Cherchies Blog

leftovers

Southwest Stuffed Sweet Potato Recipe

entrees, leftovers, lunch, side dishesSheri SpalloneComment

Southwest Stuffed Sweet Potato Recipe

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Difficulty:  Easy

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My favorite part about Thanksgiving and the holidays is spending precious moments with family and friends, but my second favorite?  The leftovers!

Leftovers are kind of my thing!  For years, I have prided myself on transforming last night's dinner into tonight's masterpiece, a skill that most likely developed from having picky eaters at the dinner table and not wanting to waste food.

For this recipe, I used leftover Thanksgiving turkey and sweet potatoes, our NEW Cherchies® Black Bean & Corn Salsa, cheese, a sprinkle of this and a dollop of that and voila, a fabulous stuffed sweet potato emerged, bursting with sweet and tangy Southwestern goodness. 

This recipe is the "bomb" (Sorry, dating myself), it's healthy, it's full of flavor, it's the perfect quick and easy meal, and It's a recipe you need to add to your favorites now!  Serve these potatoes with our Homemade Applesauce and a salad for a complete meal!  

What's your favorite use of Thanksgiving leftovers?  We would love to hear from you!

Ingredients  

Preparation  

Chop the cooked turkey or chicken and set aside.  Rinse, wash, and pat dry the sweet potatoes.  Keeping the skin on, prick each potato several times with a fork.  Wrap each potato in a paper towel and Microwave until potatoes are soft to the touch.  You may certainly bake the potatoes in a 350 degree oven until the potatoes are soft to the touch (usually about a half hour), but I cheated and used the microwave:)

Once the potatoes are soft, it's time to assemble.   With a sharp knife, cut a slit into each potato and gently pry open.  Use a fork to loosen some of the sweet potato.   Sprinkle each potato with about 1/4 teaspoon (tsp) of Cherchies® Chardonnay Lime & Cilantro Seasoning Blend.

Turn the oven onto Broil.   Place 1/2 cup of the turkey or chicken in each potato and mix slightly.  Next add 1/4 cup of Cherchies® Black Bean & Corn Salsa to the potato, then sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over the potato.  Sprinkle an additional Cherchies® Chardonnay Lime & Cilantro Seasoning Blend over each potato.  

Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and broil on high until the cheese has melted (about 10 minutes).   And here you go, easy, cheesy, healthy, robust, Southwest Stuffed Sweet Potatoes!  Enjoy!

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Grilled Balsamic Champagne Vegetables Recipe

leftovers, side dishesSheri SpalloneComment

Grilled Champagne Balsamic Vegetables Recipe

Cook Time: 20 minutes  Marinade Time: 2 hours Difficulty:  Easy  

It's summer and my garden is exploding with fresh vegetables!  With summer grilling season well under way, I wanted take advantage of summer's bounty and share our favorite grilled vegetable recipe, Grilled Champagne Balsamic Vegetables. These vegetables are delicious!!

I made this easy recipe for our July 4th picnic, and the vegetables were devoured!  In fact, they was so well received, I was asked to bring my "grilled veggies" to our next potluck.  Imagine that? Vegetables getting a "call back" (sorry, theater terms...another blog).

For this recipe, we used red and green peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, Portabella mushrooms, and vidalia onions, but feel free to substitute your favorite veggies (eggplant, yams, asparagus, etc.)

The secret to this recipe is marinating the vegetables in a tangy Champagne Mustard vinaigrette and grilling the vegetables to a perfect "tender crisp" consistency.   This recipe can also be used to roast the veggies in the oven, but if you prefer grill marks and flavor of grilled anything then you must grill these vegetables.  And, If you have any leftover veggies, chop them up and use them in omelets, quesadillas, or fried rice the next day!  Easy peasy!

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning (could substitute Cherchies® Garlic and Herb No-Salt Seasoning)
  • 1 teaspoon (tsp) pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) olive oil
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) White Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Champagne Mustard
  • 2 red peppers, seeds removed, sliced into 1 inch strips
  • 2 green peppers, seeds removed, sliced into 1 inch strips
  • 2 large zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
  • 2 large yellow squash, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
  • 1 package Baby Portabella Mushrooms 
  • 1 vidalia onion, sliced in half

Preparation

Place cut vegetables on two baking sheets.  Season the vegetables with Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning (or Cherchies® Garlic & Herbs Seasoning) and pepper.  Mix the veggies by hand to ensure the veggies are evenly coated with the seasoning.  Set aside.

Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking the olive oil, the Balsamic Vinegar, and the Champagne Mustard in a small bowl.  Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables and once again use your hands to coat the vegetables evenly.    Cover with plastic wrap and marinate the vegetables for at least two hours in the refrigerator (I usually marinate overnight).  

When vegetables have marinated, turn the grill onto high to heat up, then to medium low once grill is warmed.  Place the vegetables on the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes until vegetables have grill marks, then carefully turn over to cook the other side and cook for another 4-5 minutes.   These may need to be grilled in batches depending on the size of the grill.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Enjoy!

 

 

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Pork Fried Rice Recipe

entrees, leftoversSheri SpalloneComment

Pork Fried Rice Recipe

Cook Time:  15 minutes  Difficulty: Easy

I love turning today's leftovers into tomorrow's masterpiece, and fried rice is the perfect masquerade for leftover meat and veggies. Score one for Mom!

We used leftover pork In this recipe, but chicken or seafood could easily be substituted, or no meat at all.  You may want to make a double batch because it will disappear right before your eyes!  

I couldn't believe the first time I made this easy recipe...my family had second...and third helpings. I guess that says something about my cooking...either that or it could be we starve our children to force them to eat leftovers;)  Just kidding:)

Ingredients (marinade)

Fried Rice Ingredients

  • 3 Tablespoons (Tbsp)  olive oil
  • Rotisserie chicken or leftover meat, chopped (We used leftover pork for this recipe)
  • 5 cups cooked white rice (you can substitute brown rice as I often do unbenounced to my family;)
  • 1 teaspoon (tsp) chili powder
  • 1 10 oz. pkg. frozen sweet peas
  • 2 large eggs, slightly beaten

Preparation

Combine the peppers and chopped onions and the rest of the marinade ingredients in a large zip-top bag and marinade for at least 30 minutes.  Then remove the peppers and onions with a slotted spoon, reserving the marinade for later.

In the meantime, cook the rice according to directions on the package.

After the peppers and onions have marinated, cook the pepper and onions with 3 Tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet until veggies are slightly tender (depending on the size of the skillet, you may have to make in batches and then mix in a large bowl).

Add rice, peas, chili powder and 1/2 of marinade.  Cook for two minutes on medium stirring constantly. Add eggs and rest of marinade.  Continue to cook and stir, until eggs are cooked.  Hint: If you have a large enough skillet or griddle, move the rice and veggies into a ring with the middle left for the eggs, then mix when egg is cooked.  Here you have it, quick and easy fried rice!  Enjoy:)

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Blooming Tomato With Chicken Salad Recipe

leftovers, lunch, saladsSheri SpalloneComment
Blooming Tomato With Chicken Salad Recipe

Blooming Tomato With Chicken Salad Recipe

Cook Time:  30 minutes (if cooking chicken) Difficulty: Easy

Summer is approaching, and with that will be a plethora of juicy tomatoes.  I love ripe juicy tomatoes by themselves, but I also love them filled with a creamy salad.  This easy "bloomin" tomato chicken salad is perfect for a ladies luncheon, brunch, or a fancy treat for yourself! Even kiddos will love this recipe.

To get our children to eat any mayonnaise based salad is a chore, and chicken salad is no exception. However, I stumbled upon this "copycat" version of their beloved Chick-fil-A chicken salad, and tried it on them. Knowing full well my kiddos would balk at the tomatoes, I made them chicken salad sandwiches. They were a hit! Now, this is the only chicken salad our kiddos will eat.

You can add the grapes and pecans if you'd like (my favorite), but I knew my kiddos would draw the line at those additions, so I left them out.    

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Chicken breasts, cooked

  • 1/3 cup Celery, finely chopped

  • 1 hard boiled egg, chopped

  • 2/3 cup Mayonnaise

  • 1 Tablespoon Cherchies® Champagne Mustard

  • 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish

  • 1/4 tsp pepper, fresh ground

  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • 1/2 cup chopped grapes (optional)

  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

  • Ripe tomatoes

  • Parsley (optional garnish)

Preparation

I usually cook the chicken and eggs the day before, so Place the cooked chicken in a food processor and pulse until chicken is chopped.  (Coarsely hand chopping the chicken will work just as well).  Place chicken into a medium bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl.  Stir.

Carefully cut slits into the tomato (scoring) from top to bottom, making sure not to cut all the way through.  Gently pry the tomato open.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add a dollop of chicken salad to the tomato and garnish with parsley.  That's it!  A delicious mouth watering treat.  Enjoy!

 

 

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