Left Overs

Start by forcing yourselves to look at left overs before cooking anything else... at least that's what we do at home. And then, if you don't like to eat exactly the same twice, try recreating the left overs into a new meal! Anyway, freezing is always a good option. As long as you don't forget forever that you put then in the freezer. =) good luck with your left overs, let me know if you need any ideas!

My husband and son won't eat anything in the fridge unless it practically jumps out at them. I've solved the leftover dilemma by putting the leftovers in those black plastic plates the tv dinners come in. I put them right in front in plain view. And then I don't cook something for dinner the next day or whenever. They are perfectly happy to heat up their plates of food for some reason. Scooping a portion out of a pot or tupperware not so easy for them. I know this may seem like a lot to have to do, but it works well.

I try to eat it the next day for my lunch. And if i dont eat it, it wont get eaten usually, cause hubby rarely eats anything left over. I dunno why.. lots of foods are better left over! like soups and stews MM. If i think i wont eat it, i'll toss it right after we're done eating so i dont have to wash the tupperware when it doesn't get eaten! lol. like left over rice for instance. IS not good it gets all dry! Good luck with your left over delilma!

I live by myself and still make the same amounts for a meal then freeze most of it. I save enough for another night then freeze the rest in containers that are enough for one meal. Then I don't have to cook so often!

Yes, freezing is a much better way to save left overs. We also use left overs but we see to it that the food is still safe to eat and not spoiled already.

There are some things we will eat as leftovers and some we wont. Like if I make beef and noodles we will eat those for a few days but something like hamburger helper gets thrown away because no one will heat that up.

Inevitably there will be something that we didn't get back to in time and have to toss, but I really do try to use up my leftovers. I like to try to repurpose them if I can, and that seems to help. Like if we have leftover grilled chicken from one meal, I might cut it up into bite sized pieces and serve with pasta and veggies. It keeps things more interesting for my family. Personally, if it's a meal that I really enjoyed, I like to reheat and enjoy the meal again just as we had it the first time. Often in addition to having to toss leftover prepared food, there will be some lunchmeat we didn't use before it went bad, or some produce that didn't get eaten in time either. I'm trying to keep a handle on what's in the fridge and rotate things so that the oldest is up front and more likely to be consumed before it goes bad.

My husband's mother seems to serve nothing BUT leftovers. Whenever we are there, whoever is there eats so it always a big gang. So she just puts everything she has on the table for people to eat. My children refuse to eat leftovers. I don't know why. Unless it is something they really, really love (like Kraft Dinner) they will not eat leftovers. I put leftovers in my husband's lunch for work. And occasionally, if I don't come up with a dinner I will eat leftovers. But a lot of times, unfortunately, stuff gets pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten and ends out getting thrown out. I really hate that. DH hates it and I keep telling him if he doesn't like it then HE should eat the leftovers. But, like I said, stuff gets pushed to the back and the people in this house don't move things around to find stuff. If it's not in plain view then it is lost (like a pair of socks under a blanket!)

I am definelty the queen of re-creating my left overs. I learned a good technique at a pamerpered chef party that required the use of Pillsbury Cresent rolls and have come to find that you can fill them with most anything and bake them up- its a great way to make your left overs look like a fresh cooked gourmet meal :) Left over mac & cheese I take it the next day put it in a pan add some milk and real shredded chedder and bake it up- its a quick way to have a different version of baked mac & cheese. I am of puerto rican / dominican culture and we tend to eat alot of rice- which is easily re-created with different side dishes.

we were having this problem, too. i hate leftovers, my hubby will eat anything though...sometimes he will keep stuff long after its shelf life What I do is only make enough for us to eat at dinner, if there is extra i force myself to eat it the next day for lunch (this makes you think twice about making more than enough!!) Most things I buy frozen all the time - frozen veggies, frozen meat, etc. - this helps cut down on the amount you have to make since you can just make what you need when you need it. you can always split it up in bags before you freeze it (like if I buy 2 lbs ground beef, i will split in 2 bags) the other thing you can do is try to plan better- like if you make chicken one night, plan on chicken salad the next... good luck!

I use left overs until there are none left over. I suppose that comes from being homeless for 2 years. You learn how precious food is. However that is not what this is about. I also am educated in a kitchen. I will tell you there are great ways to use left overs. Such as right now, I have beans and rice that I made and some chicken bones that still have chicken on them. I will boil the chicken until the meat falls off and then add the rice and we will have rice/bean/chicken soup. Add more spices and the like and it is a great meal. It depends on what you have. I can actually make food work for me until it is completely gone. To be honest it is a gift for me. The reason you are probably not eating the left overs is because of the fact they are boring. Spice them up. Such as lets say you have left over chicken. Make some noodles that have a creamy sauce and then cut up the left over chicken with saute with some onions and garlic with some extra spices then put over the noodles. You have a new dish. No one really likes to eat left overs but if you jazz them up they become fun. If you would like more help I would love to help you with this, hey I may even make a discussion on how to use leftovers in a fun way. Also you can use chicken for salads the next day, sandwiches. Think about Thanksgiving. I am sure you use as much as you can there. Freezing them is not the way to go. If you are not eating them now you won't later. How ever I can give you some ideas to make it fun and surprise your husband with the left overs you have left for him. He will eat them. Good luck, Aingealicia

There are certain items I cook extra of just so I can have leftovers. For example last night I cooked a big pot of spagheti sauce so I would have extra to freeze and eat later. That works really will with stews and chili too. We are really good about eating our leftovers. My husband was brought up where you don't waste anything. It also helps the buget too.

First I would like to add - that I used to own and operate a restaurant. In doing so I had to go through several food related certifications and extreme inspections. Now saying that - I want to add that cooked - then refrigerated food should be used within 7 days - unless frozen. So unless you really know for sure that you will be eating them - I would suggest dating them and freezing. Make a habit of setting aside a day to go through your freezer - once a month - maybe - and getting creative with your collectd leftovers. You don't have to have a recipe to come up with some really good dishes - cassaroles, soups, ect....

they way i do it is if there is enough for another meal I put the left overs in sealed containers and write what is on them and the date I put them in my stand upright freezer. So I know when they were put there. When I want to make a quick and simple supper than I just take it out thaw it out and reheat everything that I saved. It helps when you are on a fixed budget. Also I usually have a menu list on my refridgerator to remind me that I have left overs that could be put together to make another meal. saves time and money. left overs are better the second time around i say brings out more flavor than the first time.

This is a funny question. My husband and I always refrigerate our left-overs, but then we never eat them. And my children absolutely hate eating left-overs. So we usually end up throwing them out after a couple of days, wasting clean containers and dishes that then fill up the dishwasher. No it's a net loss at my house.

What does your husband do for lunch the next day? Does he work inside so that he could reheat his food? I know when my husband worked out in the field, he didn't take a lunch. He was lucky that our house was in his area, and we would come home and heat. Now whatever is leftover he takes the next day for lunch. If I am lucky and there is still leftovers, I will have it for my lunch or I will freeze it to take later for lunch. Another idea that really works for a friend and I, we trade leftovers. If either of us has too much of something we give to each other. She had two growing boys, so they are garbage cans, lol, then there is her husband. She is on a special diet, so if I can give her enough of something to heat up for her husband she is very thankful. He is a truck driver, so they don't get to sit down as a family too many times during the school week, so it helps her out. She does the same with our family. She is also bakes a lot so we benefit from that. Can you do that with a friend or a family member?

I use the left overs as long as they are still fresh, I mean they still taste fresh and eatable. I don't want to make waste. I always buy new food from the grocery store every week, left overs might get stale if preserved for too long.

I am guilty of sometimes green things and science experiments in my fridge, but lately I have been doing fairly good in using my leftovers. I use leftover meat in mac & cheese or pasta of some sort with vege's, I use leftover vege's mixed with other vege's for the next nights meals, and I am a big mixer of food. I like to mix mashed potatoes with either ham or ground beef/turkey, add some cheese and corn or peas. Kids love it and it really isn't too bad. If I have leftover casseroles or other things that can't be mixed I try to get the kids to eat them for lunch the next day. Remember, a lot of things are better on the second day anyway. Spaghetti, pasta dishes, chili, and soups are some of my favorite second day foods.

I am a big culprit for not using left overs alot of the time. Most of the time the left overs go to the dog, he is one lucky dog. However if I cook a roast, I use the left overs for lunches for next couple of days. And that usually gets eaten. Alot of the time I think if I saved all the left overs, it would probably just end up going off in fridge and being chucked out. As most people in my house chose to get snack food instead. I think freezing is definately a good option for your left overs, that way you could pull it out another night when you don't feel like cooking.

We rarely leave leftovers for so long that it spoils in our household.