Cooking Update

So I like to think I am a good cook. But you know what I am not good at? Eating leftovers. Especially eating leftovers more than once. I can usually make something for dinner and take the leftovers for the next day's lunch. And that's about the extent of my ability to deal with leftovers.

And since I don't measure, and Beau often works until bedtime, I usually end up making more than 2 servings, I usually make about 6 servings. Does anyone else do this?

So what am I going to do? I am going to try to plan my meals around items I can repurpose to a totally different meal, so I get rid of the leftovers before they go bad, and before I get bored.

So here is what I am thinking I will make this week. In my veggie bin, I got a ton of kale and tomatoes. So I have to use those. So here goes:
(I stole these recipes from a new blog I found, Bev Cooks, that seems to be pretty fun. Check her out. http://bevcooks.com/ )

Trapanese Pesto Pizza with Shrimp and Kale:
What it took for 2:
* 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
* 1/2 pound extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 1 1/2 cup diced zucchini
* 2 cups chopped kale
* 2 naan breads (flavor is your choice!)
* 1/2 cup (roughly) trapanese pesto (see next recipe for how to make this)
* 1/3 cup fresh parmesan shavings
* coarse salt and pepper
Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 400.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the shrimp. Season with salt and pepper and sear on one side for 2 minutes. Flip and sear 30 seconds to a minute more. Remove from skillet and set aside.
To the pan (add a little more oil if needed) add the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until it starts to soften and brown. Add the kale and sauté until it wilts, another minute or two.
Spread the pesto over each naan bread. Top with kale, zucchini and shrimp. Loosely arrange the parmesan shavings over each pizza and slide her in the oven. Bake about 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden brown.
(I have pizza crust in my freezer from a Costco purchase that I couldn't pass up. I think that one regular pizza crust will be fine for this recipe).

Penne with Trapanese Pesto:
(adapted from Lidia)
What it took for 4:
* 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
* 1/3 cup almonds, lightly toasted
* 2 cloves garlic
* 12 basil leaves
* 1 pepperoncini, stem removed
* 1 pinch crushed red pepper
* 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
* 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 pound penne pasta
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, almonds, garlic, basil, pepperoncini, crushed red pepper, cheese, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse a few times to get it going. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin stream. Taste it. Add a little more salt if needed.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
Pour the pesto over the pasta and toss to combine. You don’t have to use all the pesto if you don’t want to. Store whatever is left in a sealed container in the fridge for a week.
Serve with with more cheese and basil!


I think I can do this and not get tired of it. Let me know what you do to get rid of leftovers!