The Magic of Leftovers

credit: Zsuzsanna Kilian

As I’ve mentioned, the past couple of weeks have been insane around here. In fact, I’m squeezing this post in between painting a couple rooms at my parent’s house and picking up candy bars for a Cub Scout candy sale I’m in charge of. When things get hectic, I am tempted to eat out or grab something quick and prepackaged at the grocery store. But I don’t, and our wallet thanks us. Our health probably does, too, since restaurant and prepackaged food is usually fatty, salty or both. Here is a sample of our dinner menus from last week.

Monday

Meatball stroganoff

Steamed green beans

Rolls

I wasn’t actually swamped last Monday, so I took the time to cook. I made a double batch of meatballs and whipped up a bowl of refrigerator dough for the rolls. Refrigerator dough is awesome because you can store it in the fridge for a week, pulling off what you need each day. This alleviates the need for daily mixing and kneading but you still get fresh bread. I’ll post up a recipe soon!

Tuesday

Chicken stir-fry

Rice

Tuesday was one of the insane days. I worked all morning then had to be out all afternoon and into the evening. I pre-cut the veggies the night before to save time, but even if I cut them right before cooking it still would have been quick. I also like stir-fry because a single chicken breast sliced thin feeds four people. The veggies and the rice is what fills you up, the chicken is just a condiment for flavor.

Wednesday

Veggie soup

We had a Cub Scout banquet that night, so I knew we would be fed. I also knew the boys would be hungry again by the time we got home several hours later. I threw the leftovers from the stir-fry, mainly veggies and a handful rice, in a crockpot before we left and added some chicken stock from the freezer. It finished filling their bellies before bed and supplied lunch the next day.

Thursday

Beef fried rice

Steamed broccoli

When I make stir-fry I make a huge batch of rice in my rice cooker. I used a handful of it in the soup but there was still a mountain left over. Day or two old rice is perfect for fried rice. I diced up a carrot and a quarter-onion fine, threw in some frozen peas, and added about a ¼ pound ground beef. I used a little bit of chicken stock, some soy sauce and a few drops of oyster sauce to flavor it.

Friday

Meatball subs

Oven fries

Remember those extra meatballs from Monday? I made some large rolls from the refrigerator dough and warmed up the meatballs in spaghetti sauce for the subs. My oven fries are just thinly sliced potatoes coated in olive oil and whatever seasoning grabs me that day, then baked for about 20 minutes at 350 F.

Saturday

Pizza

Breadsticks

I used the remaining meatballs broken up on a homemade pizza. I cheated this weak and instead of make our normal crust I used the refrigerator dough for the crust. It is a little too airy for a good pizza crust but works in a pinch when you are tired and pressed for time. I also used some of the dough and rolled it into breadsticks.

Sunday

Leftover soup

Clover rolls

All the rest of the veggies and meatballs went into the crockpot Sunday morning. We were painting all day, so there was no way I was cooking when we got back. I also used up the last of the dough and made clover rolls in a muffin tin (three small balls of dough per muffin cup). I stuck these in the fridge while were gone all day so they didn’t over-rise. This dinner was on the table in 20 minutes with next to no hands on time.

You may have noticed the copious use of planned leftovers last week. Each time I had a little time to cook, I made extra. But we never once ate the same thing twice, instead we used the leftovers in completely new dishes. This is the trick that works for my family. We tend not to eat leftovers as is, but we will eat them if they are used as an ingredient in a new dish.

What are some of your quick recipes? Let us know in the comments!

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