Oh, yay.  A post about leftovers.  Weeeee! 😏

I get it. Leftovers have a bad rap. I have several friends that report their partners/familes refuse to eat leftovers. My first response is always Woah! Good thing they don’t live with ME! Because, let me tell you, leftovers are a staple in this household. Even when we are NOT on lockdown for a Covid 19 Pandemic…

After a little investigating, I’ve realized there’s a key difference in their leftovers and my leftovers. In my case, I take a protein, whether meat or veg based (think roast or giant vat of pinto beans) and create a base that tastes good, but isn’t overly skewed toward one flavor or another. It needs to have good flavor as is, but have the flexibility to morph from one food genre to another.

Let’s break that down.

The initial treatment of your protein is the key. If you make 6lbs of BBQ pulled pork, I promise you, you and/or your partner will be sick of it long before two people can eat all of it. No matter how much you love Grampa Joe’s Special BBQ Sauce recipe. Same with a bucket of chili or vat of taco meat. Strong, repetitive flavors can get boring very quickly.

So how do we make Leftovers neutral?

Let’s take this 6lb pork loin as an example. That is FAR too much protein for 2 people. At least at one sitting. Or four. In fact, I made no less than 16 servings out of this meat. And shared a hefty amount with Molly. But such is life when you’re provisioning on a random island, or grabbing what is still on the shelves during a pandemic. You work with what you have.

Initial Prep

I took this pork loin, cut it into 4 equally sized slabs of meat (to fit into my largest pan and for each piece to cook at the same rate) and seared ALL of the sides of the meat.  

I put a lid on the same pan (I use nesting pots and remove the handle for baking) then cooked for 3+ hours at 275℉  When it was fall-apart-tender, I called it done. (Here’s the link to the Magma nesting pans that I’ve been using for YEARS.  Could not love them more. They were with me on the boat and are going in the RV)

KEEP THE JUICES! 

I used basic seasonings – salt, pepper and a bit of a generic seasoning salt I have on hand.  It was good straight out of the oven.  But don’t stop there!

BBQ Pulled Pork

I was craving BBQ as soon as I saw the massive wall of pork at Aldi. Good thing, since the day I went to the store that’s pretty much all they had in stock.

I had a mustard based sauce on hand, so I sautéed a bit of cooked pork in a skillet and coated with the bottled sauce. I don’t eat gluten, so buns weren’t an issue – but feel free to make a BBQ sandwich if that’s your thing. Oven roasted sweet potato rounds and roasted brussels sprouts rounded out this meal. And by roasting both sides, I really cut short my time in the kitchen. Nailed that BBQ craving!

Pork Fried Rice

After years of cruising, I’ve gotten crafty with my use of cabbage.  Because that’s often one of the only vegetables I can get my grubby little (very thoroughly washed for at least 20 seconds) hands on. Onions and carrots are usually around as well.  And in the case of this pandemic, you’re going to want to have the long-shelf-life veggies around.  Chop all of these, along with any others you may have on hand that need to be used soon, toss in with some leftover rice, a couple of eggs and the right seasoning, and BOOM! You have fried rice.  (And butter.  I really like to add butter…)

My favorite additions:

• sesame oil
• garlic powder
• ginger powder
• tamari (gluten free alternative to soy sauce)
• chinese spicy mustard
• sesame seeds for garnish

Loaded Baked Potato

I LOVE an oven baked potato. And while we still have an oven (the RV doesn’t have one) I’m taking advantage and making all kinds of versions. This go round included pan-fried-until-crispy pork loin, a potato baked until the skin was also crispy and delicious with some roasted brussel sprouts (again, cooked at the same time as the potato) green onions and butter. Simple and delicious!

Leftover Pork “Carnitas”

Again, with the simple starch, green and protein. And again with the delicious. This version was pan fried in the fat I skimmed off the top of the juices I saved after roasting. I added Carne Asada seasoning from a jar, a side of asparagus sautéed in lemon, butter and a bit of spice with a side of oven baked fries.

I did NOT feel like cooking this day. I was doing things. Lot’s of things. It’s lockdown, but I had shows to binge, a zombie book to read – you know, THINGS. So I did not have high hopes on the flavor, just wanted something in my belly. Turns out, a quick sauté of some pork, leftover gluten free pasta with garlic, butter and salt plus a side of asparagus hit the spot! We were both surprised how good this simple meal tasted. And I was able to get back to my Things super fast.

Pork and Cabbage Soup

I took the last of the pork, the saved juices from roasting day, leftover rice, fresh carrots and fresh cabbage and created one of our favorite leftovers! We both really enjoyed the soup – and thankfully have just enough leftover (leftover-leftovers?) for one more meal tonight. I didn’t have enough broth left to make enough soup, so added water and my top-secret go-to:

Better Than Bouillon comes in several flavors, and I frequently have several in my fridge. Seriously, last time I checked, there were four jars… We eat a lot of soup, but it’s also great to make a flavorful sauce quickly. And they have vegetarian options, organic options, etc. I’ve even been able to find this on some of the islands.

But wait! There’s more!

There are honestly several more things I could’ve done, had we not run out of leftovers. Slice and make a sandwich, toss in a tortilla with some cheese and make a quesadilla (I don’t eat cheese either) make a curry and put over rice, mix with rice noodles and tahini for some sesame noodles. The options are truly endless. And this method can be used with so many proteins. Grill or roast a large pack of chicken, beef, pork – whatever you can get your hands on.

And if you want bean recipes, for my vegetarian friends, or my pandemic hoarders, just head over to my Boat Food Page for all kinds of goodies!

Thank you so much for following our adventures, reading my blog, and in general being the awesome people you are. And please, PLEASE stay healthy and stay at home!

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