Last Week's Leftovers...for Breakfast?

A great, and easy, thing I like to do with left over meats (like steak, pork, chicken, etc...) from previous night's dinners, is turn them into a potato hash and have them for breakfast. I had a left over pork kebab from a dinner earlier in the week, so I took all the pork and veggies off the skewer, and cubed them (below).

Use the same amount of potatoes (any kind) as leftovers, and cube them the same size too. Blanch the potatoes lightly (boiling water for about 5 minutes works for me), and drain. In a non-stick pan large enough to hold everything, add a tablespoon or two of oil (spray if you prefer), and get the pan hot.

Saute the potatoes first, alone, for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Add in your leftovers. At this point, you can also add any desired items that weren't included in the leftovers, like onions, mushrooms, peppers, and spices. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.

In a separate pan or pot, prepare and egg or two, your favorite way. I like sunny side up, or anything with a runny yolk. Serve eggs over the potato hash and garnish with basically anything really; Salt, Pepper, Parsley, Cilantro, Raw Onion, Scallion or Chives, etc ... and enjoy!

Improv Pizza

When I'm in the mood for something specific to eat, I want it, regardless of whether or not I have all the necessary components. Anyway, it was pizza this time, which is good because its such a basic dish with a few simple (usually cheap!) ingredients. Even though I didn't have all the traditional pizza components, I had most:

-Trader Joe's Pizza Dough, from freezer ($.99)
-Canned Tomatoes ($1.19)
-Leftover Swiss Cheese, from supermarket deli counter ($1.50)*
-Leftover Grilled Chicken Breast (Free)
-Fresh Basil, from garden (Free)

*Wild-card Ingredient

That's 5 ingredients, totaling less that five bucks.

Early July BBQ - Great Mixed Grill!

Clockwise, from top Left: Baby Bok Choy; Radicchio; Poblano Peppers; Pork Kebabs with Baby Bella Mushrooms, Red Onion, and Green & Red Bell Peppers; Hot and Sweet Italian Sausage, Skewered Shrimp, Sweet Corn (grilled in husk).
Not shown, but definitely eaten: Bay Scallops wrapped in Hardwood Smoked Bacon and Stuffed Calamri.

Preparation
- Baby Bok Choy, Radicchio, and Poblano Peppers were tossed in Olive Oil and Salt & Pepper (Some Balsamic on the Bok Choy and Radicchio if you'd like)
- Center Cut Pork Chops (or Tenderloin or something lean), in 1" cubes, marinated in Olive Oil, Soy Sauce, fresh grated Ginger, fresh chopped Garlic, Sesame Oil, Ground Cumin, Cracked Black Pepper & Salt. Baby bella mushrooms were halved, while Bell Peppers and Onion were cut uniformly into 1" x 1" pieces.
-Fresh Italian Sausages, No Prep.
- 16-20 count Shrimp, peeled and de-veined, marinated in fresh chopped Garlic, fresh chopped Parsley, Olive Oil, Paprika, Cracked Black Pepper & Salt. (16-20 refers to the approx. number of pieces in 1 lbs)
- Sweet Corn, Silk removed with Husks kept on, during grilling.
- Bay Scallops tossed in Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper, wrapped in 1/2 a slice of bacon, with a toothpick to hold it all together.
- Calamari, tentacles removed, chopped up, and sauteed with Olive Oil and lots of fresh chopped Garlic. Then, stuffed back inside the remaining part of the Squid, and grilled.

I Wish They Could
All Look This Good