Making the Most of Leftovers

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Okay, I’ll admit it: We love leftovers. And while some of the most popular leftovers center around the Thanksgiving feast, leftovers are a daily part and parcel of any household where each meal’s food isn’t consumed in entirety.

After all, does it really make sense to relegate food that has been lovingly prepared—and just not eaten the first time around—to the trash heap? Perhaps it’s just had more time to fully develop its flavors, its nuances? And yet leftover food is more often than not treated like trash. What the heck, it is trash.

Did you know that one-third of the trash tossed annually is edible food? Americans chuck $100 billion worth of edible food per year. That’s how powerful all those little bits—and everyone’s daily actions—are. They add up to one monstrosity.

Certainly there’s a lot of better things to do with your money than throw it away on food, right? And while numbers like $100 billion seem hard to fathom in our daily existence, each time you or your kids scrape half a cup of rice, a few baby carrots or toss a quarter of a sandwich, you are contributing to that $100 billion.

Here’s a challenge for you: For one week, for every meal, stop before you scrape, toss or trash that food. No matter whether it’s a bit of scrambled egg, leftover green beans or several spoonfuls of chili.

And do what with them, you say? How about . . .

• Make a stir-fry. Rice only takes 12-15 minutes to cook, so even if you don’t have any leftover, you can put a pot on while you sort through the tidbits. Start with some olive oil, sauté one finely minced onion, add some garlic salt and soy sauce, your leftover tidbits, and a one-pot dinner is ready in no time.

• Boost soup. From tomato and vegetable to chicken noodle, odd bits of vegetables and protein make super ways to up the ante of a can of soup.

• Tuck them inside. Quesadillas are not only easy to make, kids love ‘em. So next time you’re assembling the tortillas, cheese and beans or beef, add some leftovers: Chop the veggies finely and sprinkle them on top of the cheese and they’ll blend right in. Now that not only gets rid of your leftovers, but also boosts everyone’s 5-A-Day.

• Make pie or turnovers. I love those refrigerated piecrusts and crescent rolls—and this is where they come in really handy. Sauté your leftover medley of veggies, beans and/or protein in a bit of garlic and olive oil, and sprinkle with some Italian herbs. Tuck inside a double pie crust or divide into individual portions and wrap inside crescent roll dough, using 2 triangles pinched together into a rectangle. Bake for 15-20 minutes and dinner’s on the table. It’s even better if you add gravy, or pair with soup and salad.

And now it’s your turn.

Remember, the sky’s the limit when you tap into your and your kids’ creativity and imagination when utilizing leftovers. Stay tuned for more ideas coming up. And, I’m curious, what’s your favorite use of leftovers?