Tuesday’s Tip with The Kitchen Whisperer – Uses for leftover burgers, hotdogs and bbq chicken

With 4th of July being over now, I’m pretty sure if you hosted a party you’re left with a few rogue burgers, perhaps some grilled hot dogs and maybe even some bbq chicken, right?  And if you’re like me, after 3 days of eating grilled burgers, dogs and chicken you really don’t want to have leftovers…again, right?  Well I’m here today as part of Tuesday’s Tip with The Kitchen Whisperer to give you some ideas on how to use up those leftover cookout foods. Today we’ll focus on burgers, dogs and chicken.

So how was your 4th? Did you consume copious amounts of burnt dogs (fyi.. hot dogs need to be charred and blistered topped with ketchup and mustard), enough cheeseburgers that you need your fat pants and let’s not even start on bbq chicken, k?  No today let’s discuss how to transform those leftovers into ‘new’ meals.  I’m all about repurposing foods.

Let’s come up with a list together so chime in below with some of your best leftover dishes using burgers, dogs and bbq chicken, k?!

Burgers

So leftover burgers are probably one of the easiest things to transform into a great meal.  Now I’m not talking about the buns (save the buns for french toast, grilled cheese or even make croutons out of them! Here are some of my favorite ways to repurpose burgers.

1. Tacos – chop up the burgers small, add in a couple teaspoon of taco seasoning, a small can of tomato paste and about a 1/4 cup of water over medium heat. Heat until the mixture thickens. Easy, peasy, right?!
2. Stuffed Pepper Casserole – rough chop the burgers, chop up a small onion, 2 green peppers, 1 cup cooked rice, 1-2 cans tomato sauce, salt, pepper. Mix it all together and place in a 9×13″ pan.  Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until the peppers are soft. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with some mozzarella cheese, bake until the cheese melts.
3. Cheeseburger Pizza – Okay seriously this is SUCH an easy recipe but one that was HUGE at our pizza shop.  Rough chop the burgers and place on a stretched out pizza dough (use my Best Pizza Dough Recipe), top with a thin layer of ketchup (yes ketchup – okay fine, if you don’t use ketchup on your burger you can use mustard. Heck you can even use bbq sauce for a Western burger), top with your burger, onions, bacon – whatever you like on a burger and cheese. Bake at 550 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with our leftover lettuce, tomatoes, raw onions, pickles and even drizzle on some more sauce (ketchup, mustard, bbq, whatever!)
4. Cheaters Stroganoff – Just like real beef stroganoff but you’re cheating.  Cook up a batch of egg noodles and while they are cooking away in a skillet add 1-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, some chopped button mushrooms, 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. When the egg noodles are done add them in to the mix and gently stir.  Add in 2-3 tablespoon sour cream, stir.  Lastly add in peas and serve.

Hotdogs

Hot dogs are one of those things where I really don’t like them but when you’re at a cookout, they are always the first thing I go to.  I think it’s because they are charred.  So let’s talk about some of the best ways to revamp these other than giving them to the dogs, k?

1. Corn Dog Casserole – Butter an 8×8″ pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 400F and make the cornbread mix per your packages instructions. To the mix add 1 cup shredded cheddar, 3 chopped leftover hotdogs, 1 minced jalapeno (optional). Bake for 15-20 minutes and remove from the oven.  Immediately drizzle 2 tablespoon melted butter on top and cover with foil.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then remove the foil.
2. Hotdog Eggrolls – Preheat 2-3″ of canola oil to 375F. Wet the edges of a wonton wrapper with water. In the lower third part of the wrapper add cheese/sauerkraut/chili and then half of a hotdog. Fold the sides over and roll the eggroll tight. Drop carefully in the oil and cook until golden brown.  Remove from the oil and place on a baking sheet with papertowels below it.
3. Weenie Mac ‘n Cheese – This meal got me through 4 years of college.  Make my Simply the Best Mac ‘n Cheese ever and add in chopped hotdogs (and bacon because bacon makes everything better!) and dig in!
4. Candied Hotdog Bites – Just like my candied kielbasa bites but with cooked hotdogs!

BBQ Chicken

Nothing, NOTHING beats stick-to-your-face-chin-fingers and shirt bbq sauced chicken! But you need ways to revamp it because you can only eat so much of the same ol’ same old.

1. BBQ Chicken pizza – Grab some flatbread or make your own dough using my Best Pizza Dough Recipe, top with bbq sauce, shredded bbq chicken and then have at it with your toppings.  I love sauteed red onions, bacon and tons of cheddar cheese.  Bake and enjoy!
2. So fattening but SOOOOOOOO Good BBQ Chicken Wraps – Reach for your favorite wrap, shred some leftover warm bbq chicken, some cheese, hot crispy fries/potato tots, crispy bacon and warmed bbq sauce.  Stuff in the wrap, roll, slice and enjoy!
3. Healthier BBQ Chicken Wraps – Reach for your favorite wrap, shred some leftover chilled bbq chicken and mix it with ranch and bbq sauce (just enough to coat the mixture), shred some lettuce, chop some tomatoes, onions and avocados. Cheese is optional but always goes on mine. Add the lettuce, veggies, cheese and some bbq chicken mixture down. Fold the sides, roll and enjoy!
4. BBQ Chicken Nachos – Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tortilla chips.  Add on top shredded bbq chicken, drained black beans, roasted corn and a cup or two of mixed Mexican shredded cheese.  Bake for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and top with chopped tomatoes and red onions.  Drizzle on bbq sauce and sour cream.

So now that you know some of my favorites, what are some of your favorite leftovers?

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