Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Stuffed!


Initially, I thought I'd be doing a full recap of our Thanksgiving meal yesterday ... but as it turns out, I went and got my hair done instead! A Diva's got to do what a Diva's got to do. Besides, I don't know about you, but I think I might be a little over Thanksgiving at this point.

At a minimum, I'm over the foods. We had a wonderful holiday, it all went off without a hitch, and the meal was as delicious as can be. I'm just tired of eating it. And, I bet you are too. Sure there was turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes and turnips, two kinds of stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans with mushrooms and onions, dinner rolls and an abundance of wine. The company was excellent and the desserts were plentiful. Really, we were well and truly blessed this holiday.

And now I'm blessed with a fridge full-to-bursting with the remains of the feast. Rather than recapping, suffice it to say that much of this week will instead be devoted to turning those leftovers into other meals. Let's start with breakfast, shall we?

Last week, Papa Diva told me about an idea he heard on his local radio station. Seems that a woman called in to describe her unusual use for leftover bread stuffing. She uses the stuffing to line a muffin tin and bakes an egg inside each little cup of stuffing. Color me intrigued!

On Sunday, I gave the suggestion a whirl ...

Baked Eggs in Stuffing Cups:
  • butter for greasing the muffin tin
  • some leftover bread dressing or stuffing
  • large eggs
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F and butter your muffin tins.

Spoon some bread dressing or stuffing into each muffin cup, enough to cover the bottom and sides of the cup completely. Using your (clean) fingers, press the stuffing down to flatten the bottom and shape it to fit the cup, pressing it up the sides and slightly above the rim, making sure to leave a depression in the center that is large enough to accommodate an egg. When finished, you should have roughly 1/2 inch of stuffing lining each cup.

Crack a large egg into the center of each stuffing cup and bake in the middle of a 350 degree oven for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the speed of your oven and your desired egg consistency. I baked mine for about 22 minutes and that was perfect for my oven - the whites were completely set and the yolks were slightly runny. Use your best judgement and begin checking the eggs at the 15 minute mark, then every 5 minutes after until they are done to your liking.

Remove the stuffing/egg muffins from the tin, garnish with some fresh herbs, serve and enjoy!

What an outstanding use for leftover stuffing! The savory herbed bread mixture was exquisite when paired with the silky baked egg. If I had thought of it, I would have been wise to mix a bit of leftover pork stuffing in with the bread for an even better stuffing McMuffin! Next time for sure.

I could also see adding a bit of cheese to the mixture, or perhaps dusting the top of the egg with a bit of shredded Parmesan or even some cream. We're mainly talking about a technique here and you should feel free to get creative with it. Heck, you might even decide to top the whole thing off with gravy or add a bit of mashed potatoes to the mix. The bottom line here is that this is a fun and festive way to start the day ... and a great way to make a dent in some of those holiday leftovers. Thanks, Papa Diva ... and thanks to the mystery caller, whomever she is!

Stay tuned for more of my Thanksgiving remix this week as I make my way through the fridge. And be sure to come back on Thursday for a very special edition of Thirsty Thursdays ... I've got a fabulous give-away to go along with a most unusual cocktail.

So, are you getting creative with your leftovers this week? Got any tips for something a little off-beat and unexpected? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetit!

Edited to add: I'll be submitting this dish to 5 Star Foodie's Thanksgiving Leftovers Make-Over Challenge. Be sure to check out 5 Star Foodie - Culinary Adventures on Monday, December 7th for a full round-up of all the leftovers!

19 comments:

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

This is a fantastic idea and it looks so amazing!

Fresh Local and Best said...

What an ingenious idea! btw, added your review to Tazo chocolate on my recent post.

Unknown said...

What a clever idea, this looks awesome :)

Charmian @Christie's Corner said...

I thought I'd seen every leftover trick in the book. But this is a new one. Thanks for sharing!

Christo Gonzales said...

stealing, stealing - STOLEN - I love this idea and now its mine...thanks this is so cool!

Christo Gonzales said...

oh - you should submit this to 5 star foodie - for the leftover makeover

Anonymous said...

Looks good. I may actually try this one. Dad.

The Diva on a Diet said...

Katherine - thanks! I only wish I'd thought of it first! LOL

FLB - thanks for the shout out on your blog post, I appreciate it! I also hope you have a chance to try the Taza ... its magical. :)

HH - It really was awesome. Yum!

Charmian - it was a new one on me too ... and now its a keeper!

doggy - steal away ... I stole it too! You're gonna love it and I know you can doctor it up too. I'm torn between submitting this or the stuffed peppers I'm doing tonight to 5 Star ... one or the other will go for sure. :)

Dad - Thanks so much for this, it was outstanding! I think you'll love it too. :)

Joyce said...

Peaking at your blog today and I love this egg/stuffing idea. Wish I had some stuffing left but they all ate it like they were going to the electric chair and having their last meal:)
Joyce

MrsLavendula said...

looks wonderful for a unique recipe!

Anonymous said...

I love this idea! Sounds scrumptious, wish I did that with my leftover stuffing but now it's all gone. Looking forward to your stuffed peppers, and, hey, you can submit both recipes! :)

small cabin plans said...

What a great idea! This is so clever of you! I want to try it and taste it for myself. It really looks yummy.

Lyndsay Wells said...

Colour me intrigued too!

What a great idea - kind of like egg in a nest with jazz hands :-)

Tell your husband I said thankyou - I will try this with my Christmas stuffing.

Looking forward to what else you come up with.

Astra Libris said...

I'm SO excited about your Thanksgiving leftovers transformation series! The stuffing cups look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G - such a fantastic brunch party idea!! Thank you for the luscious inspiration, as always! :-)

words...words...words... said...

What a great idea! I'm normally not a fan of stuffing, but this could turn me around on the matter.

stephchows said...

oooo totally a good use for stuffing leftovers!!

Tangled Noodle said...

This is so cool! I will make stuffing just so I can make these cups - what an awesome and perfect idea to serve for breakfast/brunch with houseguests. Now I want to invite people to stay so that I have a reason to make a dozen of these!

Daily Spud said...

That just has to be one of the best leftover suggestions I've heard in a age! And I'm with Tangled Noodle - I'd make stuffing just so I could make these :)

Amy said...

That is an awesome idea! I wish I had found your blog prior to eating all my leftover stuffing! This will be filed in my brain for the next time I have stuffing though!