Yes, my friend Kenobi-Fan had a horrible lunch from the sounds of it: leftover pasta warmed in the microwave. Um.. perhaps you all don't know where I stand on microwaves (yet) but remember that scene in Office Space where they beat the crap out of the xerox out in the field? Yeah, that pretty much sums up what I want to do with microwaves whenever I see on. Partially heated food, rubbery pizza crusts, scalding drinks. Yeah, I don't own one.

Why not? Well, mostly because of my mother I suppose. She doesn't cook anything on the stove anymore. She got her first microwave in 1983 - I have nightmarish memories of her buying 3 dozen McDonald's burgers, throwing them in the freezer then reheating them in the microwave weeks later for a "treat" for us kids. It's a wonder my brother & I don't have brain cancer. When I moved out of the house one thing I DID NOT want to bring w/me was a microwave. Then I got married to a guy who had the same opinion of the contraptions: DOWN WITH MICROWAVES!! We have been together for 12 years and have never owned one. There's a funny story I could tell you if this wasn't an actual blog entry about food, but I won't.

So until someone presents me with indisputable evidence that I absolutely cannot live without a microwave, I will go through life cooking the way god intended: with a gas oven/range.

K-Fan, this one is for you:

LEFT OVER PASTA THE OBOE-WAN WAY

Sometimes my father refers to it as Polish Spaghetti (my mother is Italian & he's Polish, so he always like to tease her!)

It's very important that you start with "naked" pasta - no sauce on it.

Heat a couple tablespoons of butter in a frying pan. When it's good & hot, drop in your cold naked pasta. Fry the pasta until it starts to turn a nice golden color. My father likes to add some salt, pepper & garlic powder; you can stop at this point & enjoy your tasty treat OR you can take it to the Oboe-Wan Gourmet level.

Let's take it to the next level...

Before you begin frying your pasta, look through your fridge for other leftovers - it's not the vegetarian thing, I'm just recommending veggies because it tastes the best, but chicken would be ok. NO beef - believe me, you'll regret it, so don't use it just to spite me.

Look for things that are already cooked - left over steamed broccoli, sweet peas, sugar peas, steamed carrots, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, anything! Go for bright colors, sweetness & of course things that are already cooked unless you have time to prep some veggies for this meal. Personally? I usually just steam some sugar peas and chop some cherry tomatoes!

Also, grab some cream (heavy, light, half & half, but NOT milk) and some parmesan cheese (grated fresh or from the Kraft can!).

Let's begin. Fry your pasta like I described above. After a minute or two, add in your veggies. Keep stir frying until the veggies are warmed through. Now, this is all up to you to decide how much you're going to use. Use more for a "sauce" and use less for a "coating." I always sprinkle the cheese onto the pasta/veggies first then add cream to my desired consistency. I don't really have measurements for you here, you just have to eyeball it & then taste it to see if you like it. Add some salt & pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. (trust me) Stir until heated through and serve!

It's extra yummy & it's much better than just eating left overs.

First rule of leftovers: Eat them with CHEESE!!!!

Enjoy!

-=Edit=- ewanandhaydenfan5 commented: Except for the frying, this sounds like an Alfredo sauce. Yummy! and she would be correct!! This is actually just a "quick" alfredo - gets flash heated in the pan instead of slowly simmered in a pot. So.... my next blog will contain the actual "real" Alfredo sauce.