Hello all. Here we are on Thursday again. Gosh, another week and it will be May, that sure doesn't seem possible. Pretty much everything is green and pretty here, the weeds are growing - think, dandelion puff balls everywhere!!!! I notice some of the neighbors are starting to put out flowers. I plan on waiting a week or two - but I am chomping at the bit.
Some of our friends way up North had a lot of snow again this week! That is just awful. I know everyone is ready for the warmer temps.
Today, I wasn't sure to write about - but figured I would give a few ways I have used leftovers in the past few weeks, and some ideas for cheaper meals or meal supplements. I do not have to have meat every meal, nor do I have to eat several items - I know that isn't for everyone. There are a lot of 'single' folks here too - so maybe these ideas will help those who meal prep for one!
I mentioned one day about 'poor man's Swiss steak. Mom used to make that, and I loved it. I still do t for myself. A nice burger, topped with a can of condensed vegetable soup (or homemade) and mashed potatoes. Still tasty all these years later.
Now I took leftovers and turned it into a sort of 'cottage pie'.
I never thought about those little loa pans before - but I am thinking I will utilize them more now. I have a bunch I keep for making sweet breads.
Think anything wrapped in a tortilla! It can be using leftover rice, beans, meat, cheese, sauce for a burrito or it can be whatever is left and using 2 tortillas and make a quesadilla. Wrap chicken strips or fish or leftover steak strips - ham, turkey, cheese - whatever you have!!! I have done veggie wraps as well on a hot summer day. What veggies I have in strips, a little ranch dressing and roll it up = YUM.
A baked potato can be topped with about anything you have leftover. Throw on some cheese or sour cream and it is a meal!
In the summer I also make a lot of tomato, zucchini or cuke, onion salads with Italian style dressing. Great way to use that fresh garden produce. So refreshing.
I made a pork loin on Sunday, so I have lots of meat. Froze much of it to use later - but made a fun soup for one. I made pozole. It is a soup I really like and have very seldom. Pork pieces, a drained can of hominy, pork broth (from cooking meat), chopped onion, and a few chopped jalapenos. NUM!
Just remember you can add whatever you want to things. I am not a huge recipe type person.
You can use leftovers and make hand pies. Leftover pie crust from baking or a frozen crust - works perfect for making hand pies. You could even use pizza dough.
Leftovers are great for making a stir fry or fried rice as well. Super easy, cheap and tasty.
I love salads of every type. Summer makes salads fun - as there are so many fresh options close at hand.
Lots of people make salmon patties - which are tasty. But I tend to make tuna patties! Small can of tuna, an egg, and some breadcrumbs, smashed chips/crackers whatever - form into patties and fry. I usually get 2 per small can. Much milder taste than salmon. Cheaper too!!!!!!
Biscuits - all is good with biscuits. Make egg/sausage biscuit sandwiches. Biscuits and gravy. Biscuits and jelly are even acceptable!!!
There are just so many options for eating up the leftovers or eating for an inexpensive price. I know everyone talks about rising prices, but I really don't notice it much. You know how I shop, I have a great stockpile of items, and I use it ALL up! Waste nothing - get creative.
Eating for one or two can be daunting. Just keep it simple and eat WHAT YOU LIKE! You don't have to conform to what people think is normal - do you.
Seriously, if all you can do is sandwiches - that is ok. Just look around the pantry and figure out some new options for sandwiches. You can do lunchmeat, deli meat, egg salad or any type of meat salad. You can use canned meats in those meat salads as well - heck you don't even have to cook.
Eat salads - if that is what you like, there are tons of ways to eat a salad.
Soup - you can make soup so easily with whatever you have on hand - or if you so choose - buy some version of canned.
You can eat good for a little bit of money - TRUST ME! I do it all the time.
Get creative and use what you have and NEVER waste. Re-create.
There are still many ways to eat cheap!
Have a wonderful day - this beautiful day.
You woke up - make the best of it!
I love that you mom made that and you still do now. I love, love, love stories like this!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy momma was my inspiration in the kitchen and home. Daddy pretty much the garden. I still follow their ways - they were wise people!
DeleteLike you, a recipe is merely a suggestion in my kitchen. Just made a pasta salad w/ sliced pepperoni stick, cubed cheddar, radish, celery, green onion. Delicious meal in a bowl. The last of a jar of sauerkraut was turned into a pot of soup with canned tomatoes, crumbled Italian sausage & the last of the garden potatoes. Yes, use it up.
ReplyDeleteMy mouth is watering - yummo. Both sound super tasty. I just love salads of every kind - there really isn't a thing that can't be added.
DeleteYou would have loved my mother! (and vice versa). She never wasted a scrap. She ate what I would consider some strange combinations, but she liked them, and that's what counts!
ReplyDelete--Maxine aka mikemax
I try not to waste - it does happen now and then - but not often. YEP, it is all about what tastes good to you. I used to make some things that G would just look at me like I had lost my mind - then he would taste it and love it. He would say that is keeper - although I had no real idea what I did. I just throw things together!
DeleteBeing on my own I do this sort of thing all the time. Last weekend I made up a stir fry of chicken and veg - ate it twice as a meal with a sweet & sour sauce and cauliflower "rice" - then packaged up the rest for the freezer to be used in a tortilla wrap sometime next week. Same with the ground beef that I cooked - half went into the freezer - twice I had burritos - just added some cooked onion & pepper along with some cheese. The last bit went into the freezer for a later meal. Bits & pieces can be used up in many creative ways - I often like to stuff a pepper or two with leftovers - stretch any meat by adding rice, quinoa or kasha.
ReplyDeleteI gave up pasta for Lent so I am planning on a couple of pasta meals over this weekend - I went through my pantry and need to use up a jar of pesto and I have broccoli in the freezer, grape tomatoes on the counter and some fresh tortellini in the fridge - there will be leftovers which will be frozen!
Some nights cheese & crackers with an apple or some grapes works just fine as a light supper - no need to cook a formal meal all the time.
It all sounds fantastic. We eat very much alike! I do all those things. Stir fry and wraps are both just the easiest. Add some rice to stretch things - good.
DeleteI am almost drooling thing about the pasta dish you will make with all that.
Yes mam, cheese, beef stick and crackers and maybe some fresh veggies or fruit works just fine too. I do that many times when hot or tired.
My Mom would always eat down the leftovers too. You’ve made some really good looking dishes here, Cheryl. The first one looks amazing, I would eat all of them. Mom used to make chili and top it with cornbread batter and bake in the oven until the cornbread was done. And I’m with you on a baked potato, anything is good on top of them. Same with a tortilla, anything works. We had a gas range back when I was growing up and I would put on a very low flame, place a corn tortilla on top to warm and top it with butter. So delicious and simple. It doesn’t take much to satisfy a hungry appetite.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Come by anytime!
DeleteChili with cornbread on top is great - it sure does extend the meal. Neat idea on the corn tortilla! I sometimes make 'roasted' marshmallows that way (on a fork). Just satisfies a craving.
My mom had to get creative. Lots of mouths, little money, some growing up in depression area, and just being frugal.
You are so right - IF you are REALLY hungry you can eat about anything and be happy.
If leftovers are refashioned into another dish, as they still leftovers? Many people have a decided distaste for leftovers but they probably wouldn't recognize that same dish made into a brand new meal. Add different herbs and seasonings, and Bob's your uncle, you have a wholly different dish. We make a lot of cabbage skillet meals. In fact, I think that will be lunch today. The Farmer and I have changed our eating habits for the better. Supper is often an apple and popcorn.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend! An older gentleman from the barbershop that the Farmer made friends with, passed away and we will go for visitation. He was 88, an nice old fellow.
I call them re-dos or make-overs! Yep, just add new things and serve differently and boom a new dish!
DeleteMmmm I love cabbage - so many ways to fix it. And it is cheap. I eat earlier in the day, and 'supper' is often a snack of fruit, or some nuts or cheese and crackers - something tiny.
Sorry for the loss - he sure had a long life.
Good ideas there, Cheryl! I'm like you, I use it all up. Yes, my supper is sometimes rather strange, but it fills my tummy and it's good stuff, not junk. Thank heaven for left-overs, they're often *the best*. :)
ReplyDeleteMaryB
Thanks. Yes, I have had some 'odd' meals over the years. I am sure others would think yuck! To me it is good, it is wholesome food and I am no longer hungry. Win, win, win!
DeleteLove all the food, it looks so good! I too want to plant but I am waiting as I know there will be a bad freeze before Mothers day!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I really do love food - and just love using it up.
DeleteSame here, you never know about the weather - so I follow the Mother's Day rule and maybe later.
We are meal planning since I've returned and use Thursdays as our leftover day. We had meatless Monday with pasta and sauce, and I believe there is enough to bake with cheese tonight. There is a quarter head of lettuce so will make a salad to go with to ensure it stretches enough to feed both of us.
ReplyDeleteThe snow is melting quickly and I expect it will be gone by the end of the weekend.
I love baked spaghetti. I think it is my favorite way to have spaghetti. Sounds like really good use of food and yummy too.
DeleteYAY glad to the snow is melting. Sure hope you get warmer weather headed your way.
I often make "Lazy Cabbage Rolls" as we call it up here. Lately I have been having lots of fun eating leftovers for lunch as has Harvey. There might not be enough to feed us for our bigger meal of the day, but there is always enough for lunch with crackers or a slice of bread.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Good name for it! Those dribs and drabs make perfect lunches, like you said add a slice of bread or some crackers and it is perfect.
DeleteIt sure saves money!
I’m a big lover of lazy cabbage roll soup. Sometimes I put in just enough rice to thicken it so it turns sort of stewy. I love LCR casserole as well. Yum!
DeleteThanks so much for the Deconstructed cabbage rolls idea. Used up the last of the giant (school giveaway) cabbage - made enough for today's lunch and tomorrow's! I was getting quite tired of plain sauteed cabbage, even with ham bits or chicken.
ReplyDeleteMaryB
You bet. It is really good - easy to make and tastes just like cabbage rolls! Just toss it all together and cook!
DeleteEnjoy!
I like cabbage roll bowls too. Shredded cabbage, maybe some carrots shredded, a little ground sausage and cook until done. Add a little soy sauce. Serve w/or without rice.
Pasta with marinara is a favorite here. When I buy a pack of Italian sausage, I freeze them in packages of 1 or 2. Thaw, and either slice into coins or slit the casing and scoop out the meat. Brown, add to your favorite sauce, and heat until thoroughly cooked and hot. For garlic bread, spread a left-over hot dog or hamburger bun, a sub roll or bicuit -- whatever you have on hand -- with butter and a sprinkle of garlic powder. Cook in the oven (I do 450* or about 10 mins, longer if needed) or on a frying pan or griddle pan on the stovetop, butter side down. Add a salad and you've got an easy and inexpensive meal.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. Sounds really good. You do your garlic bread kind of like me. I just use the toaster. I always make my own with what I have. It sure sounds tasty.
Delete^^^ -- Lori K
ReplyDeleteI was actually thinking of you this morning, as I sorted out my fridge of wilted vegetables. I have been away from home a lot over the last few weeks and not at home to eat as much as usual. I had to throw a few things out, but made the rest into pasta bake. It was OK, not great, but food anyway. And I will eat it for the next few days to use it up. I am not so creative as you in thinking up meals.
ReplyDeleteI got in your head!!! LOL
DeleteWell, sometimes we make things that are just OK - but if we eat them, then we are being good and not wasting.
If you ever need ideas - just put it out there, tell us what you have and I bet one of us can give you an idea.
Such great advice, as usual, Cheryl! Cooking for two is a challenge for me. Last night I fried some breakfast sausage patties, baked some biscuits and that's what we had for dinner. It was delicious! The day before I had cooked a roast, which we had with mashed potatoes and green beans. The next day David took a roast sandwich for lunch on the road. Then I bagged the rest and put it in the freezer for a future meal. Tonight I think I will take two bowls of frozen soup out of the freezer and we will have that for dinner. Thanks for always sharing your ideas! I am always inspired by them :)
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't have to be a 5 course meal to be good and filling. I love sausage and biscuits! Or breakfast for dinner.
DeleteYour choices all sound good to me.
You are welcome - hope you see something you can use.
All the pics look so yummy! We definitely use our leftovers around here. I love pasta salad and could definitely make a meal out of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I often eat jazzed up pasta salad as a meal, especially in the summer.
DeletePics of your meals look delish!! I most often cook so that there will be leftovers to come back as an entirely different meal. This week some leftover lentil sloppy joe's came back as chili and was served over baked potatoes. A Waldorf salad from earlier in the week came back as a slaw using purple cabbage and some carrots to bulk it out. We had it with the chili baked potatoes. Leftover stir fry comes back as rice paper egg rolls cooked in the air fryer. Rice paper is one of those ingredients I always keep on hand. It can be used as a wrapper for almost anything, including using it to make a strudel with apples and air fried. In the summer I use it to make fresh summer rolls that are another uncooked meal. It's warm here today but expecting rain tonight, which we need, and next week looks like a run of good warm days. Wishing
ReplyDeleteall a blessed weekend. Cookie
Thanks. Boy, you had a lot of good ideas. That all sounds tasty. I have never had rice paper - but I keep egg roll wraps on hand all the time - the only ones I can ever find are Vegan - and they are tasty.
DeleteWe got rain today - hope you get the rain you need.
Thanks - you as well.
For a man who did not cook at all before I moved here, he is an expert at finding leftovers for a meal. He even got onions and bell pepper pieces from the freezer for pizza made with pizza crusts I bought on sale that he declared useless.
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful. Every person, regardless of man or woman, should know how to cook.
DeleteShocked to see a paper plate!!! lol. How do you decide when to use disposable??
ReplyDeleteCheryl I have the slow cooker full of pumpkin soup right now and a lot of eggplant, tomatoes, capsicums ... Im thinking of lasagne /pasta /layered... When it's cold I slice into serving sizes and freeze portions. I now am doing usually one main cook up a week and thats it! (Living alone as you do also.) I love those small foil trays they are very handy!xxx
ReplyDeleteI had a craving for grilled cheese today before I even read this! It's something I need to make more often.
ReplyDeleteIt is so helpful to have those small loaf pans on hand. I have the foil tins that catch drippings from the grill, which I use to make and freeze small casseroles. It helps to have small storage like that when you are using up odds and ends.
Grilled cheese is just yummy at times!
DeleteI had not thought of those little pans until that day. I was looking for something smaller I could use and heat up in the air frier. That entered my mind and worked great. I will sure do that again!