Leftover makeover : pasta meat sauce

Meat pasta sauce is great  As a leftover. Just add some water or stock, whatever other leftovers you've got in the fridge and voila, you've got stew, or chili. Today I added frozen corn and leftover lentil rice. Yum. 

Warm Corn Salsa

This makes a fantastic side dish....I can't wait until BBQ season because it would totally go well with smoky ribs and chicken and steaks.

Corn
Peas
Plum Tomatoes
Onion
Lime Juice
Salt
Pepper

The lime juice really brings out all the flavors....LOVE it!

Tri-Colour Linguine

It was Vegetarian Vednesday and I just had scrapings in the fridge....but I managed to pull this colourful number together and you know, it was actually pretty tasty! The "tri-color" refers to the squash, corn and peas....not the linguine itself.

Onion
Leftover squash pieces
Frozen Corn niblets
Frozen Peas
Basil
Oregano
Cumin

I just used pasta water to make the "sauce"...it's really just seasoned with the herbs and some S&P. Glad to find out that a vegetarian meal can be pretty easy to put together. =)

Christmas Roasted Veggie Medley (fake)

Yes this is a "fake" roasted veggie medley because only one of the ingredients was actually roasted. I pan seared the brussel sprouts in my favorite way. Then I heated leftover roasted beets in a pot with some frozen corn niblets. Tossed everything together and voila! The perfect dish to bring to a Christmas potluck or for Christmas dinner. =)

Brussels Sprouts
Fish sauce
Olive Oil
Sugar

Roasted beets
Frozen corn

I accidently got some burn marks on the beets and corn in the unattended pot, but hey, now it looks convincingly roasted to match the brussel sprouts! It's the colours of Christmas, it's healthy...and delicious.

Tomato Zucchini casserole

I was running out of vegetables in the fridge.
There was some leftover tomato paste that would go bad soon if I didn't use it up.
It was cold out.
I had dishes to do.

And this tomato zucchini casserole became the solution! Baked veggies, especially with cheese and panko on top always tastes good. Cold season = casserole season. And while it baked, I was free to do the dishes. Genius!

Tomato
Zucchini
Tomato paste
Frozen corn niblets (found those in the freezer)
Cheese
Panko
S&P
Dried basil flakes (Really, whatever dried herbs you have around would do)

I got the thin slices of zucchini with a mandoline and then just layered everything together. Adding a spoon of tomato paste now and then. Baked it at 400 F. And it was delish! The dishes got done too.

Blueberry Corn Salad

I think this is my new favorite summer salad...I'll take a picture the next time I make it.

BBQ'd corn niblets (after cutting the niblets off the cob, save it for sweetening soup stock!)
Blueberries
Arugula
Spinach
BBQ'd meat (steak, ribs, chicken, whatever)

(I would've loved some shredded mint or basil tossed in as well...but my basil plant is still tiny in its pot.)

Drizzle with this citrus-y lime vinaigrette goodness:
Lime juice
Olive Oil
Mustard
Sugar
Vinegar
Salt

The citrus dressing cuts through the rich smokey fats of the BBQ'd meat. The blueberries add a tangy sweetness. It's all very yummy.

Soy Lime Mackerel

Part of trying to eat healthier is also trying to eat more organic and sustainable products. Wild mackerel is one of those products. These smaller fishes grow fast and reach sexual maturity quickly, making them sustainable compared to, say, tuna....which also stores high levels of mercury in its flesh. Another bonus is how the mackerel is scale-less. I hate de-scaling fishes...but I love eating the skin! The darker layer of flesh right under the skin is supposed to be rich in omega oils too.
I trimmed off the head and tail, and filleted it so that it can be opened flat. I left the backbone in so that it wouldn't curl when I panfried it. Then I marinated the fish, skin-side up.

Marinade:
Soy Sauce
Sugar
Vinegar
(can also add chili flakes)

The mackerel was served over a bed of spinach and arugula leaves and the dressing for both the fish and salad was drizzled on top. I had leftover corn so the niblets were tossed into the salad as well.

Dressing:
Lime juice
Olive Oil
Sugar
Ginger root (finely chopped)
Soy Sauce

And it was good! Not fishy in taste at all. =)
Again, sorry no picture...ate it before I remembered.