Saving Leftovers & A Week of Instant Pot Wins

Saving Leftovers & A Week of Instant Pot Wins

Sometimes leftovers feel like a gamble. Tuna casserole is cozy, yes, but mine came out drier than I would like, and reheating usually makes that even worse. Tonight I tried to get ahead of the problem. I slid the dish into the oven at 350F, covered, for about 30 minutes, but this time I had a secret weapon.

I made a quick Classic Cream Sauce on the stove and poured it over the top before serving.

Key Takeaways

• A stovetop cream sauce with cheese can rescue dry leftover casserole in minutes
• The classic cream sauce ratio is 1 cup milk, 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp flour, 1/2 cup cheese
• Extra cheese beyond the recipe recommendation creates a saucier, more indulgent result

Classic Cream Sauce

• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Pinch Dijon mustard
• Salt & pepper

How:

Melt butter, whisk in flour, and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth and simmer until slightly thick. Stir in cheese and seasonings until melty and glossy. Pour generously over the reheated casserole.

I will be honest, I went a little overboard and used about 300g of cheese instead of the modest half cup, then kept splashing in extra milk until it loosened up to the consistency I wanted. It might not have been precise, but it totally saved dinner. Creamy, cozy, and comforting. Leftovers redeemed.

Last Week Recipe Recap

Peanut-Lime Satay Chicken Tender chicken in a silky peanut, ginger, and lime sauce with a touch of sriracha heat. Served it with jasmine rice and a crunchy smashed cucumber peanut salad. The chicken? Amazing, because how do you go wrong with peanut butter? The cucumber salad was just okay. It needed more marinating time and a splash of sesame oil at the end.

Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken Juicy chicken simmered in a glossy pineapple-ginger teriyaki sauce, finished with a little rice vinegar brightness. Paired with jasmine rice and ginger garlic snap peas. Both the chicken and the snap peas were total keepers.

Tomato-Coconut Masala Chicken This one had a lush coconut tomato base with garam masala, cumin, ginger, and paprika. The chicken came out beautifully creamy, but the garlic green beans I made on the side were a flop. My fault on the seasoning, but also just not Chris thing. The chicken recipe will definitely make it onto the blog soon, but the beans are a pass.

Jerk Mango Lime Chicken Caribbean spice with a sweet-savory mango sauce, balanced by fresh lime at the end. Served with coconut-lime rice and jerk lime roasted sweet potato wedges. The chicken and wedges were incredible, definitely making them again. The coconut-lime rice? Not so much. I will need to dig up the recipe I loved before or test a new one because this version just did not hit.

Sometimes cooking feels like trial and error, but that is what I love about these little kitchen experiments. Even the flops teach me something for next time, and the wins, like that jerk chicken, make me want to get right back in the kitchen.

Related: Tuna Casserole Trial Run has more on my casserole experiments, including what went wrong and how I fixed it.