Don't throw that sauce away!

Did you ever make a recipe that centered around some type of sauce or gravy? Did you ever have a lot left over, but didn't know what to do with it, so threw it out? At the time you probably thought, "what I am going to do with this; it's not like I'm going to use it again." Why not? Granted, sauces and gravies that have dairy in them will not freeze well and when reheated will separate and/or curdle. Not so with freshly made pasta sauces chock full of tomatoes and other vegetables; even if it's only as little as 2 cups worth. They freeze well and can be reheated easily for use as is, or incorporated into other recipes.

Take for example my recipe for Chicken Cacciatore; guaranteed there will always be extra sauce left over and I freeze it for future use. I might use it to create Chicken Cacciatore again; or do a simplfied quickie version. Today was one of those "I need something" quick days and it only took 3 main ingredients, plus a little olive oil and garlic.

First I put on a large pot of salted water, high heat,to bring to a boil. That was for the 1 lb bag of frozen cheese tortellini I was going to make. Secondly, I cut up 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves into bite sized pieces and sprinkled a tablespoon of fine sea salt over the pieces. On the stove I had ready a large skillet with 3 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 Tbsp of minced garlic which was heating on medium heat. The chicken went into the skillet to brown in the oil/garlic mixture.

Big deal you might be saying, so how is this all going to come together for something simple and tasty? What I had waiting on the side was a 2 cup container of leftover chicken cacciatore sauce which I had defrosted overnight. Ok, chicken is nicely browned in the skillet; tortellini is floating in the water; strain the pasta and put it into the skillet; add the sauce and let it all cook together for 10 mintues.

Four servings of absolute deliciousness; and took just a little effort. Between the prep work and the actual cooking; about 30 minutes; not bad I'd say. So next time you have a couple of cups of sauce left over, don't throw it out because it just might make that quickie skillet dinner you just needed to make.

Mary Cokenour

Treasures on my shelf and I didn't even know.

This morning the dogs decided that mommy needed to get up at 6AM; sure, why not? Once I'm up, that's it, I'm up; so got busy getting laundry into the washer, feeding the indoor and outdoor pets (however one of the kittens is missing, and I'm a bit upset over that, and then tackled the cooking. By 8am I had my 2-6 qt crock pots going, one containing Beef Stroganoff, the other Chicken Cacciatore. Yes, yes, I'll post the recipes, just hold your horses cause I'm not done telling you about my morning.

Anyway, I decide to take a break, so turn on the boob tube (that means television)to see if anything interesting was on. The movie, "Julie and Julia" which had inspired me to start this blog was on; really like the movie, so figured I'd watch it again. By now Roy was up, and decided to watch it with me. I wanted him to understand the book references, so went to my cookbook collection and pulled out my copies of "Joy of Cooking", and Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", volumes 1 and 2.

How I purchased these books was by antiquing; every year, on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving), my mom and I would go to Hershey, Pennsylvania and browse the various antique shops. A 1943 "Joy of Cooking" - $1.50; both volumes of Julia's books - $8 each; and then I checked the print date on them. Stunned silence, and that doesn't happen often to me; volume 1 was the 2nd reprint from November 1961; volume 2 is a first edition (says it right inside the book) from 1970. Gold, I had golden books in my collection, and didn't know until now.

That's my thrill for today, and don't believe anything will top that; well, except if the missing kitten(named Peanut)returns. So, here are the two recipes I promised to post; revamped for the crock pot.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
½ cup white wine
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
1 (12 oz) can tomato paste
3 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. hot pepper flakes
1 and ½ cups each of red bell and Italian frying peppers, cut into 1 inch strips
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 large onion, diced
Cooked rice or pasta

Preparation:

Set a 6-qt slow cooker on low, place chicken breasts on bottom. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except for the cooked rice or pasta; mix thoroughly. Spoon mixture over chicken, replace lid and let cook for 6-8 hours; chicken will be fork tender. Mix occasionally; making sure the chicken gets incorporated into the sauce-vegetable mixture.

Serve over the cooked rice or pasta.

Makes 8-10 servings.

~~~~ and ~~~~

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

3 ½ - 4 lbs. lean beef, cut into ½” cubes
½ cup flour
1-12 oz bag frozen, diced onions
1-8 oz can or jar of sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp minced garlic
3 beef seasoning packets or bouillon cubes
2 cups water
1-10 ¾ oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ lbs cooked, broad egg noodles

Preparation:

Set crock pot on low, and place in all ingredients except the soup, sour cream and egg noodles. Cover and cook for 3 hours; stirring occasionally. Add the soup and cook for 4-5 additional hours; until meat is very tender. Stir in sour cream; let cook for 10 minutes; serve over egg noodles.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour