Thursday, May 24, 2018

Embracing The Leftovers

Feel free to laugh, but recently I have discovered leftovers for lunch. Today I had leftover sliced beef, the other day I had chicken and last week after I bought a ten pack of burgers for three people, I had burgers minus the buns.

Understand, it's not that I turn up my nose at leftovers. We regularly have leftovers here, since two and a half people are present for meals and most recipes serve at least six. I generally buy family packs of steaks, chops and the like, knowing I can cook once and eat twice. Since my son only eats here half the time, I count it as such.

Nope. It's the lunch thing that messes up the equation. You see, even on a diet I'm a sandwich girl. I'll happily forgo carbs at breakfast or dinner if I can have a really good tuna fish sandwich. Or one made with grilled cheese or egg salad. I have even been known to design my errands around the location of my nearby Which Witch so that I could have their warm egg salad sub. On my non sandwich days I'm likely to have a lean cuisine or healthy choice meal, if only to even things out.

So what's changed? Partly, it's been that my no spend month has been prodding me to clear out the freezer and use stuff up. Partly I suppose it's that my son no longer eats lunch here daily and I know there is extra food to warm up. And of course it may be partly that my tastes have simply changed. It's summer, after all. Who knows. It's summer and maybe I don't want to deal with throwing the bread in the fridge 

Whatever the reason, I haven't completely gone over to the dark side. I am still using up those cans of tuna and occasionally making myself a fried egg sandwich. With, salad, fruit and V8, if course.

But once in awhile, I actually walk into the kitchen. I look at the fridge, check out its contents and yes,  throw some of those leftovers on my plate!

17 comments:

  1. I cook so I will have leftovers. I have a pack of seven or more boneless, skinless chicken breasts and will cook all of them. I will probably freeze half of those after cooking. but, the part of leave cooked in the refrigerator will be for lunches or dinner. Lately, if I don't have leftovers in the refrigerator, I think I will starve to death...lol.Practical Parsimony

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    1. I love the leftovers in general, I am just new to the lunch thing.

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  2. I would starve to death if I didn't eat left overs. I know a few people who throw them out after each meal and it drives me crazy to see such waste. I like sandwiches, too, and have been known to have a peanut butter and jelly for dinner.

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    1. I cannot imagine throwing out food. Oh yes. Pb an j. Those I love as well. But I rarely eat sandwiches for dinner...just for lunch. Lol.

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  3. I always took leftovers for lunches when I was working. My job was located in a very high-priced area of Manhattan but my salary did not reflect it, and who could afford $10 or more a day for lunch? Now retired, I still have leftovers. What else is there really to have for lunch? Cold cuts are too high in sodium. Once in awhile I will make myself a nice omelet or have a salad, but usually it's something from the previous night. Hate to waste any food now that my budget is literally cut in half.

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    1. The few years I was working I did est out but it wasn't so expensive and I needed to leave the office. I dont do cold cuts as such but I do slice ham and roasts for sandwiches. Occasionally I eat eggs for lunch but since I usually have eggs for breakfast I dont want to overload myself.

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  4. I love sandwiches for lunch too! Ham, tuna, chicken salad, grilled cheese, Yum!! My husband and I are both retired and leftovers are usually for dinner the next day but sometimes for lunch.
    I don’t know if I have ever thanked you for introducing me to Schwan’s. You mentioned them once in a post and I decided to give them a try and now we have a Schwan’s dinner once or twice a week. Love their skillet meals. Thanks!!

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    1. Ah yes, Schwans!! We do love them and carbs or no carbs I have been known to have a lot one for lunch. I usually save my leftovers for dinner, but have started eating them for lunch on occssion.

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  5. Leftovers don't go to waste in our house either. Mike will usually use them up for lunch or I convert them to soup or casseroles for supper the following night. Some we freeze for a no cook night. I have us on a pretty strict budget and it drives me around the bend when food gets thrown out.

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    1. I'm ashamed to say we often front even convert them, just do the same thing over again, lazy as I am. Yep, we don't throw out food.

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  6. Yeah for leftovers. I often make a pot of soup for the week and that's a go-to lunch or a light dinner when the mood strikes. Like Linda, I cook so there will be leftovers for lunches or for repurposing into a new dinner. Another go-to lunch is a pasta salad loaded with cooked veggies (peas, beans, carrots, corn, peppers) & canned tuna. This never gets old to me.

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    1. Oh I didn't think about the pasta salad. I've embraced my slow cooker for summer cooking, more about that later, and I usually cook up family packs specifically for leftovers

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  7. Leftovers are usually kept for another night's supper .I make a big pot of one of our favorite soups, to have for lunch a couple of times during the week with some home made bread. I also make egg salad once in a while, tuna once in a while, and sometimes we do a baked potato with a salad. Sometimes I make a giant salad and toss in some canned white beans and corn. I have some Happy Herbivor cookbooks I love, because the recipes only make 2 servings each,so I don't ALWAYS end up with leftovers.I don't like eating the same thing 3 nights in a row all the time!!

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    1. Two nights is generally our limit for sure. I actually ended up having a hot dog today, it just sounded good.

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  8. I jokingly say that we don't eat leftovers...we eat planned overs as I do plan to use up what is left. Sometimes it is converted to something else or added to something else. Sometimes it will be enough for a lunch or a dinner. Lunch ideas here don't differ too much from dinber. We like sandwiches, big salads topped with a little meat, loaded potatoes, soup, noodle bowls, tortilla pizzas, wraps, etc for lunch....and most start with all or some leftovers.

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    1. You're much better than I, we simply eat the same thing again, sometime putting it into a salad or leftovers.

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  9. Barb, I have gotten much better at getting those leftovers out of the fridge and into my tummy. Like Linda I do mostly planned overs. Anything of a significant amount (like roasts, chickens, ham) get packaged up and frozen (except for some for sandwiches) and made into something else later on. Big batches of soup, chili or stews are put into containers and frozen to be used later on as well.

    Lunches are those leftovers that are too small to package away. We still have sandwiches every so often.

    God bless.

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