After a weekend with a reception and a family holiday, my fridge overflows with leftovers. Not enough of any one item to make a meal but with a little inspiration the leftovers are combined to make a yummy dinner of Salmon Alfredo Light with steamed vegetables. The family loved it.
An important part of homemaking is being wise with your budget and that includes not wasting food. The key is recreating leftovers into a new meal instead of just “recycling” the previous meal. Finding a basic dish to which you can add leftover meats or vegetables is a great way to use them without feeling like the meal is a repeat.
My oldest son brought this light Alfredo recipe home from Home Ec class in the eighth grade. It’s the only Alfredo recipe we have ever used because it has wonderful flavor without being heavy. This week, leftover grilled salmon from Mother’s Day dinner was cut into bite-size pieces and added to the sauce, then served over tri-color rotini pasta. The steamed vegetables were the remnants of a veggie tray from the reception.
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 small cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 1 1/3 cups non-fat milk
- 2 Tbsp. light cream cheese
- 1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan, divided
- 4 cups hot cooked pasta, i.e. fettucini, rotini, etc.
- Melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic, saute one minute. Stir in flour. Gradually add the milk, stirring with a wire whisk until blended, cook about 8 minutes until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly.
- Stir in cream cheese, cook two more minutes. Add 1 cup Parmesan, stirring constantly until it melts. if desired, add two cups cooked, chopped meat or seafood, i.e. chicken, prawns, salmon, crab, etc. Stir until meat/seafood is heated through.
- Serve over hot pasta, top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
Try this recipe the next time you have leftover chicken or seafood, and you may find that your family actually likes leftovers. If you work outside the home this recipe is quick and easy to prepare so you can get dinner on the table soon after getting home from work.
Sharing my heart for home and love for creative cooking,
