Disguising Leftovers

I do this, too. I don't think it's just for picky eaters either. I think it's just a great way to keep things interesting instead of getting sick of the same foods.

My favorite is using leftover vegetables in stirfrys, fajitas, and refried rice.

 

I live with the pickiest eater that I have ever known. Nothing goes past my partner's nose or delicate taste buds. He simply won't eat any left-overs, no matter how much I try to disguise them. Even if they are only a day old, he tells me that the food tastes "different" than usual. So, he has adapted to eating whatever is on his plate, never wasting any food. And if I cooked a little too much, I will eat it myself the next day, as I have no problems with left-overs as long as they aren't older than a couple of days.

 

This is a easy answer for me. I really never waste food in my house, so no need to disguise. However, if I had to mix and match, and get creative, there would be little trouble for me doing so. Left over chili could be used for chili dogs, nachos, chili mac etc. That's just one example of many you could mix up. Lastly and again, no food gets wasted in my palace.

 

I will be creative with the food leftover in my house. I often cut up the chicken and make fired rice, soup, beans, salad and wraps. Some times I will have to throw out the food that has not been eaten but not often. Learning to be more creative with food has saved a lot of money on food. We use to eat a whole breast each now I find 4 people on one chicken breast by cutting it up into smaller pieces.

 

I like to make dishes that can be reused. I'll roast a chicken and then use it for enchiladas a few days after. If there's any leftover after that I'll make some chicken salad or a casserole. If I cook a pork roast I'll add some BBQ to half and save the other half for a taco night. Another way to save money without eating repetitive meals is to buy larger portions and freeze. Cook only what you'll use for the night.

 

I do this a lot for my family as well, not really so much that they're picky eaters (most of the time, anyway) but just to keep things interesting and different. It's really the same concept that people make such a fuss over after a big meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with a lot of leftovers that need a little love. There are so many ways to re-purpose them, too. Interestingly enough, I was just watching a Chopped where they had to use leftovers for all 3 rounds. It was fun to see what they came up with, and some of them were struggling a lot more than others.

 

Pretty much any left-over food I have ends up in a tortilla or in spaghetti sauce the next day, both of which I actually love eating! I always like to make extra food as well so I can actually have left-overs and I only have to cook a couple times a week. That helps me out a ton during the week when I don't have to cook after a long day.

But yea, the key is to cook food you actually like and then you won't be disgusted by the leftovers!

 

It is really good to be creative while preparing your food. I would love to know if there is any recipe book that you have referred till now that gives you such great ideas. I also love to be creative with my food, but whenever try to do so I do not know why the ingredients never match up to become a wonderful. My creativity always turns to bad food which usually goes waste without a second thought.

 

I always stick speggeti in the oven smother it with cheese and have speggiete casserole if I have any speggitie left. I try to reuse leftovers other wise it just sits taking space up in the kitchen until it finally finds its way into the trash.

 

My mom does this all the time. Whenever there is leftover ham, she mixes it with fried rice to make yang-chow. When there are leftover sausages, she makes spaghetti. There are many fun and delicious ways to use leftovers. Sometimes, the picky eaters even prefer those new recipes than the original ones!

 

You could use meatloaf as a filling for beef ravioli, or make it into a chili served over baked potatoes with a side salad, or dress it up with some taco spices and make it into a taco salad over lettuce with tortilla chips and pico and other toppings. You could also use it as a filling for empanadas, or perhaps dress it up with enough gravy and use it as a pot pie filling. No matter what you do though, they are going to know you're using leftovers from the night before. You may want to consider freezing some of the leftovers, if they will hold up, and re-use them a couple days later instead. Chili freezes really well for example.

It also helps to keep your leftovers in the best condition possible, to avoid them intermingling with other foods being served. For example, serve everything on separate plates/platters - don't pile the mashed potatoes onto a large platter next to the roast and then pour gravy all over them, if you think you may want to use the leftover mashed potatoes for homemade gnocchi the next day. Even better yet, make their plates of food for them, then offer to get them more if they want more - so they aren't making a mess of all the side dishes and the main course.

 

I agree, this is a great way to use up all the food while still getting satisfying meals. Another good method is to plan your meals out and buy accordingly. For example, if you are going to buy beef for roasting, you might want to consider buying a large one and expect to use the leftovers for a stew or even for fried rice or ramen. We usually do this for our roast pork.

 

I don't waste food unless it has gone off or is unsafe to eat. Most of the time, I try to cook just enough so that I minimise the amount of leftovers. But there are times where you have to prepare for the next meal because you know you have little to no time to prepare the next morning or something so only then I would overcook a little bit, then separate the food and store in the fridge or something.

 

I don't know if there's anything you can do with that, apart from limiting the amount of food they had to eat in the first place. My kids are the worst at that. I've never had to go hungry, but sometimes I think that they're a little bit too picky about what they have to eat. I realized that if they didn't have a choice they wouldn't be so judgmental about their immediate food choices.

 

It is a good idea to make left over food more interesting. Many people don't want to eat the same food, the best thing to do is add something to make another recipe. You can save money at the same time you don't waste food. You don't have to be a good cook to be able to make left over food become interesting again. I search in the internet for simple recipe that I can do at home.

 

I throw different kinds of leftover meats and vegetables into fried rice, or chop them into a quiche, or turn meatloaf into taco meat. There's actually some menus in Family Circle magazine that purposely have you cook a little extra meat for the following night's dinner menu to save time.

 

Ahhh good old friend rice solution...can't forget that one! So many different options and no fuss to make. I love reading all these different ideas as i absolutely detest wasting food.

 

This is why I love things like roast chicken, or garbanzo beans for meatless days. They’re super versatile, so I can prepare them with different fixings every time, and my tastebuds never get bored. I’m not necessarily the most creative, but as long as I have a few different options to experiment with, I’m happy.