Monday, January 6, 2014

Christmas meal and using leftovers

Sorry I didn't post this sooner after Christmas. I have been enjoying spending time with my family whilst we are on a break from work and school! 

I guess I feel like this post isn't really about a traditional 'Christmas meal' as such, but more about using up leftovers - regardless of what they are left-over from! Its about finding different ways to use what you have, instead of just reheating it and eating it.... again!

And also to share a few salad recipes that I love, which are quick & easy to make when large family gatherings require a variety of dishes! 

Let me start by sharing a picture of our Christmas dinner table:
As I saw it all sitting there it truly felt wonderful! Such healthy food! I love being able to host eating occasions and Christmas is no exception to the rule!

A huge range of salads always makes me smile!



I have mentioned before that I'm a huge fan of this couscous salad from PCRM.
It's really delicious and seems to be like equally by omni's and herbies.

 
 





 


A garden salad never goes astray! I love to add fresh basil leaves from our garden and I love the added colour that a red onion gives. 

I really enjoy making a rice salad too. 
I'm a big brown rice fan so I enjoy turning it into a sweet salad.
Here's how:
Simply combine
2 packets microwave brown rice
2 chopped spring onions
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup seed mix (pumpkin & sunflowers seeds and pine nuts) 
2 teaspoons dried cumin
1 teaspoon  dried coriander
juice of one orange

Serve with the zest from the orange.
 

We made veggie kebabs for the BBQ which worked out way better than I was expecting! I enjoyed them even with the tomato!!! The veggies cooked really well and they were very tasty, even without oil or any dressing/marinade.
Corn pieces on the BBQ always work out exceptionally well too.





















There were quite a few kebab sticks leftover.
So I just used a fork to remove the vegetable pieces and warmed them in the microwave. Added them to leftover garden salad along with some dressing I had made to be a 'leftovers lunch'.

 Another PCRM recipe that I regularly make is this three bean salad (I just use whatever canned beans I have on hand, picture shows butter beans and a four bean mix).
The leftovers from the bean salad turned into a pasta meal for our family.
I just boiled some pasta and added the salad along with 1/2 cup tomato paste.
Super simple meal but totally delicious!


I also made my carrot salad recipe, just with the added addition of a grated apple too. This salad is quite sweet which makes it great for getting children used to enjoying some salads.
Leftovers also make wonderful carrot cake simply by combining wholemeal self-raising flour, a flax egg and some soymilk to the salad!!! ;-)

I made 3 kilograms of spiced wedges!
Clearly I over-catered when it provided our family with a whole other meal. Though, I'm grateful for that really! We LOVE potato nachos!
Our toppings were the leftover carrot, peas and corn mix with refried beans and salsa!
Super easy and tasty meal :-)

This brings me to the last salad I'm sharing today.
Mexican salad. One of my favourites lately. 
Lettuce, red kidney beans, tomatoes, capsicum, corn, spring onion and avocado. Topped off with home-made tofu sour cream.
It makes a great fresh burrito filling!
Particularly nice on warm days when a heated filling isn't necessary.

I can't finish this post without mentioning dessert of course!
Chocolate coconut whipped cream with dark chocolate shavings.
Everyone loves this and its so super quick & easy to make.
A few cans of coconut cream left in the fridge overnight. Scoop out the top thickened layer being careful not to add the water below. Whip the cream using beaters. I add Your Inspiration at Home chocolate powder but cocoa powder works too.

I was so very very pleased with how well my trifle worked out.
I made a basic vanilla cake (like this cake minus the cocoa), whole and blended raspberries, made soymilk custard and assembled them in layers. Topped with fresh berries to make a delicious vegan trifle :-)
Everyone agreed it was super yummy!
 
And I don't think you need to know how to use up leftover dessert! You just EAT IT! ;-)

Question of the day:
Do you enjoy eating leftovers? Do you re-purpose them or just reheat and serve how it originally was? 

18 comments:

  1. what a great colourful feast - and I love seeing how you used the leftovers - did you think through the leftovers when planning the Christmas meal or just get inspired afterwards?

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    1. haha actually No I didn't think in advance about the meals it was just when I realised how much was leftover that I knew I needed better ways of using them up than just serving them the same way!!!

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  2. Ha ha, I'm actually online today to finally put up my very belated Christmas post, too! Your food looks fab! I'm so jealous - I wish my Christmas dinner looked like that.

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    1. Glad I'm not the only one delayed at this time of year! ;-)
      It was a wonderful privilege to be able to provide Christmas! I really enjoyed it and it meant our family had a lot of options to eat too.

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  3. There's definitely a lot of delicious good food here! I love the colours too :-)

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  4. What a glorious food post! Awesome Leftover ideas!!!! And those colorful dishes! WOW! Two THUMBS Up!

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    1. It's wonderful to be able to eat coloured food! Visually appealing as well as good for us :-)

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  5. Wow! That all looks like an amazingly healthy and delicious christmas and leftovers! I love having leftovers from special occasions, but when it's just the two of us we don't cook enough usually. Your sparkly nail polish is super cute in the skewers photo!

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    1. lol Thanks! I rarely paint my nails but my sister did it for me for a Christmas treat! I did love it I must admit!!!! :-)

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  6. lots of yum there!

    we do not really do leftovers here - i try to cook meals that i know the portions will be eaten that night. but i do usually have left-over ingredients from a specific meal that week that i will try and incorporate into another dish.

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    1. That makes sense :-)
      I try not to make too much, but just enough for one lunchbox the following day! However I did over cater for Christmas I must admit!!

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  7. What a beautiful Christmas spread! It's all so lovely and colourful!

    I almost tried a trifle this year, but didn't end up going through with it. Yours looks fab, I'll have to put it on the list for next year.

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    1. The trifle was my favourite part lol! Def give it a try next year! :-)

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  8. Your Christmas spread looks fantastic, I love all the colours:)))

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  9. Happy New Year Sandy!
    Just been catching up on all your awesome posts since the holidays. Your Christmas spread looks amazing! Such beautiful colours! I love how creative you've been with the leftovers too. I haven't made a vegan trifle before but I'd like to give it a try. Yours looks scrumptious!

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    1. Thanks Sharon! I hope you've had a great start to the new year.
      Its totally delicious and one of my favourite desserts - you should definitely give it a try sometime :-)

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