The joy of leftovers

Leftover Noodle Dish
The Joy of Cooking Copyright 1931,1936,1941,1942,1943,1946,1951, 1952,1953,1962,1963,1964,1975

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Have ready:
3 cups Boiled Noodles I had leftover linguini and spaghetti
Grease a baking dish. Place in it layers of noodles sprinkled with:
¾ cup diced cooked roast beef, chicken, crab, shrimp, chipped beef, mushrooms and other vegetable
I used roast beef
( 1/2 cup shredded cheese) I used more
( 1/2 cup shredded green pepper and diced celery) I used only green peppers
Combine:
1 ½ cups milk
1 or 2 eggs I used 2
¼ teaspoon paprika
½ to ½ teaspoon salt
Pour this over noodles. Cover with:
Bread or cracker crumbs I used cracker crumbs
Bake about 45 minutes.

Since I had to toss that disgusting (and expensive!) corn and crab casserole, I had to balance the budget so I decided to use up some leftovers. I found the perfect recipe in the Joy of Cooking of all places. This is a variation of Ham Noodles (just use ham in place of the beef, chicken, etc). The lead-in to the recipe advises that the dish is open to interpretation and ingredients and amounts can vary widely. Basically - use what you've got.

This wasn't a company dish, that's for sure. But it was economical and tasty. I only added the green peppers for color but I think they were really what made this dish so good. I wouldn't go out of my way to make something like this but if I had the right leftovers again, I would certainly make it again.

Okay, this is probably an unpopular opinion but I’m not a huge fan of the Joy of Cooking. I can accept the lack of pictures. I can live with the outdated and obscure recipes. But what turns me off is the design of the recipes. It’s really confusing to follow the variations sometimes. I can’t deny that it’s a wonderful reference for any cook but it just doesn’t excite me.