One of my favorite moments from the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle was when Lois served her weekly “leftover parfait,” which consists of a week’s worth of leftovers in the form of a casserole. That particular week, she changed up the recipe. As Malcolm tells the audience, “It finally happened! The bottom layer is last week’s leftover parfait!”
While I am in-no-way advocating that you repurpose food for a leftover-leftover parfait (but kudos to you if you can do it without making anyone in your family ill), there are more appetizing ways to repurpose ingredients into new recipes. Take, for example, this quick, healthy and cheap recipe from Squawkfox that serves hummus (traditionally used for veggie & cracker dip) over pasta:
Rotini with Veggies and Hummus Sauce
Recipe Ingredients:
Photo by Squawkfox.
- 3 cups (750 mL) whole wheat rotini pasta
- 2 cups (500 mL) homemade authentic or low fat hummus
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) water
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) dried basil
- pinch of cayenne pepper
Total Cost: $5.03
Preparation:
- Cook rotini in rapidly boiling water until al dente, then drain.
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add the zucchini and saute over low heat, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato, basil, and cayenne. Saute over low heat, 1 minute.
- Add homemade hummus and water. Simmer very gently over low heat, 2 minutes.
- Serve hummus sauce over hot pasta.
Embellish It: Sprinkle served pasta with a dash of parmesan cheese.
