What do you do with leftovers?
 

My stepdaughter reads the comics, Dear Abby etc at breakfast before work. Today:
Putting aside describing her own cooking as delicious :lol: I wondered about the casserole aspect.

We've always used leftovers and while I try to make it "not just the same thing again", I wouldn't make a casserole from it. Too much cooking of the ingredients.

I might use something from the leftovers to pad out a casserole but they wouldn't be the casserole itself.

One of the great delights about Christmas Turkey Dinner is using some (not all) of the leftovers together with other things to make something entirely different on Boxing Day but still involving Turkey.

Anyway, what do "you" do with leftovers or do you make the right amount?

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

We have a dog, we never have leftovers, therefore, we never use the green bin

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

We have two giant dogs. So in fact they need their own portion...

The other option we have is to put it in the back of the fridge until it's green and hairy then we throw it out! 🤣

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Well that's better than opening the fridge and finding it morphed into a monster and it eats you before throwing out your bones. :eek:
Although maybe the monster makes a nice stock with your leftovers :lol:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Chickens.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

I can see I have the wrong title. It should have been what do you make from leftovers :rofl:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

It depends on what's left over. Some things I'll make extra so we have leftovers (curries or lasagna, etc) for tomorrow's work lunches. Other stuff I make extra (stews, soup) so we can have it again the next night, 'cause you know some things are better the second day. Generally, though I'm pretty good with cooking the right sized portions if it's something we don't want again.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

If it's on my plate.. it's getting eaten :lol:


I make stews, curries and various things like that, slow cooked in big pots. I normally make loads knowing it'll last a few days and I normally leave the dish on the hob or in the oven as my grand parents used to do. For me it was normal to leave food out but covered for a few days (obviously depending on what it is). My girlfriend was initially shocked by this as she felt everything had to go in the fridge. She quickly realised that stews, curries and things get better after a few days left on the stove.


If my bread has mould on it, I cut the mould off, if the meat has gone out of date, I smell it and feel it before I throw it. I use my judgement and so far I've never got ill from doing this.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

It can be hard to get portions right though.

In the last 6 years we've gone from a family of 7 to 6 to 4 to 3... just when I get used to the new quantities I need to cook somebody moves out... Obviously they don't like my cooking!!

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Three teenagers. No leftovers. In fact most of the ridiculous amount of food I buy just seems to disappear.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

This. They have to be the world's greatest recyclers of food.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Not much gets thrown out in our household. Like Dorothy, we'll often make a double quantity so we can have it again later in the week, or - for example - make a bit vat of chili that we'll have with rice on a Tuesday and then in tacos with salad on Thursday, with anything left after that probably serving as my work lunch on Friday. That's the destination for most smaller quantities of leftovers, too - thrown in the microwave at work the next day. Larger quantities that we have no immediate plans to eat go either in the freezer or, if we're feeling generous and he's hungry, in the dog.

Chicken carcasses, ham bones, etc, tend to be boiled for stock, which is then used with leftover veggies and odds and ends of meat to make soup.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Curries (Chicken, Pork)
Leftover Stroganoff (Beef)
Stirfrys (all three)
Sarnies
Dog!

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Oh yes! Things with pasta in particular. :nod:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Chickens are small here. I roast two together and the four leg/thigh portions form part of the roast dinner.

The breast is then available for sandwiches, club sandwiches, cold chicken, salads, curries or other chickeny things with rice.

Those lovely ham things that they call picnic shoulder or whatever. That leftover - a big piece - does melted cheese and ham on crusty bread to go with the day after salad and the rest makes a Ham Alfredo or Ham and Egg or even all four if it's the bigger ones. Ridiculously cheap too @ 99p lb. They're all so different it doesn't feel like 'ham again'

Feed the leftovers to the dog or chickens? Outrageous. :rofl:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

I'm completely useless with the portions thing. Especially rice or pasta. It does my head in.:cry_smile:

Leftovers often went the the hens when we had hens.
Often leftovers go into MrBEVS lunch box & I sometimes manage to get portions sorta right so there are deliberate leftovers for that lunch box.

Stews/casseroles just get extra veg added and then eaten with 'nice' bread.

Chicken gets made into a pie or just eaten cold the next day.

Yesterday I made a monster lemon meringue pie which was a sure bet for leftovers. Look in the cupboard this morning and it is completely gone. All. Gone.

There are only the two of us and I am not sure my geriatric cat could be bothered. :sneaky:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

It is amazing how much those furry barking dustbins consume...when you dont have such a bin to feed, you see how much is wasted :cool:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Wasn't me. Although I do love lemon meringue pie. Can't vouch (at all) for the rest of the family though. There is nothing that exciting in my cupboards (I don't want to encourage them), so they could be foraging anywhere.:nod:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

You can never have too much rice. The 'kids' like it with cream of mushroom soup added for lunch.

When we're having something involving rice I make double and then within a couple of days there's a fried rice.
Roast chicken
Next day Sweet and Sour (leftover) Chicken & rice
Then Pork Chop (the pack is too big so some is kept back)
Then Pork fried rice
There will likely be sweet and sour chicken/fried rice available for lunch.

Last week I had a bit leftover from meatloaf, pork chop and chicken and it all went into a spectacular curry on the fourth day. :thumbup:

:thumbup:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

I make the best lemon meringue pie ever.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

I am more than willing to test that claim.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Put all the leftovers in a blender make a smoothie and tell him it is guaranteed to keep his pecker up.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

We're visitng Canada later this year. If you are between Vancouver and Calgary or in Southern Ontario I would be more than happy to make you one. (I know you're in the maritimes, but we're not going to the east coast this trip)

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Nu-uh!! York region, north of Toronto :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: and very excited about my impending pie ;););)

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

I thought the clue is the name.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

We're :fingerscrossed: coming for Christmas so we'll arrange a TO meetup for December once we've firmed up plans.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

:drinkingpals:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Our four legged bins behave very differently.
One of them sometimes doesn't even wait for the memo and helps herself (such as hubbys sandwiches this morning!). She'd happily take your hand off at the same time as the food if you're not quick enough (think lightening speed).
The other is so gentle you could place the food on her tongue and she'd wait for permission to eat it...

I'm just waiting for them to learn to open the fridge! Lol

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Bubble & Squeak.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

The only leftovers we have is Chili, Bolognese and meatballs, all of which get portioned up and shoved in the freezer for the time when I can't be arsed to cook and I've got enough portions of any of them. I cook large quantities because me and offspring are quite happy just having a bowl of rice as a meal so that's not leftovers, that's done on purpose. ;)

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

:thumbup::thumbup:

That used to be part of the family Boxing Day dinner when I was a lad. I used to do it in subsequent years and sometimes with just potato as a potato cake but I just can't seem to do it anymore. I can't get it to keep its shape.

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Chickens are easy, we just don't feed them any kind of chicken derivatives. Dogs, are another kettle of fish, surely there's hardly anything cooked you can give a dog that's healthy for them to eat. If the dog is going to get the leftovers do you build the menu around that, focus on steak tartare or nibble kibble yourselves?

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

So you bubble & squeak, might want to get help with that! :lol:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

I had a GSP when I lived in the Uk, exactly the same! More than once made sandwiches for work, turned around to put stuff away and gone in a Liver and White flash! :eek: :rofl:

I had to change the kithcen door handle from push down to round as the little bugger learned how to open the door. Bins tipped out, spread everywhere and cupboards ransacked! :rofl::ohmy::blink::banghead:

Re: What do you do with leftovers?
 

Quite often we cook more than we need and put the rest into containers for lunch the following day or in the freezer as home made ready meals.

I really hate wasting food. Sometimes we will make curry, casserole or soups with anything left.