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After indulging in slices of Christmas ham on warm bread and a refreshing bowl of fruit salad, what do we do with leftovers from these yummy dishes days after the holiday feasts?

 

To avoid spoiling leftovers, Johanna de Larrazabal-Blanco of Yummy magazine gives us two wonderful ideas on how to prepare them anew, especially if your family loves trying new recipes. With a bit of creativity, leftovers can be transformed into delicious, good-as-new dishes!

Spicy Ham and Semi-Dried Tomato Pasta
Serves six

Ingredients:
1 500 g. pack linguine pasta noodles
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. dried chili flakes
3 cups ham, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups sun dried or semi-dried tomatoes
Fresh basil
Freshly cracked black pepper
Salt
Parmesan cheese shavings

Procedure:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water. Reserve some of the pasta cooking liquid.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and chili flakes and sauté until garlic is fragrant and only very lightly golden.

3. Add ham and toss until warmed through. Add dried tomatoes and black pepper, and toss.
4. Add cooked noodles a third at a time, along with basil leaves, and toss gently. You may not use all of the noodles. If it looks dry, add some of the pasta cooking liquid.
5. Serve with extra chili flakes and shavings of Parmesan cheese if desired.

Fruit Cocktail Cupcakes
Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup fruit cocktail, drained
10 tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder

Procedure:
1. With a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light for about five minutes.
2. Add eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla.

3. Stir in flour, salt, and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.
4. Spoon butter into a muffin tin lined with cupcake liners. Each liner should be three-fourths full. Top each cupcake with chunks of fruit cocktail.
5. Bake in a preheated 325 degrees-Fahrenheit oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.