Elementary Chef

Everybody’s got their own attitude when it comes to leftovers. A lot of people really hate the idea of recycling their holiday dinners, and others look forward to the leftovers almost as much as the main meal.

When our son was still living at home and the house was often filled with boys, leftovers were a blessing. Sean and his buddies could clear out the fridge in no time. Rarely did we ever have to face that blasted turkey for the 3rd or even the 5th time, as so many families end up doing.

Now with just the two of us, we plan our leftovers at the same time we’re planning a big meal. A homemade turkey frozen dinner is a lot more appealing a couple of weeks down the road. I’ll get into the instructions for making those in a minute.

Next to having a good general idea of what you’re going to do après dinner, being firm about throwing stuff out is high on the list of important things to think about. If you know you’re just saving something in order to put off throwing it out, throw it out in the first place! Save washing the dish ;>)

Here’s a few ideas on what not to save:Never save anything that amounts to less than half a cup.
Never save anything you don’t like all that much, anyway.
Never save anything that doesn’t save well. Mashed potatoes and whipped cream are two examples of things that don’t keep their consistency and flavor.
Never save anything that went wrong. If the stuffing had too much salt, or the green bean casserole burnt, pitch it!

Now for the frozen dinner idea:
It’s fairly simple. Save the plastic nukeable trays the store-bought ones come in, (not the cardboard ones, since they aren’t washable) or buy microwave-safe containers.

The trick is in having about the same amount of each food item in each compartment, for even cooking. Keep in mind that potatoes don’t freeze very well in home freezers, but you can easily substitute cooked rice or pasta.

Sadly, you’ll need to experiment with cooking times, as your microwave and the kinds and amounts of food will vary. Start with 1 minute and go from there.

There are more ideas here.

leftovers