Do you ever have one of those days where so many of the items in your refrigerator are mixey-matchy, and you don’t know what to do for dinner? I was at that point last week. I had leftovers from Sevilla’s, leftover rice from Dragon House, and some fresh vegetables from the Riverside Farmers Market.
These items were certainly not stand-alone meals, but I HAD to do something for dinner, and I absolutely detest throwing away food. The hubby and I had been eating out the week of my birthday, because I certainly wasn’t cooking during that time. Though it was nice to not have to worry about cooking, I have to admit that I was getting sick of eating out because it’s so much harder to control my portions, especially when everything was so damn GOOD!
After assessing my situation and recalling the contents of my pantry, it hit me! Casserole time!!! I had a couple bunches of broccoli, and some canned tuna that needed to be used, so I decided on a Broccoli Tuna Casserole of sorts. My leftovers of Manchego cheese and sauteed mushrooms from Sevilla’s, and the rice from Dragon House would pair nicely with the broccoli and tuna as well as round out the meal. It’s a great feeling to utilize hodge-podge left-overs when they would have otherwise been tossed in the garbage or eaten on their own. With the case of the Manchego cheese, that would have been a bad thing.
I know what you’re thinking. This dish may not seem quite worthy of a blog post, but I’ve got to tell you, this dish was damn good! It’s one of those recipes where Angel (my hubby) actually sought out the leftovers in the following days. When that happens, you KNOW it’s good! Too bad I had gotten to them first!
What do you do with your hodge-podge leftovers?
Broccoli Tuna Casserole
By
Published: September 21, 2010
Broccoli Tuna Casserole – a leftovers makeover!
Ingredients
2 6 ounce Cans Solid White Tuna in water
3/4 Cup Manchego Cheese, cubed or shredded
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Stock
4 Cups Broccoli, chopped into florets
1/2 Cup Sauteed Mushrooms
1 Cup Cooked Rice
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the flour. Cook for one minute, then slowly add the milk while continually whisking to prevent any lumps. Add in the chicken stock, and continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 3-6 minutes. Turn the heat down super low then add the Manchego cheese, and stir until the cheese is melted. Season this mixture with salt and pepper to your liking, and set aside. In a large bowl, toss the tuna, broccoli, mushrooms and rice until an even distribution is reached, and add in the cheese sauce. Once everything is mixed together, pour into the sprayed casserole dish, cover with a lid or aluminum foil, and bake 25-30 minutes, until the mixture is heated through, and broccoli is tender. Serves 4.
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
This brought back good memories of my Dad’s specialty – “Daddy’s-Super-Throw-Together-Supper”. He’d take just about anything in the fridge, a few things in a can and mix it all up with cream of whatever soup. Once it was hamburger, rice, noodles, mushrooms all mixed with cheese soup. Yum! Great blog!
Now that’s my kind of meal! Sounds like the perfect way to ‘eat down’ your fridge and pantry! I don’t do that often enough!
Looks great up there babe!!! And the dish was BOMB.
Thanks honey! YOU’RE the bomb, yo! <3
Didn’t think I’d be able to make a decent meal out of the sad morsels of food in the fridge, but this was just the ticket! Added some mustard which I thought worked well too 🙂
Michelle, it’s amazing what we can whip up, right? The mustard addition sounds divine. Thanks for the comment!