Who Likes Leftovers? Not Me!
Whether it’s something you ordered from a restaurant, or something you made at home, leftovers are the bane of our existence. I have zero interest in going back to the exact same dish.
Time For More “Leftover Chronicles!”
So when friends left without finishing the cream cheese I bought for them, I had to do something more than just slather up a bagel…so get ready to clean out my refrigerator with me!
My latest episode of “Leftover Chronicles” uncovers the recipe for “cream cheese ramen noodles!”
Every ingredient in this photo – and recipe was in my refrigerator or freezer – here’s what I pulled out:
Cream cheese
Kale
Frozen Turkey Meatballs
French Butter
Garlic
A package of Instant Ramen Noodles
Parmesan – Reggiano Cheese
Thanks to the New York Times Food section as they had some recipes for fast dinners for your kids, and cream cheese ramen was one of them – and they were right on!
I began with this salty French butter, which I melted in a frying pan, then added chopped garlic…I sautéed it for five minutes then added the kale and wilted it down for five more minutes – then set the mixture aside. Here’s how easy that was:
Next, I boiled the dried ramen noodles in water for 5 minutes, drained them while reserving a bit of the pasta water, put the ramen back in the pan then added more butter and cream cheese and blended it together, adding a bit of the pasta water as well…it takes a few minutes but here’s a quick overview:
Then, I added the cooked garlic and kale mixture back in, plus the meatballs – now warmed up and chopped in half – and mixed and mixed and mixed it all together…then grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil and it was done!
Here it is:
“Leftover Cream Cheese Ramen!”
Here is is and it was delicious! I didn’t put any recipe amounts to use because this is really a dish that should be put together based on what you like – I used lots of garlic, and could have even done more kale – a nice mix that played well together!
The New York Times recipe offers some additional hacks as well!
- Spicy Creamy Shin Ramyun: Mix 2 tbsp cream cheese, 1/4 cup milk, and the seasoning packet over low heat before adding cooked noodles.
- Boursin/Laughing Cow: Use Boursin or Laughing Cow cheese instead of block cream cheese for different flavor profiles.
- Loaded Creamy Ramen: Top with sauteed sausage, pepperoni, or a soft-boiled egg.
I have fun digging into the refrigerator to see what I can “mash up” for a meal that’s different…like I did with some leftover pizza:
Yes, I turned it into “pizza lasagna!”
Click here for the recipe and more importantly, the taste test!
I also shared Dorothy’s terrific look at what to do with leftovers…a great food waste story to read here:
I had my own “leftover” journey once, when I opened the refrigerator to face this:
Fourteen styrofoam containers stared back at me – so what did I do?
See the results here:
And every Thanksgiving, everyone has lots of this:
Leftover Turkey!
Yes, you can make sandwiches out of it, but why not this deliciously healthy Tuscan soup?
Here’s that recipe!
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Food, Food Pictures, Food Writing, Recipes, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Brilliant use of ramen and leftovers. I’ve got some Hakubaku brand waiting in my cupboard.
I read about it in the NYTimes and immediately my mind began to race: the noodles are thinner and so easy to make – it was a blank slate I could pain any flavor onto! Garlic of course!