Home : Kitchen : Cooking and baking : Finding Uses for Leftovers

Left overs. Finding Uses for Leftovers

Every meal that goes on in your home is generating some amount of waste if you are putting food in the garbage. Leftovers can be useful and save you money in the home if you are careful in planning and in figuring out just what you can do with those leftovers from your dinners all week long. 

In order to make the most of your leftovers you will need to freeze some items, so you can work with them later or add them to a similar meal. What I mean by adding them to a similar meal is this: if you are having spaghetti today, and you have a little left over, put it in a container and put it in the freezer. The next time you have spaghetti, you can heat it up and put it in with the fresh batch you are making. Less waste!

A good meal does not mean you are always spending too much but you are just eating better! Eating better does mean that you are spending more on your meals, so if you are spending more on eating better and eating good, then freezing and saving your leftovers is only going to make good sense. Freeze the leftovers so you can make on large mixture of foods on a night when you are just too tired or don’t want to cook. 

What else can you do with leftovers? 
You can feed a neighbor who is too elderly or sick to cook for their self. Instead of throwing food away if you really don’t like to freeze food, you can give it to someone else who really needs it or will appreciate that cooked meal. 

If you have leftovers you should save them for your lunch the next day at work. Even if you are a stay at home mom or if you run a business from your home, you still need to eat lunch. Saving left overs for lunch the next day is going to help you cut the budget, stay within the budget, and eat great tasting foods at the same time. 

If your family loves a good meal, you can save up your leftovers and put all types of left overs out on the table at one time. Special lunch meals on the weekends that are easy for you, but the foods they love the most are easy using leftovers. 

What types of foods can you use as leftovers for other meals? 
Just about any types of foods that you have for dinner can be used in leftovers later on in the week. If you have left over corn, you can add it to the chicken soup you are making later in the week. If you have left over ham, you can add it in the meat loaf you are making later in the week. Find new uses for your leftovers by adding them to the meals that you are preparing and it will all help you cut costs on your food bills, but still make your meals different and exciting at the same time!

Some of your favorite things can be used in leftovers. Apples, applesauce, bananas, even pineapples can be used in pancakes, on top of red meats that you are baking, and as a treat for the children during their next meal. 

Milk that is going to expire can be frozen. If you are left over casserole you can put it in a container and freeze it for another meal, or you can use it for your lunches. Leftovers are very versatile so you can use them another day in the week when you don’t want to open an entire can of sauce as another topping. 

Rice can be mixed in pudding, in hamburger or in with your soups. 
Potatoes can be made into potato pancakes or you can add more milk and make whipped potatoes in just minutes for another meal. Mashed potatoes can be used to thicken soups, or chili. Leftover rice can be fried with butter or sauce for another side dish as itself. 

All of your meats can be cut up and put in to soups, used in sandwiches, or you can use them to snack on if you like. All types of leftovers are going to save you money when you use leftovers for lunches, in soups, or in salads as cold meat. 

Think about all the things that cross your table and how many ways you can use them, you will find your leftovers just as exciting as the meals you make from scratch.