corn for 1 can of cannellini beans.

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Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com and other online booksellers.

Easy Creamy Turkey ala King

a tasty dish for Thanksgiving leftovers

Thanksgiving is over, so what to do with all the leftover turkey? This dish, while not included in the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook, is easy to prepare and delicious. You can also serve it year round using chicken instead of turkey.

Gayle Martin

Easy Creamy Turkey ala King

1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (depending on desired thickness)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 cups cooked turkey, cubed
1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Melt butter at medium low heat in a large saucepan or small stockpot. Stir in cornstarch and blend until smooth. Add chicken broth, milk and seasonings. Increase heat to medium. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in cubed turkey, peas and carrots and mushrooms. Simmer for several minutes, stirring periodically to prevent scorching, until the turkey is heated through. Serve on biscuits, toast, or leftover stuffing.

Note: Leftovers may thicken in the refrigerator. Add small amounts of chicken broth or milk, if needed, while reheating on medium heat. Leftovers can also be frozen. Leftover Thanksgiving vegetables may also be used instead of the peas and carrots.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Hungarian Goulash

from Rosie’s Riveting Recipes

This historic recipe, included in Rosie’s Riveting Recipes, is great for using up leftovers. However, it includes potatoes as an option. I personally wouldn’t consider it a real Hungarian goulash without the potatoes, or a can of tomatoes for that matter. And if you have any leftover vegetables in the refrigerator you can certainly toss them in as well. Some people like to use ground beef and pasta instead of potatoes, but that would be an American goulash, not a Hungarian goulash. That said, I love American goulash as well.

Gayle Martin

Hungarian Goulash

2 lbs beef chuck, neck or flank meat
2 tablespoons butter, margarine or drippings
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup water
1/8 teaspoon caraway seed (if desired)
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic
paprika

Cut meat into 1-inch cubes. Let onion brown in butter, then add meat and let it brown lightly. Add caraway seed, marjoram, salt, chopped garlic and enough paprika to create a noticeable red color. Add 1 cup water, cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Add more water if necessary. Whole potatoes may be added to the goulash 1/2 hour before done. Some goulash recipes call for the addition of tomatoes. Strained tomatoes may be substituted for water in this recipe. Makes 6 servings.

Note: Serve over noodles or your favorite pasta.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

How to Make Minestrone

Minestrone has always been one of my favorite soups, but when I did an online search for recipes I found so many variations it made my head spin. Suffice to say minestrone is one of those dishes intended for using up leftovers, and for that it works quite nicely. I can clean out my fridge and create a tasty dish at the same time. Best of all, it’s never the same twice.

As I created my own version of minestrone I noticed I used a few ingredients consistently. The rest was whatever I happened to have on hand, which is why I’m leaving plenty of leeway on my ingredients list.

By the way, Rosie, of the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook, would have approved. She never let leftovers go to waste.

Gayle Martin

MINESTRONE

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (optional)
1 cup sliced celery (optional)
1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 or 2 carrots, sliced (optional)
1 small (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth or water
1 can garbanzo beans
Other leftover vegetables, such as corn, lima beans, chopped zucchini or cubed potatoes
3/4 cup small pasta, such as stars, small shells, or mini farfalle
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 package of spinach, fresh, frozen or canned

Heat oil and butter, if desired, in a stock pot and saute the onion, garlic, bell pepper, carrots or celery. Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add tomato sauce and broth or water. Stir well. Add any remaining vegetables, garbanzo beans, seasonings and pasta. Heat to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for twenty minutes. Add spinach and simmer for another minute or two. Serve with bread, rolls or corn muffins.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Cranberry Surprise Muffins

It’s that time of year when we’re haunted by a ghost of holidays past. The leftover cranberry sauce. Well, fear not. Cranberries are a healthy food which they say also helps maintain a healthy bladder, and there are ways to create something delicious with that leftover sauce. This recipe came from a friend’s mother’s recipe box. It’s easy to prepare and a delicious, and similar recipes are available in the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook. So if you love cranberries, you can enjoy them year round.

Gayle Martin

CRANBERRY SURPRISE MUFFINS

1 12 oz package corn muffin mix
1/3 cup canned whole cranberry sauce
1/4 teaspoon grated orange rind

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin tins or use paper baking cups. Prepare muffin mix according to the package directions and, in a separate bowl, combine cranberry sauce and orange rind. Fill each cup about halfway, drop a teaspoonful of cranberry mixture, and top with a small amount of batter. Bake 15 minutes or until muffins are brown. Makes approximately 12 muffins.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Turkey and Stuffing Casserole

Post-holiday leftovers are great. Like Rosie, of the Rosie’s Riveting Recipes historic cookbook, we don’t want them going to waste. However leftovers, particularly holiday leftovers, can also take up a lot of space in your refrigerator. So here’s a delicious recipe to combine your holiday leftovers into a single casserole dish, saving space in the fridge.

Gayle Martin

TURKEY AND STUFFING CASSEROLE

• Vegetable Cooking Spray

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup

• 1 1/2 cups milk, chicken broth or water

• 1 package frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot combination, thawed, (or other leftover vegetables)

• 2 cups cubed leftover turkey

• 3 to 4 cups leftover stuffing

• 1/4 cup leftover cranberry sauce (optional)

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400F and spray nonstick cooking spray into a 12 x 8 x 2 inch baking dish. Set aside.

Stir soup and liquid in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Add vegetables, turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, if desired, and mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into baking dish. Melt butter in the microwave and add the breadcrumbs, stirring until they are moistened. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the turkey mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until sauce is bubbling.

Note: If you’re short on stuffing slice bread into small cubes and add to stuffing. If you prefer a creamier casserole, add more broth or milk.

Rosie’s Riveting Recipes is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.