Christmas is just around the corner. Parties happening here and there, where lots of food are for sharing. But sometimes, actually, most of the times there are food leftovers. And for sure you don’t want these leftovers to go to waste. But you know what? you can actually use these leftover meals to create amazing dishes at home.
That’s what I learned, when I attended the Electrolux Kitchen Class with Chef Bruce Lim. Creating sumptuous meals out of the leftover food. That you don’t need to buy more ingredients just to make your dish delightfully good. In short, doing more with less. And this technique will definitely save you a lot of money, which you can use on other important things.
And of course making these meals are much easier using the very reliable Electrolux kitchen appliances.
So what did Chef taught us that afternoon at the Electrolux Kitchen Class were 2 amazing dishes. One that you can create and serve this Christmas without buying so much ingredients and the other one is a dish which you can create out of leftover food.
First Dish… Pineapple Glazed Pork Chops.
What will you be needing if you want this dish? and how? Read on…
Ingredients:
4 pcs Pork Chops(200g/cut)
FOR THE GLAZE:
500g Fresh Pineapples
50g Water
20g Brown Sugar
60g Soy Sauce
10g Minced Ginger
Slurry as needed
Salt and pepper to taste.
PROCEDURE:
- Juice the fresh Pineapples using Electrolux Juicer. If you don’t have a juicer then you can use the pineapple juice available in supermarkets.
- In a small sauce pan, combine Pineaple Juice, water, brown sugar, soy sauce, minced ginger and bring to a light boil. Add the slurry for desired thickness.
3. Brush sauce on pork chops and place on a prepare hot pan. Brown pork chops for 4-5 mins.
4. Plate cooked pork chops and add sauce and pineapple chunks on top.
5. Serve.
See how easy it is to do this dish? it does not only save your time and money, It will also put a smile on a person’s face whoever will eat this dish. I have personally tasted this and I must say that it has the taste of a holiday ham. So this will be a very good substitute to the ham that you used to buy.
For the second dish in the Electrolux Kitchen Class, Chef Bruce cooked the Day After Christmas Chicken Lasagna. Wow! I love lasagna, that is why I will definitely do this at home. 🙂
This time, Chef Bruce used some leftover roasted chicken as one of the ingredients. Are you excited to now how to cook Day After Christmas Chicken Lasagna? Here’s how.
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken with Tomato Sauce
20g Garlic, minced
80g Onion, chopped
80g Celery
80g Carrots
30g Butter
300g Tomato sauce
1g dried basil
300g Leftover roasted chicken
100g chicken stock
Salt, sugar and pepper to taste
Bolognese Sauce:
20g Garlic, minced.
80g Onions, chopped
80g Carrots
400g canned whole tomatoes
100g chicken stock
300g ground beef
1g dried basil
1g dried oregano
Salt, sugar and pepper to taste
White Sauce:
50g butter
50g flour
400g milk
1/2pc onion, halfed.
1pc bay leaf
pinch of Nutmeg
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of onion powder
Salt, sugar and pepper to taste
PROCEDURE:
For the chicken with tomato sauce
- Place garlic, onions, celery and carrots to the Electrolux Blender until chopped.
- In a saucepan, saute the chopped garlic, onions and carrots for 2-3 minutes then add the ground beef.
- Add the canned whole peeled tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
- Add the chopped basil and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- Set aside.
For the Bolognese Sauce
- Place garlic, onions, celery and carrots to the Electrolux Blender until chopped.
- In a saucepan, saute the chopped garlic, onions and carrots in butter for 2-3 minutes then add the leftover roasted chicken.
- Add the tomato sauce and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
- Add the basil, oregano and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- Set aside.
For the White Sauce
- In a pan, add butter and flour then mixed until combined.
- Add milk, onion, and bay leaf. Bring it to a light boil until thick.
- Remove onion and bay leaf.
- Add the nutmeg, garlic powder, onion powder, and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- Set aside.
How to Assemble:
- Spread small amount of meat sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
- Arrange 3pcs of the lasagna noodles over the meat sauce.
- Cover noodles with the chicken and tomato sauce and top it with spinach.
- Repeat the layers alternately using the two sauces.
- Top the lasagna with white sauce and grated cheese.
- Bake in pre-heated oven until golden brown.
- Serve.
So the fun and exciting part in the Electrolux Kitchen Class begins… It is our time to cook using only the availble ingredients in the kitchen. We were given 30 mins to cook our own dish and our dishes will be judged one by one by Chef Bruce Lim.
Me and my partner Ate Mauie Flores decided to prepare a not so ordinary-tasting but easy to cook pasta dish. I love to experiment when I cook, so I got a chance to do it at the Electrolux Kitchen Class .When I experiment on pasta dishes, I always want it to be gourmet-like. That’s what I did .
So we gathered the ingredients one after another.
- 3 cloves of garlic. minced.
- 1 medium size onion. diced
- 10 pcs pitted black Olives, cut into halves.
- 1 medium-sized breast part or leftover roasted chicken, diced.
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp Chili flakes
- 3 tbsp canned whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese
- 1/4 kilo cooked Spiral pasta
- 10tbsp Olive oil
- 1 small Red bell pepper, diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Pocedure:
- In a heated saucepan, pour olive oil and saute garlic, onion then add the bell pepper and olives.
- Add the leftover roasted chicken, whole peeled tomatoes, chili flakes and dried basil. Put salt and pepper to taste and saute for about 2 mins-3 mins.
- Add the cooked spiral pasta. mix all the ingredients for one minute.
- Put everything in a pasta bowl. Put parmesan cheese on top and garnish with parsley.
- Serve.
So here’s what our pasta entry looks like, which we called Spicy Chicken Olivia(name suggested by Ferds Bondoy).
Every group submitted their entry. All dishes were great, but only one will stand out and win the Electrolux Kitchen Class challenge. Which team will win?
It’s verdict time! Waaaaaah! we are all very nervous. Of course every entry will be judged by Chef Bruce Lim, a professional chef and the brand ambassador of Electrolux Philippines.
To our surprise, our dish won. Thank you so much Chef Bruce for appreciating and picking our dish as the winner for the Electrolux Kitchen Class challencge. Now I am more enthusiastic to experiment and create more dishes specially cooking with my brand new Electrolux Oven toaster. So happy! 🙂
So, want to know how you can save your time, money and effort and do more with less not just this holiday? Follow these 8 tips and share it to your friends and loved ones. 🙂
- RUN NO MORE- Want to now a little trick to at least lengthen the life of your stockings and avoid getting runs? All you need is a hairspray. Just spray a little on your stockings and the sticky residue will hold the fabric together.
- UPCYCLE- Be creative and resourceful. Gather used items that you can upcycle and turn them into something useful and significant. For example, some old magazines, used of leftover Christmas wrappers which can be used for scrapbook designs.
- PLAN YOUR MEAL- Set your budget, make inventories, create meal plan, and schedule your shopping. this will ensure that you have everything that you need and will save you from unecessary trips to and from the supermarket.
- FLOSS THINGS UP- Asde from cleaning your teeth, your floss can also be used to slice cakes and soft cheese. It can also be used to tie up poultry and rolled meats.
- UNWRINKLE CLOTHES WHILE TAKING A BATH- Did you now that you can get all the wrinkles out on your unironed shirt while you are taking a hot shower. The steam will do its wonders. But hey, since it is Christmas, why don’t you treat yourself with an Electrolux UltraMix Front Load Washing Machine with a refresh cycle program that removes creases and folds. Less time for laundry and more time with your family and friends.
- FREEZ YOUR MEALS- Minimize food wastage by freezing your food leftovers. Store them on a tight-lid container, put a label and freeze it. The Electrolux NutriFresh Refrigerator can do its wonders because it can preserve properly frozen meals up to 2 months withut losing their taste and texture.
- COLD WINE FOR GRABS- Here’s a trick that you can use to keep your wine cold without watering it down. Freeze some grapes and put it in your wine. It would be a very good ice substitute. Or, you may use Electrolux Vino Wine Cooler to ensure that you are serving your wine perfectly cold at all time.
- SALT IT UP: Here’s a natural way to clean your refrigerator. Mix a handful of salt to 3 Liters of warm water and use it a substitute for detergent. The salt mixture is chemical-free and is safe to use on sensitive surfaces.
With these practical tips alongside with Electrolux appliances, you can simply Do More With Less at home this holiday season. Create a meaningful Christmas by having more time for the family and less time for the chores, more savings with less expenses, more wellness with less stress, and more care with less worry.
This blog post is in support of the #DoMoreWithLess advocacy led by Electrolux Philippines.
To know more about Electrolux “Do more with less” campaign, visit www.facebook.com/thelittlewhitebook or follow @ElectroluxPH on Twitter and Instagram.
