In the last two months we have had two parties. With each I have had leftovers and here are two things I have made from the remains:
1. Taco Pie
One of the parties had a taco bar. I froze the left over ground beef taco meat and saved it for further use. Needing a quick dinner on a weeknight, I decided on Taco Pie.
Leftovers in the freezer: about 2 cups of taco meat
In the fridge: sliced provolone from past grilled cheese night
In the freezer: corn, pie crust
Pantry Items: can of black beans, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder
Process: I let the taco meat thaw out and the pie crust too. Poked holes in the pie crust and baked it at 350 for about 10 min to get a bit crispy.
While that was happening in a non-stick skillet I put about a cupish of frozen corn in the hot pan. I let it get a bit charred and added about a tsp of chili powder and garlic and 1/2 tsp of cumin to the corn. I added a can of drained black beans and let it get all good and cooked together.
Mixed that with the taco meat in a bowl and poured it all into the par-baked pie crust. I topped it with slices of provlone cheese.
Baked until the cheese and crust were all browned. About 25mins.
Result: yummy (duh!)
2. Corn Pesto Tarts
Leftovers in the fridge: corn bacon pesto (browned corn with garlic, shallots, bacon, pesto)
In the Freezer: puffy pastry
In the fridge: leftover goat cheese, mozzerella
Pantry Items: canola spray
The most recent party had a crostini bar so there was leftover corn pesto and goat cheese. I let the puff pastry thaw and rolled it out a bit. Cut it into the fourths and scored a thin border around each edge. I sprayed them all with canola spray and put a thin layer of corn pesto inside the scored boxes. Sprinkled with goat cheese and mozzerella and baked at 400 for about 15 minutes until browned.
I served it with leftover salad and breadsticks from olive garden.
Result: nomgasm.
Both ended up really good with the Corn Pesto tart edging out in the party leftover battle. The tarts could be done as a dinner or as an appetizer for another impromptu get together.
