Kevin McShane / Flickr
I love to cook and eat well, but sometimes I come home to a fridge with nothing but leftovers. I used to throw away food that hung around for awhile, but I changed my habits because trashing leftovers is wasteful and expensive. Now I give my leftovers a makeover, using these tricks to eat like a queen.
If you have leftover…
Cooked rice
If you’re in the mood for something sweet, make rice pudding. If instead you want something savory, try fried rice or adding it to meatloaf or meatballs. If the rice has spent some time in the fridge and is dry, add a little bit of water and microwave. Turn leftover cooked rice into a dinner recipe for Paraiba by topping with meat, cheese, and any veggies you have on hand.
Pasta
Heat leftover pasta in a pan with a tablespoon of butter or margarine and add Parmesan cheese. If the pasta has marinara sauce warm it up and add veggies for an impromptu, but hearty ratatouille. To make sure the sauce doesn’t burn, add in a tablespoon or more of water. As it heats up, the water will burn off.
Beans
To save time and money, make a large batch of beans and then freeze in small quantities for quick and easy meals in minutes. Try making chili, bean soup, or burritos. Beans are extremely versatile!
Bread
If your bread is getting stale, consider letting it dry out even more to make croutons. Another option is to make bread crumbs for chicken Parmesan, eggplant Parmesan, meatloaf, or mac n cheese. Stale cereal can also be used to make breadcrumbs.
Steak, Chicken or Ham
This is one of the most versatile leftovers. Steak and chicken can be sliced thin and tossed with veggies for a quick stir-fry or fajitas. Chicken can be added to soups pastas, soups and salads. Ham can be used in a spit pea soup or in sandwiches. All three go well in burritos!
Need help finding a frugal recipe? How about a website where you can enter one ingredient and it gives you recipe suggestions. Bargain Babe wrote about LeftOverChef.com in a previous post and has shared her frugal recipes and other kitchen money savers.
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I don’t understand what meaning the picture of the lady eating pie is supposed convey? Is she crying because she’s gone off her diet yet again, she has stuffed herself and can’t take another bite, it’s awful pie, but she can’t bear to throw anything out, just broke up with her boy friend, because the pie is so delicious and it’s almost gone? Or maybe she stepped in something with her bare feet.
Loved the article and the ideas for using leftovers. I would add the leftover meats to the fried rice or maybe turn the rice and meat into a variation of Mexican or Spanish rice.
Best good eating to do with leftover stale-ish bread is to make a bread pudding. Savory or sweet, with veggies or fruit, this is absolutely a delicious and filling main course (or dessert). Hundreds of recipes all over the web. Yum!
@Rabbi Wendy I’ve never made bread pudding but it sounds delicious!
Dry bread can also be turned into a stuffing or a strata with eggs and cheese. Rice can be breakfast by adding cinnamon, sugar and milk (cold or warm). The pasta can also be mixed with egg and onion and a little milk and fried like a fritata.
@Chi: She’s crying because she has to throw away all that food, wasting money, because she didn’t read this blog!
If chicken, pork roast or beef roast is still around by day 3, it gets shredded and tossed with BBQ sauce. I heat it up in a pan on the stove so the sauce gets that nice caramelized taste. Eat on bread or tortilla.