Make leftover spaghetti into a fresh, healthy dish.
Spaghetti is a family favorite but if you find yourself with a bit left over, make it into a new meal. Use what's in the freezer, pantry or fridge to transform leftover noodles into a healthy, vegetable-laden cold dish that makes spaghetti into more than merely a place to put a meatball.
Instructions
1. Cut spaghetti into approximate fourths. Pieces should be bite-size without being too small that they become mushy. Put the pieces into a large bowl and drizzle them with olive oil.
2. Add green vegetables. This component of the dish is flexible per your taste and what you have on hand. If half a bag of frozen broccoli florets is taking up space in the freezer, steam them until they are barely tender and toss them into the bowl of spaghetti pieces. You could also add chopped spinach--either fresh or frozen--or another hardy green like kale, swiss chard or collard greens. Marinated artichoke hearts, peas or green beans would also be a good fit in this dish.
3. Stir in some protein: cook and slice pieces of Italian sausage and toss them into the bowl. Or go vegetarian--strain a can of cannelini beans, also called white or Northern beans, and add them to the pasta and green vegetable mixture.
4. Season the pasta salad to your taste. The fastest way to add zingy flavor to the spaghetti salad is to drizzle of bottled Italian dressing on it and stir. Or, add a sprinkle of sage, salt and pepper. Toss in a few leaves of fresh basil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a dash of seasoned salt to bring out the flavor.
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