Loving leftovers
Dear Midge,
With having three people in the family, you would be safe by doubling a recipe (if it serves four)so you have adequate leftovers the next day. Doing this will also allow you a large enough portion of meat, veges or something from the starch family. For example, if I were to make a pot roast one night with carrots and potatoes I could use all those ingredients the next day to make a yummy soup. Here is an example of how I would use leftover pot roast ingredients to make soup: fill a pot 3/4 way with water and beef broth cubes (usually 1 cube per 1 cup of water) or straight beef broth. I like a tomato based soup so I add in a big can of either diced tomatoes, pureed tomatoes or even a small can of tomato paste. Next I think about onions and garlic. I like to have a good amount of both in my soup so I dice an onion and add in some fresh, diced garlic.
I consider that my soup base, now comes the left over ingredients. I cut up the pot roast in bigger chunks (because I like chunky soup) followed by potato chunks and the carrots. If I feel it’s not hearty enough I might add in some other frozen vegetables I have on hand or even some leftover rice that may be sitting in my fridge (my soup would then have two starches, potatoes and rice). I add in the spices I prefer, usually a little sea salt (depending on the saltiness of the broth), pepper, some oregano and rosemary. Let your imagination lead you as to what you want in your soup, just taste as you go so you can avoid adding in too much of one spice (or salt!). My favorite thing to serve with soup is fresh bread so I try to concentrate on making that fresh as the soup takes just minutes to throw together.
The soup can go in a crock pot if you’ll be away all day and will be ready for you as soon as you hit the door at night. I use the timer on my bread machine to coordinate the fresh bread and soup in the crock pot so they are ready at the same time.
I hope this gives you a good idea of how to turn one thing into another. Leftovers can be your friend, all it takes is a little creativity! Happy experimenting!
Love ya, Molly
We’ve often had “freezer soup” in our house to use up little bits of leftovers. When there’s not enough of something left over to serve by itself, it’s added into a large container in the freezer. When the container is full, you thaw it out, add some broth or tomato sauce, some seasoning if it needs it, and you have a delicious (usually!) unique soup. My family’s only complaint is that you can never duplicate it! It seems like the odder the combination, the better it tastes.
To add some interest I’ll often serve it with homemade bread or fresh biscuits.
Molly says: In our home we actually named it “mystery soup!”
With a leftover roast, I might make Shepherd’s Pie–combine the chopped meat, veggies and some gravy in a casserole dish, then cover with mashed potatoes and bake. Or a potpie, using a pie crust instead of mashed potatoes–this also works for chicken of course. Leftover taco meat is usually at a premium here, but if I had a lot I might make a tamale pie–put in casserole with beans, tomatoes, etc and cover with a thin layer of cornbread batter then bake in the oven. Mashed potatoes are great as potato cakes or for potato bread or rolls. One of my favorites is a delicious dairy-free raisin bread that includes mashed potatoes. Ham is a terrific leftover—slice or cube and use in all kinds of casseroles, quiches, pasta dishes or breakfast casseroles. Just a few of many ideas!
Molly says: Thank you for sharing! I think my family could eat for well over a week on these ideas alone, yummy!
I like to make a very large pot of black beans and serve it over rice. I then freeze the leftovers and add ground beef and make black bean chili burgers or black bean tacos. It’s delicious with some shredded cheese.
Molly says: We love to use beans as “leftovers” as well. I do the same thing, I make a large amount and then spread it out into a few different meals. Beans are a yummy (and frugal!) protein choice.