Leftovers

[Glorie]

I would like to see how others use their leftovers. In this economy it's difficult to find something (and expensive) to make a new meal every night. If any of you have ideas for leftovers I would love to hear about it plus I have a few ideas myself lol

 

[sattie]

I don't know how creative I get with my leftovers, it just depends on what it is. But very little goes to waste in this house. If there are leftovers from a meal, then often times a day or two later we will have the same meal again. Occasionally I will have some odd ball stuff left over which usually means using them to make a soup, stir fry, or pasta toss.

I will probably end up using some leftover sides to go with my flat iron steak tonight. And may have some left over Italian stew for lunch!

 

[pdswife]

Hi Glorie, It's just hubby and I now so I first I try to cook small meals. I'm not good at this. lol.

so, left overs become his lunch.. dinner the next day and if there's enough my lunch too. If the item freezes well I may also freeze some in meal size portions so I can thaw them out later and send them to work with him or... so that he can have something on those nights I'm not around to cook.

Sometimes...steamed and roasted veggies and rice or left over meats get refashioned into soup or some other "dinner".

What are your ideas?

 

[PanchoHambre]

I am single so I often am cooking for one. This means I am also often faced with leftovers. Usually I try to make large batches of things that will be easily portable as lunch. I find I save a lot of money by not buying lunch everyday... and have better healthier lunches as well. I work in an upscale suburban area and most of the dining is pricey. Also I do not want to cook everyday after work either so I make sure I have meal sized portionns saved for dinner.

If I am making pasta (which I do frequently) I make more sauce than I need and freeze it in serving sized portions so that I am not faced with eating the same thing night after night... same with soups stews etc. This way I have decent meals ready to eat after a long day at work and all I need to pick up is some fresh bread or boil water for the pasta and maybe throw together a salad and I avoid eating nasty takeout or processed foods which I feel are unhealthy for the body and the budget.

right now my system has broken down... I have been too busy to go shopping or cook and after 2 days of crummy take out food and the like I am already sick of it.... wont have a chance to fix this until the weekend though

 

[Lefty7887]

I try and cut down on what we spend by planning out 2 meals each week from what I have in stock. For instance if I have a couple of pounds of ground beef and a rotiserie(sp) chicken, I will make a chili with the beef and I will take the chicken and cook something like a chicken pot pie. I will take the leftovers to work all week and have something small for dinner. When I see an empty frdge and cupboards at the end of the week I did something right I think to my self. Of coarse we keep the normal staples around. Good planning can keep things fun and spending down.

 

[QSis]

Hoo-boy, did my grandmother ever teach me about leftovers!

Here are a few ideas:

Smoked shoulder (ham): boiled dinner, chunked up in macaroni and cheese, ground up for ham salad sandwiches, use the meaty bone in pea soup, a mess of greens, or ham and bean soup

Turkey breast: Roasted for dinner, open-faced turkey sandwiches, "Thanksgiving sandwiches", turkey salad, turkey divan or other casseroles, the meaty carcass for turkey-noodle soup

Corned beef: Boiled dinner, reuben sandwiches, diced with potatos and onions added for hash (topped with poached or fried eggs)

Pot roast: Shepherd's Pie, Beef stew, pretty much any beef casserole, roast beef hash

Glorie, what kinds of leftovers do you usually have?

Lee

 

[pacanis]

I use my leftovers to recreate the same meal a day or two later, usually for lunch, but sometimes for dinner again. Nothing very creative at all. Or, a roast chicken gets turned into chicken and biscuits. Any leftover meat can be put into a chili recipe. Recently I've been making nachos, too, with leftover BBQed meat.

 

[Glorie]

Mostly the leftovers I have are pasta, rice and whatever meat we've had. I tried to make a frittatta out of leftover pasta but it didn't turn out too good and everyone hated it, lol. I'm married to an Italian so we have LOTS of pasta dishes!
I'm really not very good at this that's why I'm asking

 

[padams2359]

I tend to make everything from scratch. Marinara sauce is cooked for several hours. Big mess, small mess, still a mess. Once the sauce is cooked, I use a hand blender to puree it. I freeze it in different sized portions, and use it when I make fresh pizza, or spaghetti. I always keep browned ground beef in the freezer. Usually in 3 cup bags. This is great if I want to make Tacos, Spaghetti, Sloppy Joes. The time it takes to start the water and cook the noodles, the marinara, and meat is done. My wife works later than I do, so while I am doing this, I am also doing homework, and getting the boys in the shower. Left over Rotisserie Chicken is great. Put it in pasta with some chopped pepperoni and a few leftover peas, on a salad, or on a pizza. You can wrap it in tortillas. I also occasionally cook pork tenderloin with some halved Brussels sprouts added about 10 minutes before the port is done. This really comes out great if you have a convection oven, or a toaster oven that has a rotisserie in it. This is also great on salads or tossed in pasta. I buy a tenderloin at Sam’s and cut it into 4 before freezing it. I also marinate all my meat before putting it in the freezer. It takes about 5 minutes of prep time that day, then cooks on it’s own for about 50 minutes.

 

[Jeekinz]

I can never get the cooked pasta to sauce ratio right. So now I take the leftover cooked pasta and store it in a container in the fridge. That way I can make a new sauce the next day or use it as a base to say chicken parmesan, leftover linguine could be shrimp scampi, etc.

Leftover steaks, chicken and pork chops usually become taco fillings or stir fry. For meats that don't benefit from reheating, I'll make a sauce/jus, slice the meat real thin and use the heat from the sauce to warm the meat. A grilled chicken breast can be brought to room temp, sliced and topped with a cream/spinach sauce.

Leftovers are great for side dishes too. Makes cooking a little easier during the week.

Most leftovers are lunch the next day.

 

[vyapti]

I've been making 10# of mashed potatoes on the weekends. I make a Colcannon or shepherd's pie and the kids fill in their meals with potatoes and corn or peas. I usually make soup for the week too. Last week I made pumpkin soup that was vile, so I've been living on Progresso.

 

[DramaQueen]

I know it sounds simple but when I cook anything, I make a double recipe. I love leftovers. If I like it the first time, I'm going to like it the second time around so I just eat the leftovers as they are. I live alone so I have no one to please but me.

VYAPTI: That is one terrific blogsite.