Something old into something new: leftover butter chicken pizza!

I’m not a fan of really hot, spicy foods, but I do like the flavour of curry. Hubby and I like to order butter chicken and rice from a nearby Indian restaurant because they make it on the milder side. We always order lots and there’s always leftover. But sometimes after the first few days, it’s easy to get bored with it, like anything else. Sometimes, you just need to find a new presentation to make even the most favourite of take-out more interesting a few days later — especially when the naan bread really isn’t too fresh by the third day and needs a little life put back into it.

So, today for lunch, I got a brainstorm. Pizza only needs a base, a sauce and toppings, right? So naan is similar to pizza crust, butter chicken sauce is like tomato sauce, the chicken is like any meat topping — all that’s needed is some veggie component (my preference) and some cheese. Here’s what I did…

Just what the doctor ordered: potato-leek soup

So, I’ve been sick since New Years Day though I finally seem to be on the mend. The problem is that when I’m sick, we tend to eat horribly and rely on takeout a lot. This probably isn’t helpful to the recovery process as takeout isn’t exactly the most nutritious food out there

So I mustered up some strength and tore apart the fridge, taking my cutting board and veggies into the living room to chop and prepare while sitting down as much as I could. (Standing for long periods of time just won’t do when you are lightheaded.)

Luckily, there were lots of veggies to choose from including leeks, which is something new to this household. I’ve wanted to try them out for a while and just thought to pick them up with the last grocery run. And when you’re ill, what’s the first thing you generally want to eat other than toast or crackers? Soup!

Now, I haven’t had any stomach problems with this illness, so I didn’t need it to be broth-based, so here’s what I did…

A COMPARISON: Tuna sandwiches

I used to think that a tuna sandwich was a healthy meal choice. In theory, it is. But no two tuna sandwiches are the same, it seems, and some are better for you than others. Admittedly, I am not a big fish-eater, so eating the tuna out of the can without any mayo is a cringe-worthy thought for me. Tuna salad sandwiches are my “thing” and pretty much the only way I get any fish into my diet.

But let’s compare: my old tuna salad sandwich to my new tuna salad sandwich. Both are between two pieces of bread. Both have cheese. Both have butter, lettuce and tomato. One is toasted. One is not. But one of these things is not like the other, so to speak. Let’s have a closer look, shall we?

Savory muffins: cheese, onion & bacon muffins

Sometimes you want something small to eat. Sometimes you want something bread-based. And sometimes you want a muffin, but you want something savoury at the same time.

Why not make savoury muffins? 🙂

I’ll warn that the dough seems dry when you make them. It’s up to you whether or not you add more liquid, but I kind of like how they turn out as-is. (These are based off an old recipe I found a few years back, but I don’t recall the source. I apologize if this looks familiar to someone else’s! I did, however, make adjustments based on my own tastes.) This makes 12 muffins.

Thai-inspired dinner

Thai food is not something I normally indulge in. I can’t handle spicy-spicy foods. (Yeah, I’m a wuss.) But I was in the mood for something different tonight, so I poked around online for a dipping sauce recipe that would strike my fancy and dove into whipping something up.

First, I cannot claim the Thai Peanut Sauce as my own. I did cut back slightly on the amount of chili powder and added more brown sugar for my own tastes, but otherwise, check out the recipe at tasteofBBQ.

All I did with the chicken was cut it up into strips and then marinaded it in a bowl in the fridge filled with half a bottle of low fat Italian dressing for about an hour. Then I skewered them on metal skewers and grilled them on my indoor grill for a few minutes. Carefully, I removed the chicken from the grill with tongs (as those skewers would be hot)! and pulled the chicken off the skewers into a serving bowl, sprinkling it all with a little bit of coarse salt.

How I saved my overcooked chicken

So last night, I knew I had several boneless, skinless chicken breasts which needed to be cooked up but I rapidly found myself running out of evening to cook them in. I thought I’d be clever and throw them into the crockpot with some honey-garlic sauce (VH), onions and a can of pineapple, let it on low and wake up in the morning to fantastic chicken.

Boy, was I wrong. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are not good for the crockpot, because they dry out very easily, despite being drenched in liquid. I didn’t realize this.

Hubby said he’d eat it, but I told him to leave it alone, let me think about it and I’d see if I could salvage it and make it more palatable. I had a few ideas after searching through my cupboards. Here’s how I saved my chicken…

Pasta with a “quick” bolognese sauce & homemade garlic toast

I needed a break from all the Alfredo sauce I’ve had of late, as well as all the chicken! So tonight, I whipped up an old standby and a new dish for me.

Old standby: Pasta with a “quick” bolognese sauce.

New item: Homemade garlic-onion toast.

The garlic-onion toast was more out of necessity than anything: I had a French loaf that was going to go moldy if I didn’t make use of it tonight. So I cut it in half, slapped half of it in the freezer, then slathered this one with the fixin’s and broiled it. Here’s what I did for both…