Leftovers

Sunday, January 8, 2012


“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers.  The original meal has never been found.”
- Calvin Trillin

Sometimes I feel like Calvin Trillin’s mother.  I love both serving and eating leftovers. There’s nothing better than pulling already-made food out of the fridge, to be reheated and replated, and served a second time.  It’s less work for the cook, I enjoy the sense of thrift from using something again, and often leftovers just taste better the second day.  I’m lucky that everyone else in my family likes them too.

However, I might have overdone leftovers this week.  I had three healthy new recipes I wanted to try, and I made them three consecutive nights for dinner.  Which means we’re still working our way through the leftovers.

I found this recipe for Chickpea Pot Pie on the wonderful blog Eats Well With Others.  The good news is that I loved it, and I’ll definitely make it again.  Unfortunately, the rest of my family wasn’t so sure about chickpeas taking the place of chicken.  So I’ve been enjoying these leftovers by myself for a few meals.

Here’s what I’ll do next time: I’ll follow the recipe as printed, but in the third step, I’ll divide it in half. I’ll prepare the first half with chickpeas (which I will share with no one), and the other half with cooked chicken (for the rest of my family).

And you know what that means – more leftovers for me!

Chickpea Pot Pie with Cornbread Curst
(Adapted from Eats Well With Others)

1 cup chopped sweet potatoes
1 cup chopped potatoes
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained (OR 1 cup chickpeas and 1 cup cooked chicken)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tsp kosher salt
dash of Tabasco sauce
3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup skim (nonfat) milk
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large egg yolk, slightly beaten

Instructions

Boil sweet potatoes, potatoes and carrots until tender but not soft and set aside.  Butter a 2-quart casserole or 8 ramekins.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the filling, heat oil in a large saucepan and add onions.  Cook until they are soft, about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle in the 1/4 cup flour and mix.  Slowly pour in the vegetable broth, stirring well.  Still stirring, cook the mixture over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add 2 cups chickpeas, peas, cooked potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots, salt and Tabasco.  (Alternatively, divide the mixture into two saucepans, adding 1 cup chickpeas to one pan and 1 cup cooked chicken to the other.)  Cook on medium heat until the mixture is heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn into the prepared casserole dish or divide evenly among the ramekins.

For the crust, in a bowl combine the cornmeal, 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.   In a small bowl, combine the milk, oil and egg yolk.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix until uniform.  Spoon the batter evenly over the filling.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 22 to 25 minutes for a 2-quart casserole and 12 minutes for the ramekins.

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

I definitely plan our meals around the fact that there will be leftovers. Some people despise them, but I really don't get it. It's so easy to pack a lunch for work or pull something out on a busy night.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Thanks for sharing this. I'm going to try it. Hope you'll share more vegetarian recipes.

Anonymous said...

Mmm, this recipe looks GREAT! I like the idea of replacing chicken with chickpeas :) I would eat leftovers with you ;)

Natalie Aguirre said...

And you won WISHLESS at Literary Rambles. E-mail me your address so I can send you your book.

Valerie Gamine said...

I love chickpeas, so I'd be happy to help you work your way through any leftovers. :D
(That quote is hysterical!)

Belinda said...

That is one of my favorite quotes of all time. Great "leftover" dish!

Janet Johnson said...

Confession: I'm not a huge leftover fan. But I do love that feeling of thrift!

Enjoy your chickpea pot pie!

Carol said...

Love that quote! The chickpea pot pie looks delicious.

Jess said...

What a coincidence! I'm making chicken pot pie for dinner tonight~ mind if I steal your crust recipe?

Gloria Baker said...

Beth I love this look delicious!! gloria

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

I would have to do the same with my family! But I love having leftovers just for me, too~ Sounds like a yummy...I enjoy meatless meals now and then, too :)

Kayte said...

That looks good...am sure Mark/Matt would love eating that! I am learning this year to make quarter portions of things that I normally made when Matt was still at home (swimmers eat a lot all the time), so that we don't have leftovers. There is a fine skill to cooking just enough food...I am learning it very slowly! Love the Trillan quote...he is such a funny man...he is the reason we have Spaghetti Carbonara each year the night before Thanksgiving. I love reading all his books/articles, etc. I was so sad when Alice died, no longer can he say, "Alice, Let's EAT!" When we named one of our cats after we were first married, the choice of names was going to be either Chaucer or Calvin. Chaucer won out, just barely.

Kitchen Belleicious said...

I am not a big leftover fan but this my friend I would eat any day of the week! I love chicken pot pie! Amazing

julie said...

I would have been the only one eating the chickpea version at this house as well. This is pure comfort food and it looks fabulous!

Jill | Dulce Dough said...

Sounds really good! Great idea to make half with chickpeas and half with chicken so everyone is happy!

Anonymous said...

That looks so filling! And pot pie leftovers can be so full of flavor the next day.

Bonnie said...

It certainly is a pretty pie! I, too, love leftovers. But, I am the only one in my family. I love to take leftovers to school for lunch. Hugs! Bonnie

Anonymous said...

We're big chickpea fans in our house, so I think this would be a hit!

Anonymous said...

Nothing wrong with leftovers! It's a lot better than eating out and spending extra money.

Monet said...

Oh yum! I wonder if I could do a chicken and chickpea combo? This is such a delicious way to begin my morning. I'm drooling just thinking about how great this must have tasted. Thank you for sharing with me...and warm wishes for the new week!

Joanne said...

Oh yay! I'm SO glad you liked it chica (even if the rest of the family was iffy...I mean, my brother refused to even TRY it!). And yeah, more for you. I LOVE leftovers and really wish I had leftovers of this in my fridge!

Jeanne said...

I'm a leftover lover too! Most dishes get more flavorful after sitting in the fridge for a day or two, anyway. This chickpea pot pie is sure to be a favorite in our house. We love chickpeas!

Barbara said...

I grinned when I read how you're going to divide up the dishes from now on. Some of my family want meat in everything too. This looks really good...Joanne has super vegetarian recipes.
Fun you are going to Anse Chastanet. Did you read my travel article about it as well? (on the sidebar)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a brilliant idea Beth. I have that same problem. My tastebuds often differ from the rest of the family. I think I would choose to eat more all veggie meals if I were cooking just for me, but thankfully I am not. I do adore the crazy bunch I have to feed daily.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

That looks wonderful! I love it when I find new vegetarian recipes.

Golden Eagle said...

Sounds like a great recipe!

I like leftovers, too. They're really quite good.

shaz said...

I love chickpeas and can definitely see myself eating this, but I think my family will have the same reaction. Actually, only one member of the family will have the same reaction, but she'd be the most vocal :)

Claudia said...

I saw that recipe and noted it. The chickpeas work for me. Somedays I love leftovers - even though I love to cook... the ease of leftovers can be very nice. Trillin's quote is one of my favorites.

Anonymous said...

We definitely would have had the same situation going on in our house. The boys would have to have the chicken, but I would have happily ate the chickpeas for days. Great idea to divide the recipe in half!

Katerina said...

I don't want to throw food away! It is such a shame so I always have leftovers and try to do something equally tasty with them. Your pot pie looks very appetizing!

Jessica | Cajunlicious said...

I Love recreating new dishes with leftovers.

Kitchen Riffs said...

I love leftovers! In fact some of my favorite recipes require them. I really like this recipe - chickpeas are great, and this is a nice way to use them. I'm wondering how this would taste seasoned with curry spices? Kind of a weird idea, but it might work. Anyway, thanks.

Sarah said...

Our two person home pretty much lives on leftovers and I really like the chickpeas in this!

lisa is cooking said...

I was so happy to come home and find leftovers in my refrigerator for a quick dinner last night! I'd be thrilled to have leftovers of this pot pie too.

Simply Life said...

Great looking meal! I LOVE having leftovers!

Julie said...

I love the cornmeal crust on this pie, looks delicious. Hope you're having a great week.

Elisabeth said...

Very unusual, and totally yummy pot pie! Love the cornbread crust!
Thanks for sharing your great recipe, Beth:DDD

nancy at good food matters said...

Beth, this looks like a terrific recipe--I love all the seasonal elements.(and so protein rich with the chickpeas!) Lately, I've been cooking a lot with different cornmeals and grits, so I am happy to see this cornmeal crust. Thanks!

Vicki Bensinger said...

I think it's wonderful that you recreate dishes night after night from one meal. I use to do that more often but now by morning I find that someone has raided the refrigerator and eaten my leftovers. I know it's not the dogs and since my kids are all gone the culprit is my husband who tends to deny it!

Chickpea Pot Pie sounds delish and healthy. I'm not sure though that my husband would appreciate it either.

Thanks for sharing1

Miriam said...

I made that pot pie for Christmas Eve dinner and I loved it too!! I am going to be blogging about it next week :).
I'm sure your left overs are delicious :), Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

Beth @ Beth Michelle said...

I absolutely love the idea of chickpeas in place of chicken!!

Unknown said...

Just had to weigh in here! I love leftovers and this looks delicious;-)

Asmita said...

I love pot pie and this one looks yummy!!!
www.compulsivefoodie.com

sally said...

I love leftovers too! I often find myself making a lot more dinner than we need, so I can eat the leftovers for at least a few lunches. I'm sure I'd love that pot pie and the leftovers.

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