Leftovers: New Look, New Name

My husband doesn't like leftovers.  I think I've spoiled him because I like to cook and I like to try new ideas, so he thinks every meal should be a "party in the mouth".

But here's the thing:  1) Have you been to the grocery store lately?  Prices are crazy, we have seven people in our family who love to eat, and I like to stretch my hubby's earnings as far as I can. And, 2) I am in a busy, busy season of life which doesn't lend itself well to trying creative new recipes every day.

While reading Managers of Their Homes last week, I noted her solution to simplifying meals for her family.  They have the same menu for lunch every single week:  Monday--Ramen, Tuesday--tortillas and cheese, Wednesday--Soup, Thursday--frozen burritos, Friday--leftovers, and Saturday--Mac 'n cheese.  I'm not criticizing her in the least; it might be great to do this and have a family who accepted the idea.  Mine would be bored silly.  She does a similar thing for the evening meal with a theme for each weekday (like Monday Mexican, Tuesday Italian, etc) and the weekends are always Friday--pizza, Saturday--frozen pizza, and Sunday--burritos.  I showed the idea to Alan and got the exact response I expected.  (chuckle)

The last couple weeks, however, I have been purposefully planning leftovers which has reduced my grocery budget AND has simplified my meal preparation.  Here are a few meals I've "re-purposed" in case you would like to try something similar.

• Chili to Chili Pie

Make a big pot of chili (preferably serve it with cinnamon rolls--yum!).  A couple days later, pour the leftover chili into a baking dish, top with your favorite cornbread recipe, bake and serve.  It was a big hit!

• Roast to Beef and Noodles

Cook a large roast with onions, carrots, potatoes and seasonings.  Before you serve it, chunk off enough meat for noodles (because I have a 15-year-old son who will frequently keep eating until the food is gone, even though there is more than enough to satisfy) and place the meat and broth into a container for the refrigerator.  A couple days later, mix up eggs, milk, salt and flour to make noodles for a delicious meal (one of my personal favorites!)

• Tacos to Taco Salad

This one is simply too obvious and simple to explain, but fry up a bunch of hamburger, season it, and put a third to half of it in the fridge (same reason as above--you would not believe how many tacos a teen boy will eat if you just put unlimited meat before him!).  Serve tacos with all the fixin's.  A couple nights later, reheat the meat, set out all the fixin's again and add Doritos and Western dressing.  Voila--entirely different meal!

• Chicken and Dumplings to Chicken and Biscuits

This is comfort food at its finest.  Use an extra large stock pot to bring chicken and broth to a boil (easiest when you have canned fifty quarts shortly after butchering your chickens so you just have to pop the lid off the jar) and top with fluffy dumplings.  If your family is like mine, they will eat all the dumplings and part of the chicken, but you will be left with quite a bit of thickened broth and meat.  A couple days later, add leftover veggies (carrots, peas, potatoes) to the broth and meat, thicken it on the stove, top with homemade drop biscuits, bake and serve.

• Rotisserie Chicken to Chicken and Rice Burritos

I was blessed with a rotisserie cooker from a friend of mine who never used hers.  We use it all the time.  This simple meal just requires a quick seasoning of the chicken before putting it in the cooker for an hour and a half.  If you don't have a rotisserie cooker, you could easily bake a whole chicken or use your crockpot.  Pick the leftover meat off the bones and a couple days later mix it with instant rice, cheese, and seasonings, wrap it in tortillas and bake.  

• Country Fried Steak to Creamy Mushroom Steak

Bread several pieces of round steak with cracker crumbs and fry them.  Set half of them aside in a baking dish and put it in the refrigerator.  Serve the first half with milk gravy, veggies, and either biscuits or mashed potatoes.  A couple days later, dump a can of cream of mushroom and a little water over the other steaks and stick the dish in the oven.

It's ALMOST like twelve meals for the price and effort of six!  Do you disguise and/or plan ahead your leftovers?  Give me some more ideas!