On the Kitchen Counter March 27, 2017 : Handling Leftovers
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Leftovers, leftovers, leftovers. That’s what we’ll be having this week. We’ve been going from one event to the next and leftovers are spilling out of our refrigerator.
What We Do With Leftovers
In our home we kind of always have leftovers in one form or another. I cook too much. My husband snacked before dinner and isn’t that hungry. I wasn’t that hungry. Etc. Etc.
Usually my husband eats our leftovers for breakfast or lunch. He’s really good about that and that keeps them at bay.
Occasionally we have more leftovers than he can eat and I create new dinners from them. Since I cook varied meals throughout the week they don’t often go together. Meaning I can just make a big soup from them as the tastes will catch.
One of the main things we do with our leftovers is just reheat them in separate little pots (I’m not a big fan of the microwave) and each person picks what kind of dinner they want that night. Not very innovative but it works in a small family.
Better Things to Do with Leftovers
But there are better things to do with leftovers.
List the leftovers. Put a magnetic pad on your refrigerator. When you put away a leftover, note the item, date, and, if you’re recycling containers, note that too. (“Green beans, 2/16/17, cottage cheese container.”) Next time you go for a meal or snack you’ll be able to know what you have at a glance.
Discover some creative uses for your leftovers. Shepherd’s pie, vegetable soup, and casseroles are just some of the innovative ways that you can use your leftovers. Crumble stale (but not moldy) bread in the blender to make bread crumbs, add seasonings and you can freeze them if you do not need them right away. Stale bread can also be made into homemade croutons for salads. And leftover meat can be incorporated into chicken salad, wraps, or soups and stews.
Leftover Links
- 8 Ways to Use Up Leftover Produce
- How to Store Leftovers in Jars
- Creative Homemaking Leftovers Recipe Database
- Thanksgiving Leftovers
On to my weekly menu (which includes leftovers)
My Weekly Menu Plan:
Monday: Leftover Pizza
Tuesday: Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Russian Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Thursday: Lentil Soup and Turkey Sandwiches
Friday: Oven Nachos
What’s on your menu?
- Find more menus to inspire you from other bloggers at Organized Junkie.
- Read some Menu Planning articles for tips on planning your weekly menu
We don’t end up wasting too many leftovers (must be those hungry teens in the house), but I do occasionally have trouble using up rice when the amount of rice I make ends up being out of proportion with the rest of the meal. I seem to always get the amount wrong. My current stand-by for using it up is to make stove top rice pudding, which is like a treat, but mostly healthy if you ignore the sugar in it. 😉
I need your recipes for the meals you have on your menu, though—the oven nachos sound interesting.
Susan I find rice a difficult one to deal with also. We tend to wrap it in foil and freeze and then use it supplement leftover meals where rice makes a nice addition (like stews or even ground turkey burgers).
I’m sorry about the recipes. I’ll try to do better. I’m making the oven nachos tomorrow so I’ll work up a recipe for you after that. Thanks for dropping by 🙂
Thanks Wendy 🙂 I learned something too. Sounds like you have a good plan. We ate waaaaayyy too much chicken when we moved! LOL! The pizza is now officially gone and we’ll be having a normal dinner tonight.
These are great tips, Kemi! I especially like the one about keeping a list of what’s in the fridge. That would really help in making sure fewer things end up in the garbage.
We’re working on eating through everything in our cupboards and fridge (leftover or not) in preparation for the move this weekend (hopefully that’s when it will be…). Yesterday was spaghetti because we already had the meat and pasta; I just had to buy sauce. Lunch today is chicken noodle soup because I have a cupboard full of chicken broth. Dinner will be stuffed peppers in order to use up the ground beef in my fridge and tomato sauce in my cupboard. Not sure about the rest of the week yet. This is an unusual week, and we’re taking it one day at a time. While that’s not my preferred method, it’s the best option for this week.