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Got leftovers? Here’s what to do

Posted Apr 24 2009, 10:06 AM by Karen Datko
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Open the fridge, and you see leftover pasta, rice, ricotta and lettuce, and they aren't getting any younger. In the pantry, the tortilla chips are beyond their best-by date, and a bottle of wine is going bad.

What do you do with this stuff? You don't want to waste food and end up throwing it out. You can use some of it in garbage soup -- or you can be a lot more creative. The Kitchn presents a post called "What to do with ...? 75 tips for leftovers and ingredients."

The first recipe we found in this collection of tips is "bubble and squeak," which made us wish we had leftover potatoes and cabbage on hand. Right now.

A hat tip to Kris at Cheap Healthy Good for alerting readers to The Kitchn post, which demonstrates that leftover food can be even more glorious the second time around. For example:

We focused here on more common leftovers, but for those with more expensive tastes, The Kitchn also addresses leftovers like duck fat and quail eggs.

Related reading:

Young and broke, but well fed

Can you eat that 7-year-old can of soup?

17 healthy meals from 1 chicken

Frugal hacks for common problems

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Comments

 

Sorry, but I'm squeak-intolerant.

Jerry Seinfeld (Posted 04.24.09 1:31 PM ) Report Abuse

Thanks! I'm going to try my left over corn chip crumbs to coat the chicken. I wouldn't have thought of this...I'll visit the site.

98birdwoman (Posted 04.24.09 3:07 PM ) Report Abuse

Stale chips, crackers, cereal etc. can all be re-crisped in a low oven. My mother quite often did this when she cooked a meal in the oven. After turning the oven off but while it was still warm she would put the stale crackers or whatever on a cookie sheet in the warm oven and they were nice and crispy again. I also use the stale crackers, cereal, etc. for coating for chicken or instead of bread crumbs in meatloaf. (I even use the little loose shreds at the bottom of the box of shredded wheat for that purpose!) My mother also used to add a handful of crushed stale cereal to cakes, muffins, pancake batter, etc. You can make your own croutons for salads with stale bread - cut into cubes, drizzle with oil or melted butter, toss with your choice of seasonings and toast in the oven. And make your own "gourmet" snack crackers with ordinary saltines - brush with oil or melted butter (or spray the tops with a butter or olive oil flavored cooking spray), sprinkle on your favorite seasoning, parmesan cheese or whatever and toast on a baking sheet in the oven.

JellyCity (Posted 04.24.09 3:22 PM ) Report Abuse

We just give our leftovers to the chickens!

onesillyme (Posted 04.24.09 9:48 PM ) Report Abuse

We ate ricotta cheese with sugar for dessert growing up.  It's fantastic!

anonymous (Posted 04.26.09 10:24 AM ) Report Abuse

I've been doing this sort of thing for years - turing leftover potroast into beef barley soup, using leftover vegetables from another meal to make soups...those years of raising three children as a single parent taught me you really can live on a lot less than you might think...and eat well too.  

Leslie Ray (Posted 04.26.09 11:09 PM ) Report Abuse

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