Grocery expenses can add up quickly. Although you want to save on food for you and your family, you don’t want to cut nutritional corners. So how do you prepare healthy meals and still keep your expenses under control? Well the answer lies in not letting any food go to waste. Leftovers are a key way we keep our food bill in check.
Now you may need to use a bit of creativity to incorporate leftovers into your meals. Who wants to eat the same thing 3 days in a row? The key to leftovers is to plan how you will use them while you are making the main dish.
Chicken is a good example of a transformable food. For example, if you are baking a chicken for dinner, you’ll want to set aside some of the leftover chicken to be used for chicken soft tacos the following night. The bones from the chicken can be used to create chicken soup later in the week. A large ham can be enjoyed in many different ways including a baked ham dinner, ham and cheese sandwiches the next night, and in a red beans and rice dish for the finale.
Although no one enjoys eating the same entrée several days in a row, side dishes are great candidates for re-serving. If you serve them alongside something totally different from the night before, the kids might not notice that they were from last night’s dinner. Otherwise, leftover veggies can be put into some kind of mixed vegetable stir-fry, a pot of soup, or even into their own casserole. (Think green bean casserole with mushroom soup and onion rings for the topping).
Have a regular leftover night. Maybe on Saturday night, after you’ve spent the day catching up on errands and other responsibilities, you’ll be too spent to spend the evening cooking. Try making a rule that on Saturday nights everyone eats the leftovers out of the fridge. Let your family members choose the leftover they want and enjoy. You’ll empty the fridge and save on preparation time.
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Agree, helps with the budget and your time management. For example I may make a lot of chicken early in the week, knowing I can just make some pasta and throw the leftover chicken in it for a dish later in the week.
After the leftovers run out check out hipandsavvy.com for great deals when eating out in the metro Atlanta area!
A few more “leftover” ideas:
For those of you that clean and sut your own fish, save the head and tail and boil in water for fish stock.
Chicken is very versatile. I always grill or boil or bake extra to use in a second dish.
Leftover boile or fired potatoes can make great “fritters” or re-fried potatoes.
Make extar of anything you serve for dinner, pack it the next day for your lunch at work–save the cost of eating out for lunch every day…
We have a left over night and it works out really well. Everyone gets what they want and even fixes it themselves. It gets rid of the left overs and cleans out the fridge too.
They work well for lunches too.