Crafty, just not in the craft sense.

Just to let everyone know, I tried to make a lot of cool crafts today.  I tried to make:

• A super cool flattened bottle cap cuff....didn't work
• A super cool flattened cap bracelet...got too difficult, I should have just made it one strand and might tomorrow
• A super cool bird's nest ornament as a kickback to eco friendliness...E6000 became my enemy

So instead, as a peace offering I give to you my favorite kitchen craftiness-es that I have lately achieved:

First and most surprising to me, you can freeze and reheat delivery pizza and it comes out exactly like and sometimes (in Papa John's case) BETTER than it was before.  I am a big time Pizza Hut fan, but ordered Papa John's weeks ago when I moved in because they offered 2 liters of Diet Dew.  Yea well they were out of them and I should have gone with PH.  Nevertheless, I can't eat a whole large pizza myself and after a few days I get really tired of it, so I opted to put it in my freezer and see what it would reheat like...good thinking!  I baked it around 15 minutes at 350 and it came out tasting like a thin and crispy supreme from PH. I cooked it in a cake pan with reynolds nonstick on the bottom so I wouldn't have to wash anything, lazy but true.

Second, also related to Papa John's is how to make their breadsticks taste a heck of a lot better.  Whether you are going to reheat them in the microwave or the oven, use their own garlic butter (or make your own mix of some garlic and melted butter) and drizzle or brush on the breadsticks.  Add parmesan cheese if you have it and some basil and they actually will taste fantastic and have a much better texture.

Third, and weird, is adding mashed sweet potato to oatmeal.  True story. I had some leftover mashed sweet potatoes (the kind from the box I am ashamed to say because they were on sale for super cheap and potatoes are rather pricey) and had seen people add pumpkin to oatmeal.  Sweet Ps work just as well, and will taste delicious with add-ins like craisins, pecans, cinnamon sugar, and maybe a little brown sugar as well.  Just in time for fall!

I think people should always make extra rice.  I find it to be the single most versatile leftover to have.  You can season leftover rice to go with any meal you are making, it is great in breakfast scrambles/burritos, and makes your quesadilla extra tasty.

For a tasty, quick dessert, grease your skillet with butter (and maybe add a little extra, hehe) and fry up a tortilla shell, adding cinnamon sugar to each side either as you are cooking or right when it comes out.

If you have leftover steak (who does, right?) cut it in to strips and cook some peppers and onions, adding in the steak in the last few minutes to reheat, for a quick fajita fix.

Add cereal to your chicken breading.  I know, sounds nuts.  But some of the best chicken that I have fried in a skillet has been using a mix of flour, panko, and Special K Multigrain Oats and Honey cereal.  It does not make it sweet, but it DOES make it fantastic.  Fry it in flavored oil for an extra layer of flavor.

Again, probably nothing here is going to greatly change your life, but I am going to come up with something super crafty (and hopefully foolproof) for tomorrow!

Get craftin'.