re-purposing leftovers: amazing Fall appetizer turns into two delicious family dinners on busy weeknights!

A few years back, I shared my recipe for Feta-Fig Tartlets (which are amazing, if I might say so myself...). They are my go-to for an easy Fall/Winter appetizer, that everyone loves.

Last weekend I whipped up a batch of these for a neighborhood gathering (adding fresh rosemary sprigs for a little color and added flavor). They were a total hit, again. But in my haste to get the apps made in minutes I didn't eyeball the amounts very well, and ended up with a sizable tub of the Feta-Cream Cheese (and Parmesan, since I also didn't read the recipe...) mixture kicking around my fridge. I had combined:

8 oz. block of organic cream cheese
4 oz. tub of organic crumbled Feta
1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan

which I had stuffed into the 30 mini phyllo shells (two packages), and topped with a slice of dried fig and a sprig of rosemary. In reality, I only needed a small portion of this cheese mixture for the appetizers.

Fast forward to Monday or Tuesday (these schooldays all blend together, since we're still getting into our school rhythm) and a hearty dollop of the cheese mixture over some orecchiette pasta from the pantry became a decadent "mac & cheese" (served above with some chicken-apple sausages I had in the freezer + sweet potatoes + steamed broccoli and roasted cauliflower).

Then on Wednesday, I was making a turkey bolognese loaded with chopped cauliflower (since the kids didn't love it roasted... and I'd roasted an entire head), carrots and the rest of the fresh rosemary and-- voila-- the rest of the cheese mixture added to the sauce as I was cooking made it creamy and delicious.