For better or worse, when there are leftovers from a meal that was eaten and if not eaten in the next day or two, they are bagged or place in containers and frozen for later use. In the past I was terrible at marking the contents of the bags but in the past few months I have become much better writing down the contents. No more am I wondering the mystery contents of the frozen package.
Leftover Frozen Red Clam Sauce in a Bag
In the freezer, I had leftover red clam sauce and the liquid from a can of diced tomatoes that I had drained for a meal of Pasta Fazool. There was not enough leftover clam sauce for an entire meal, but combined with the frozen drained tomato liquid, an onion, garlic and some frozen peeled shrimp, I knew that I could make enough for another meal of pasta.
Frozen Tomato Liquid from a Can of Diced Tomatoes in a Bag
In a medium size sauce pan I added olive oil, half of an onion diced, a few whole peeled garlic cloves and sea salt and sautéed the onions until they were tender.
Sauteed Onions & Garlic
The frozen tomato liquid was added and allowed to completely melt into the sautéed onions and garlic.
Frozen Tomato Liquid Melting in Sauteed Onions & Garlic
The frozen clam sauce was then added and thoroughly mixed with the sautéed onions, garlic and tomato liquid. The sauce simmered for about 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce had achieved the desired thickness / consistency.
While the sauce was simmering, I brought a large pot of water to boil. When the sauce had achieve the correct thickness, the pasta was added to the boiling water and cooked until it was al dente in about 9 minutes.
Frozen Shrimp in a Bowl
A few minutes prior to the pasta being finished cooking, I added about a dozen frozen shrimp to the sauce that had been simmering, knowing that in the remaining time needed to cook the pasta, the shrimp would be perfectly cooked in the sauce.
Red Seafood Pasta Sauce in Sauce Pan
Once the pasta was cooked al dente, the water was drained, with the sauce being added to finish off the spaghetti. The pasta with the clam and shrimp tomato sauce was then served for the meal. I never had any doubt that the meal was going to be good, but as I was eating the meal I was thinking of a few questions. How often does that remaining amount of food go to waste because we do not find a way to repurpose the leftovers into a meal that is different and enough to serve everyone eating? What is the correct amount of food to prepare so that there are no leftovers? If there are to be leftovers, i.e. with a sauce or soup, then was is considered the correct portion, size or amount to make another meal?
Red Seafood (Clams and Shrimp) Sauce with Spaghetti