Embrace leftovers with new recipes

Spring break is less than a week away, so students are starting to get a small taste of what freedom is like along with the pressure of having to cram for midterms. I don’t know about everyone else, but I am also cramming to clean out my fridge so that nothing goes to waste — thus, I have been making a slew of random concoctions to feed myself. I call this week “Leftovers Week.”

A few days ago, I made stuffing on a whim — old bread baked with chicken broth, celery, raisins, some pine nuts and a few homey spices. My hasty decision and Thanksgiving-sized recipe left me with way more than I could finish. I did not know what to do with it and I certainly did not want it to go to waste, so I searched all over the web in hopes of finding some way to use the stuffing. But instead, my friend Elena found something and shared it with me — Leftover Stuffing and Chorizo Egg Cups by the food blog “Uni Homemaker.” Upon finding this, I got really excited because I looked in my fridge and realized that I had every ingredient — being half Mexican, I purchase beef chorizo by the pounds. I eagerly pulled the ingredients together, took out my canola oil spray and remembered that I did not own a cupcake pan. As unfortunate as this was, I am sharing this find with Daily Trojan readers in hopes that this Thanksgiving-esque snack will suit their fancy anytime.

I love experimenting with food — it’s a thing that I do a little too much. Sometimes, I also make more than there needs to be (which is always great for my friends — free food). My experimental parsley pesto is one of these things. Granted, I am not the largest fan of parsley, preferring cilantro and basil, but before, I do not like wasting food, so I had to figure out with to do with it. The food blog “Two Peas and Their Pod” came to the rescue with an inspiring recipe for Mozzarella Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts that I morphed into Parmesan Parsley Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breasts. This was a real treat to make and it made me feel like a real gourmet chef, plus my Instagram was blowing up with likes so I guess it looked good too.

Leftovers are always really tricky to deal with. I know that whenever my refrigerator gets down to almost empty, all I have left is condiments. Here’s what I say: When life give you condiments, make more condiments. Soy sauce, for example, can be easily turned into savory Teriyaki sauce by just putting some over a flame and slowly stirring in sugar. If you want to try an “international condiment,” take the extra mayo from your fridge, add some fries and boom, that is how they eat their French fries in the Netherlands.

Leftovers are great if the food was originally fabulous, otherwise you can make them into something else, like my Parmesan Parsley Pesto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts or the Leftover Stuffing and Chorizo Egg Cups. The good leftovers are almost always better the next day. I encourage you to cook your way to victory, USC. Spring break is so close all you need to do is eat your way there.

Alegra Hueso is a sophomore majoring in creative writing.  Her column, “In Love With the Edible,” runs Wednesdays.