Those Pesky Leftovers

One of the worst bits of cooking for two is the leftovers. It seems like no matter how carefully I plan, there are always leftovers. And if your guy is anything like mine, leftovers just don't fly. So what do you do with the bits and pieces from last night's meal? There's always lunch, but if you're the only one who will eat leftovers for lunch, that gets a tad old. So the other option is to incorporate leftovers into a new meal for the next dinner. That's where leftovers can get a bit fun. Here's a recipe that I came up with today that works handily for some common leftovers, and it's pretty tasty too!

• 2 cups cooked grains (I used leftover quinoa, but rice would do just as well. Really, whatever you made too much of last night can be used)
• 1/ cup chopped sweet vidalia onion
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• Vegetable oil, about 2 tbsp
• 1 16 oz can diced tomatoes with jalapeño.
• 1 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 cup of vegetables (frozen or leftover work equally well. I used frozen carrots, but the sky 's the limit)
• leftover meat, shredded (I had a single, lonely pork chop to get rid of. About a cup should do nicely, but use your tastes as a guide)
• 2 tbsp soup  base (a bullion cube can be substituted, but the gluten-free stuff I mentioned in an earlier post is my new fave)
• Shredded cheese of your choice. Enough to cover the top.

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Sauté celery and onions over medium-low heat until everything is nice and soft.
3. Combine everything except the cheese in a casserole dish. Pop it in the oven for about ten minutes.
4. Cover the casserole with cheesy goodness and cook until melted and noms.
5. Serve.

What I love about this recipe is that it's surprisingly tasty and absurdly easy to make on top of being very economical.