Frugal Skills---Leftover's!

[Shell]

One of the best way to keep your grocery bill down is using your leftover's wisely. There are so many ways you can stretch your dollar when it comes to leftovers.

I'll start with some ideas but I would love to hear others as well:

~last night we had a salmon, tonight I am making salmon pasta with veggie's

~take your leftovers from dinner and dump them into a large container in your freezer when it is full make soup

~turn last night dinner into a casserole, quiche or pot pie

~veggie's in bin starting to look limp? They will taste great in homemade soup

~use leftover apple, berries etc to make muffins

~extra cold rice from last night? Try fried rice with your leftover ham and peas. It tastes great!

~if you roast a chicken or turkey don't forget to boil the bones and make a great broth. I freeze the broth into ice cube trays or make soup.

~check out the "Use it up cookbook" from the library for great ideas!

[canadian gardener]

I really like making a curry with the leftovers from roasts or steak or chicken.

Start with an onion, dice and fry in some hot oil, toss a spoon or two of curry powder on (frying releases curry flavour).

Then add the meat and stir fry it a bit

Then sliced veggies like celery, cauliflower or broccoli or fruits like apples. Raisins and coconut finish it off a bit.

Finish with a half cup of water or fruit juice, put the lid on and cook it a little.

Serve over rice. If it's not thick enough thicken with a pinchy bit of cornstarch.

Peanuts go well in here too.

So do canned rinsed chickpeas if there isn't enough protein.

[guest2]

Great tips ladies! Designate a shelf or space in your fridge for those leftovers so they don't get pushed to the back of the fridge and become science experiements. Plan your meals with leftovers in mind. Know what you are going to do with that extra bit of roast, rice, pasta, fish, etc..

[sunshine]

Leftover bread--- make croutons. I just cube the bread, toss with a touch of olive oil, and seasonings then into the oven at 350 degrees on a shallow pan. I shake them every few minutes and take them out when they are dry.

Potato peels-- I make appetizers with them. I scrub my potatoes well before I peel them, and cut just a bit deeper than I would otherwise. Then I deep fry the peels in my Fry Daddy, add shredded cheese, bacon bits and heat in the oven until the cheese melts.

[Jerseygirl]

I do planned left overs a few times a week so I only have to do real cooking 2-3 xs. A whole chicken or ham will start with potatoes and veggies, another night will become fajitas with some rice and veggies and later in the week all together the leftovers will be soup or if its ham it can be omlettes.

[kittykatstrong]

I love leftover rice for breakfast.

Sometimes I will make large portions of things and use them diff ways. Like meatballs, one night we will have them with pasta, then subs, then cut them in half and slap them on a pizza.

[pop goes the weasel]

I always make big batches of boiled dinner and chili. The leftovers get canned (or froze if room permits). I can use them for in dh's thermos or dinner whichever. My problem is finding something different to fix for meals. The same old thing is getting boring and most of the recipes I have found have things I don't have on hand, are too expensive to begin with or are just plain icky sounding. I'm open to any suggestions.

[Momto2Boyz]

We had meatball subs last week. I used a pound of ground beef, then threw in a pound of bulk sausage that needed to be used up. I ended up making four meals out of it!

We had meatball subs, spagetti and meatballs, then with about 10 meatballs left, I divided them up and chopped them up and half went into mostocolli and half went into chili!

[kittykatstrong]

Last night I made a ham and I have enough left over for

Scalloped potatoes with ham
Linguini with ham, peas, and mushrooms
Pinto beans and rice

[nandmsmom]

I like to make meatloaf and mashed potatoes one night and then make it into shepherds pie the next.

I make extra rice and then make fried rice.

Bake extra potatoes and in the morning make them into homefries.

Ham can become so many things, ham and bean soup, ham and scalloped potatoes, into eggs and on sandwiches.

[IntlMom]

Last night I made a ham and I have enough left over for

Scalloped potatoes with ham
Linguini with ham, peas, and mushrooms
Pinto beans and rice

Don;t forget that if it was a bone in ham to keep the bone and make beans with it....we had spit pea soup with a ham bone that I stuck in the freezer a month or so ago. mmmmmmmmmmmmm............

[madhen]

I cooked up a turkey last night. It was a "big un." The neck and giblets were the dogs' dinner. The turkey meat went into bags in the freezer and will become turkey noodle soup and turkey pot pie, unless something more creative hits me. The turkey juices were saved for making gravy today, and the carcass and fat went into the stock pot and were simmered to make some stock. I'll peel off every last little bit of meat, skin, and gristle this morning, and it will be the dogs' breakfast!

[madhen]

....we had spit pea soup with a ham bone

I know what you meant, but it made me laugh....spit pea soup.

[IntlMom]

Don;t forget that if it was a bone in ham to keep the bone and make beans with it....we had spit pea soup with a ham bone that I stuck in the freezer a month or so ago. mmmmmmmmmmmmm............

HAHAHAHHAHAHA

Madhen,
thanks for pointing out my error!!!! My kids think it looks like spit pea soup sometimes!!!

ok, SPLIT PEA SOUP!!!!!

if you can;t laugh at yourself, then who can you laugh at??

[daisymay1960]

I love leftovers , I think food always tastes better second time around ( if you know what I mean lol ) I have leftover beef and veg in the fridge , plus leftover cauliflower and brocolli cheese bake , I will turn that into a shepherds pie thingy .

I try very had to empty my freezer but everything I take out gets turned into loads of other meals , does anyone else have this 'problem'?