Tres Leches Oatmeal

Well, it’s been a bit longer than I had planned, but back when I made Tres Leches Cake, I promised to show you a way to use that leftover milk mixture.  To be honest, it took me a while to come up with something.  I had pretty much settled on a breakfast item, but I didn’t want to go with one of the obvious choices, like pancakes or French toast.  Then I discovered the world of overnight refrigerator oatmeal.  Have you tried it yet?  I've created multiple variations of it, and they are seriously fabulous.  It was definitely the best way I could have come up with to use the leftover tres leches mixture I’ve had in my freezer since I made the cake. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• ⅓ cup old fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup tres leches mixture
• ¼ cup milk (I used skim) 

You won’t believe how easy this is to throw together before you go to bed, then you’ll have a delicious breakfast waiting for you when you wake up.  Pour the oats into a small container with a lid.  A half pint mason jar would be great.  Add the chia seeds.  Now, I realize not everyone has chia seeds on hand.  If you’d prefer, you can simply omit them.  I highly recommend picking some up, though.  Not only are they fantastically good for you, they also help to thicken this mixture and add a slight nutty flavor and the occasional little crunch.

Add the cinnamon.

Stir until everything is evenly distributed. 

Mix together the milks and pour them over the top.

Stir, and that’s it.

Now just pop on the lid and put it into the fridge overnight.  In the morning, just give it another stir and enjoy!  The oats will have a nice velvety texture and just the perfect amount of chew. 

I’ll be sharing more overnight oatmeal recipes in the future.  Do you have a favorite, or one you’d like to see made? 

Picatta Pasta Salad

I'm not fond of eating leftovers, so I remade chicken picatta into a brand new dinner!

This is another one of those 20 minutes or less super fast dinners. Granted you need leftover chicken picatta, but that was yesterday's dinner, and we won't worry about that right now. Live in the moment! Super fast dinner!

Picatta Pasta Salad

• 2-4 pieces of leftover chicken picatta
• picatta sauce
• 2-3 cups cooked pasta
• 1-2 tbsp fresh basil
• 1-2 tbsp green onion (or red if you prefer)
• 1-2 tbsp capers
• 1-2 tbsp artichoke hearts
• 1-2 tbsp sundried tomatoes
• 1-2 tbsp olives
• 1-2 tbsp pine nuts
• 1-2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice or wine
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil

Okay, yes, the measurements are more approximations than anything, but adjust as you need/like/have in the fridge.

If you have leftover pasta, this dish is even faster than 20 minutes. I didn't have any so I needed a few extra minutes.

While the water is coming to a boil, collect all the ingredients, and change out of work clothes.

I like to toast my pinenuts, so I did that in a small dry pan over medium heat. Give the pan a shake from time to time, between ingredient choppings works, and when they're nice and golden, turn the heat off.

As the pasta boils, chop anything you want chopped.

If your pasta is freshly boiled, cool it by running it under cold water.

If you have enough picatta sauce to just use it as the dressing, perfect. Me, I didn't (frankly, I'm not sure there's any such thing as enough picatta sauce) so I extended the dressing with wine and olive oil.

Combine everything in a nice big bowl and stir it gently.

If I had any lemon, I probably would have added a bit of lemon zest as well.

And what do you know, dinner!

How do you get creative with leftovers?