I’ve had a box of lasagna noodles sitting in my pantry … I bought it on impulse and haven’t done anything with it since. We’re not really big lasagna fans around here (so don’t ask me why I bought it), so I’ve been wondering if there is anything else I can make with these. Or maybe I just need a really good lasagna recipe?

I think mostly we’re just not too fond of the ricotta cheese. I’ve tried making it with cottage cheese before and we didn’t care for it either. Can you make a lasagna without any type of white sauce?

For some reason I always cook quite a bit more spaghetti than we end up eating in one meal. If I have sauce leftover too, I usually just store the two together and reheat them the next day for lunch.

But there are quite a few times when I have pasta leftover, but no sauce - usually that’s on a day when I don’t have a jar of tomato sauce in the pantry either.

Any ideas on what else to do with leftover cooked spaghetti? I’m sure there are quite a few delicious things I could be doing with this…

We have a new grocery store in town called “Compare Foods” which caters toward Hispanics (the company is owned by Hispanics) and offers a lot of ethnic food from all over the world. It’s a really neat (and inexpensive) grocery store. If you have one in your area, you should definitely go check it out.

One of the things I bought during my first trip, was a box of authentic couscous mix. I fixed it for dinner tonight (as a side dish) and didn’t realize how much these little tiny pasta pieces swell up in the steaming process. The end result was that we still have well over half of the cooked couscous left over after dinner.

So I was wondering… What can I make with cooked couscous? I steamed it in plain water, so I could go either with a savory or a sweet dish.

I read somewhere that couscous can be eaten as a hot cereal, so maybe I’ll just try heating up some milk and sweetening it with some sugar and cinnamon and a few raisins. I like doing this with cooked leftover rice for breakfast and the couscous has a nice nutty flavor, so it may work out well.

I’m of course open to any suggestions and the couscous as a side dish tonight was a big hit, so I’m sure we’ll run into the same situation of leftover couscous on an ongoing basis.

I have a rice maker that I use on a regular basis. However, I usually get a little overly ambitious and make more than I need.

I have been eating the extra with soy sauce (not exactly very creative). What else can I make with cooked rice?

Update: I found this recipe:

Baked Rice Pudding Recipe

1/2 cup cooked rice
3 eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
3 1/2 cups milk
Ground nutmeg

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except nutmeg. Pour mixture into a lightly buttered shallow baking dish and sprinkle with nutmeg. Place baking dish in a pan of hot water in oven and Place baking dish in a pan of hot water in oven and bake at 300° for about 1 1/2 hours, or until set.

Nicole

I know you creative minds will have some ideas for me.

My kids love Kraft Mac and Cheese a little too much. I’d love some ideas to refresh this old standard and make it something new and exciting. Any ideas that will add some nutrition to this meal — and still taste good to kids?