5 Ways to Stretch Leftovers (aka “Eat Again” Meals)

November 18, 2009 | Posted by Margarette

Suppose you made a good dinner for your family last night but still have more left for tonight. Unfortunately, if your kids are like mine, they won’t touch their plates if they think it’s full of the dreaded “L”, leftovers. Faced with picky eaters, it may be tempting to toss everything out and start again. But wasting food wastes money, and it sends the wrong message.

One way to keep kids eating is to come up with new ways to serve the basic foods they enjoy. I listed our family’s most popular “eat again” (not leftover) meals below. I have to add few new side ingredients, but it doesn’t require a completely new recipe.

1. Turn them into tacos. Place leftover meat on a flour tortilla. Add salsa, cheese and sour cream.

2. Make it into a casserole. Add cream-of-whatever or broth to the meat (if it doesn’t have it already). Then add cooked veggies. Top with cheese and/or bread crumbles.

3. Serve fried rice. Add leftover meat to leftover rice, vegetables, and a scrambled egg. Serve with soy sauce.

4. Make sandwiches. This simple idea is one of the most popular with my kids. Take leftover meat and slap two slices of bread or a bun on it.

5. Make minestrone soup. Got leftover corn and vegetables? Add some broth, and you’re done.

For more ideas, read the book Make It Fast, Cook It Slow, by Stephanie O’Dea. It has several recipes to stretch your meals using a CrockPot.