Throw them out? Let them set in the fridge until they go bad? What a waste of money! That is destroying your food budget. Your food budget can be stretched further and you can get more for your money if you would actually eat those leftovers. It seems so simple yet so many people have a hard time actually doing it. However, it is important that we get passed the leftover stigma and actually heat those things up and finish eating them.
There are several ways to reuse the leftovers without simply reheating them. Here are some suggestions I found.
One thing you can do is make a casserole, they are very easy and it's not hard to incorporate all your scraps of previous meals into one last dinner. If you have pasta and/or rice, combine it with all your left over vegetables and some cream of chicken, celery, or mushroom soup (or gravy if you have some leftover from another meal) with some cheese, put it in a baking dish and top it with leftover mashed potatoes, stuffing and or crackers/chips then pop it in the oven until the cheese melts and the top crust is browned.
- Associated Content by Yahoo
another idea is:
Have a "Check the Fridge" night each week. My wife insists on having one dinner each week where we simply pull all remnants of all leftover foods out of the fridge, open each, and put together a customized leftover dinner. This has multi-purposes; not only does it use up a lot of bits and scraps, but it's a check on whether something is over-the-top, and ready to be pitched. We always do this on Wednesday nights, because garbage day is Thursday. On a positive note, once you've done this for awhile, your throwaways are minimal, but the process is a great way to know if your master plan is being successful - remember, the goal is to have nothing to throwaway.Or how about soup?
- How to Make Maximum Use of All Your Refrigerator Leftovers | eHow.com
Every week or two, plan to have a Soup Night. We love soups and sometimes we make soup from scratch - it really is one of the most cost effective meals you can make, and leftover soup can easily stretch for another three or four meals, and it freezes beautifully. But how about making soup right from your leftovers? Believe me folks, your refrigerator leftovers can make some of the best soup you'll ever have - and it's right there begging for you to put together. How? Check what you have first - almost anything you have can be chopped up and added - that roast chicken, cooked vegetables of any kind, leftover rice or pasta - there is almost nothing in your fridge that can't be used to make soup! And if you have some leftover gravy or tomato sauce, really any kind of sauce, you have a head start - it's perfect. Of course you'll need a liquid - usually water - to make it soupy, but I caution you against using too much of a broth concentrate or bullion cubes, because they have SO much sodium. But it's your taste that matters, so try it and see.
- How to Make Maximum Use of All Your Refrigerator Leftovers | eHow.com
Finally the Recipe Lion Blog has an interesting recipe for Pot Pie using left over turkey. However you could use leftover ham or chicken to. Easter is coming up soon what are you going to do with your left over ham? Ham sandwiches? Homemade ham salad? How about giving this pot pie idea a look see?
Filling:
- Pot Pie filling tends to have chicken or vegetable stock, butter, flour, and milk or cream. There are many variations on pot pie filling and many different methods to making it, but my favorite method is creating a roux with the flour and butter, mixing in hot stock (homemade turkey is best in this case – but the store bought stuff is good too), seasoning it, adding a hint of cream and throwing the veggies and poultry right in.
- You can use chicken, turkey, seafood or any protein you like in a pot pie. If you’re looking for a quick fix, grab a rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked turkey breast at the grocery store prepared foods counter. You can also roast chicken or turkey the day of, but the best flavor comes from leftovers. This is a great way to use up all that delicious turkey meat leftover from Thanksgiving.
- When you are making a roux, make sure you continually stir it until cooked to prevent it from burning.
- For a quick weeknight pot pie, you can use your favorite canned cream soup, milk and frozen veggies to create a filling in a flash.
Crust:
- A simple crust goes a long way. Use your favorite pie crust recipe to top your pot pie. Remember to keep your fats cold when blending pie dough, and make sure just to blend the dough enough to bring the ingredients together. Be careful not to overmix.
- Pie dough needs to rest in the refrigerator after it’s made, so use this time to get started on your filling.
- Roll out your cold pie dough onto a well-floured surface. You can use a cutters or ring molds to cut individual tops or roll one large pie crust, depending on what type of pan/s you want to use.
Assembly:
- Depending on your preference, you can create individual pot pies or a large pie. I like to make my pot pie in one large 9 x 13 casserole pan, but the pies look beautiful in individual baking dishes as well.
- After you top your pie/s, brush your crust with an egg wash. Mix an egg with a small amount of water or milk and brush evenly on to the crust. This will help achieve the beautiful golden brown crust color.
- Cut slits into the top of your crust before baking to allow for air circulation.
There you have it. Some simple ideas to use your leftovers. Changing your mindset and actually using those leftovers will help save you money and allow you to eat better as well.
- Recipe Lion Blog
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