Leftovers find a happy home in baked dish

I believe spatial awareness is a talent, and that awareness comes in various forms.

For example, I am the grand master champion of knowing the exact size of container that I need for a bowl of leftovers. There’s also freezer awareness, which doesn’t necessarily transfer to ice-chest awareness.

The one I need a training course in is stomach-space awareness. I’ve never quite figured out how much dinner I can eat and still manage dessert.

I’m equally bad at estimating how much food is necessary for a dinner with friends and family. This is because appetites just within my immediate family vary so much that I am never exactly sure how much food is the right amount to put out.

But I am able to see when there isn’t enough food — and if that’s the case, I feel squeamish about dinner even if I didn’t make it. By this I don’t mean enough food to sustain life; I mean enough so that no one has to wonder if they can have seconds.

This is probably why, after Thanksgiving dinner, my table looks as though we haven’t started eating, as though there’s just a spoonful gone from the mashed potatoes, even though a row of stuffed bellies can be found on the couch.

I always wonder, how did that happen?

So, as much as I like holiday leftovers, I need full-fledged recipes to use up my turkey and transform the Thanksgiving flavor.

The following recipe is my reinvention of a classic chicken-and-rice dish. I think the original involves some canned food and actual rice, while this one creates other aspects of the dish that I was looking for: creamy, cheesy, warm and homey, all easily cooked in one pan.

If you’re more talented than I am at estimating appetites and therefore have no leftover turkey, you can use shredded chicken. You can even cook the chicken in the same pan before sauteing the vegetables. It’s simple and hearty — and yes, you might have leftovers again. If that’s your goal.

CREAMY PESTO TURKEY AND RICED CAULIFLOWER BAKE

By Mariko Jackson

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup cream
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk
• 2-1/2 cups riced cauliflower
• 1-2/3 cups shredded Parmesan, divided
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 2 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken
• 1 cup grated mozzarella

Heat oven to 350 degrees. On stove top in large, cast-iron pan over medium-high, heat oil. Add onion and garlic to hot pan; saute until softened. Add about 1/4 cup water and chicken bouillon; cook another 3 minutes. Add butter; stir until melted.

Add cream and milk; bring to simmer. Add cauliflower, and cook, stirring regularly, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup Parmesan, stirring until mixture returns to simmer. Taste; add salt and pepper as necessary.

Add tomatoes and stir in pesto. Add turkey; toss. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and mozzarella. Bake 25 minutes until browned. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serves 5 to 8.

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Approximate nutritional information (based on 8 servings and not including salt to taste): 440 calories, 34 g fat, 17 g saturated fat, 105 mg cholesterol, 750 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 23 g protein.

Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at thelittlefoodie.com. Her column runs on the last Wednesday of the month. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.