I love having a fridge stuffed with goodies. But there’s also a certain pleasure in the stage where you’ve used up all the obvious things, and you have to figure out what to do with the bits of cauliflower too small to go in the roasting pan, the drying 1-inch hunks of six different cheeses, or the leftover mashed potatoes.
I had leftover white rice and a half-bunch of asparagus, so I went to the pantry and got my giant container of dried mushrooms from Costco. It contains porcini mushrooms along with various other woodland treasures. A few of these steeped in boiling water for a half-hour makes the best vegetarian broth you can imagine.
The key, of course, is having a well-stocked pantry. The ingredients I always have on hand are good canned tomatoes, canned beans (the more kinds the better), and pasta. The NYT just had an article on all the things you can do with olive oil, lemon and salt. I would add garlic to the list. These are the indispensables! Always come home from the grocery store with a lemon, and the kitchen gods will smile upon you.
I wouldn’t call myself frugal, but I don’t like to waste leftovers. For the cauliflower bits, I’d cook them and stick them into macaroni and cheese. I’d turn the leftover mashed potatoes into fried potato patties, maybe with curry spices, then serve with yogurt sauce. And there’s nothing more fun than a collection of bits of mismatched cheese. My favorite way to use them, along with whatever odd veggies are sitting about, is cheesy pie.
This takes eggs and thick yogurt, so you can’t make it on an empty refrigerator, but all the cheeses blend together beautifully. Since it doesn’t have a pastry crust, I like to think that it saves on calories (dream on, sister!).
How to Make Cheesy Pie
For the optional “crust,” grease a glass pie pan with butter and sprinkle with crispy panko bread crumbs.
Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).
Open your wine (white is best with this). Have a sip but don’t suck it all down right away. Save some for the meal.
Assemble your leftover veggies, cut into small bits. If they are not cooked, blanch or microwave until almost done. Potatoes definitely need pre-cooking. If using greens or juicy vegetables like tomatoes, squeeze out any excess water.
Take all the cheese bits and cut them into cubes. Grate plenty for the top. Include blue cheese if you have it (yum!).
Beat 3-4 eggs together with 3/4 cup thick Greek yogurt. You should have a thick but pourable batter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Arrange the veggies and cheese cubes over the breadcrumbs in the pie pan. Pour the egg mixture over, then top with more grated cheese. Bake it for about 20 minutes, then check its progress. When the eggs seem cooked and it’s just beginning to brown, turn the oven to broil to get the top nice and golden (carefully supervise this process).
This is far more foolproof than quiche. A very flexible and forgiving recipe!
Made a similar dish yesterday. Fool-proof for non-domestic goddesses like me. (Or should that be domestic mortals?)
We can compromise and be domestic nymphs 🙂
Lol. I like it. Also sounds slightly younger and sprightlier 😉
Ohhhh, cheesy pie. That mushroom broth looks the business. I hear you on the pantry staples, garlic and lemon have to be there. Although lately, I haven’t seen any dried Aussie garlic and as I’m trying to be ‘food mile aware’ I have been using garlic oil. Luckily, fresh garlic just popped back into the growers market. It’s pretty ace stuff.
Oh yes, I couldn’t manage without the fresh stuff. What we get here is of varying quality, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen dried garlic. For us it is either fresh or “garlic powder,” which tastes quite different to me. Garlic oil is something I would see only in a specialty shop, like truffle oil. With the weather turning cold here, it’s the season for roasting garlic 🙂
Oops, I didn’t explain myself well. When I said dried, I really meant ‘cured’ ie the regular stuff. Currently, most of its imported from far, far away (ie China) but the growers market has got some fresh garlic back in which is soft and fresh! kind of like a regular onion. We can buy extra garlic Virgin olive oil in supermarkets these days. But the really good stuff is in delis and speciality food stores. Roast garlic is fantastic hey?
Wow, “fresh” garlic is something I’ve not explored! Even the gardeners here cure it, as you say. Sounds interesting!
Yum, yum, yum!!
I’m exactly the same way about leftovers. I like to say I run a tight ship. I love your recipe…so much easier than making a quiche. I’ll have to try it once I’m done with my Biggest Loser contest. (Of course, then I’ll just gain it all back…)
Thanks! My goal is to stay on an even keel. I lay off the carbs if I get up past a certain poundage, but I don’t go on serious diets.
That’s probably a lot healthier than what I’m doing. I’m just a stubborn ass. I can even say that about myself and not stop being a stubborn ass. But it will all be over on Nov. 3rd, which is when I go to OKC. I can’t sustain this for much longer, that’s for sure.
Oh, that cheesy pie looks so good! I love quiche too but I believe it’s a bitch to make!
Well, the pie’s pretty easy. You don’t have to worry about the custard separating and “sweating” like with quiche, nor is the precise proportion of egg to yogurt crucial as it is with egg and milk. Just be sure to use the thick Greek style yogurt.
Leftover day happens twice a week in my house and it is a food fiesta. I LOVE those days. Not sure everyone else is as keen as I am, but maybe I like it because of the challenge in creativity part. And I’m right beside you regarding those pantry staples. Could not survive without them.
Many thanks for the link to the Times article. Pasta and caramelized lemon? Yes, that is so going on this week’s dinner menu. And very likely your drool-worthy cheese pie recipe too. Cheers, Linnet.
Many thanks! I like the challenge too. Sometimes what I produce is less than magical (I am currently wrestling with a recalcitrant, fibrous pumpkin), but luckily the LSH has a cast-iron stomach 🙂
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