Doing The Best With What You've Bought
..... disguising leftovers
What is a leftover thread?
..... disguising leftovers
What is a leftover thread?
I finished my shopping for the next seven or more days. I have come up with my plan for using what I have bought to the best advantage. I call these plans "leftover threads" which I will be sharing with you. Today I have listed two threads to be used interchangeably during the same week.
A leftover thread is a string of meals I plan to get from one initial entree that stretches my food budget in an attractive and delicious way. This is the part of planning meals that I find creative. It's what keeps me from boredom in the kitchen, from meal ruts and from my husband (or family before they left the nest)singing the leftover blues.
Since some ground beef was on sale, and I found what sounds like a delicious natural pork sausage and I had one more package of frozen ground turkey left in my freezer I decided to make a giant meatloaf. I used to make this years ago but haven't for quite awhile. I have a very busy week coming up and wanted something that would be easy to prepare and lend itself to many variations that were also quick and easy.
I do not like to serve the same meat too often so, this three-meat combination seemed just perfect. But with this thread I will be adding another thread of meals with it for variation. I often intertwine two or more threads during a week for nutritional purposes and to avoid spoilage.
Tonight I will mix the three ground meats together using my own recipe for meatloaf---just use your recipe changing it up a little if you wish. I use a very large lasagna pan but you can use whatever you have. Several smaller pans will work well too. I make it about 2" to 3" high.
Tonight's menu is meatloaf with mashed potatoes. I always serve a raw, vegetable salad each night but will not mention them in my menus. I will, when the weather gets warmer list many recipes for salads and dressings that I have created as I will for other things. I will make three nights of mashed potatoes and cook two nights of mixed vegetables ---probably brocoli, carrots and cauliflower but you can use whatever you have on hand. When we are finished eating our dinner tonight I will crumble some of the meatloaf, mix it with the leftover veggies and cover with some mashed potatoes and grated cheese. I will put this Shepherd's Pie in the freezer for another week.
The next night I will use more meatloaf. It will be cut into cubes----square meatballs. In the morning I will put ingredients for a meatless spaghetti sauce for two or more nights in my large crockpot. That night when the sauce is done I will, separate it into three night's servings.
That night we will have spaghetti with the meatballs added at the last minute to warm them. Leftovers will go into a baking pan atop which I will put chopped peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives and whatever other pizza-type ingredients I have, top that with cheese, a little basil and parmesan and put it in the freezer---this Spaghetti Pizza usually serves us for a little over one meal---one night as the pizza and the second night, the little that is left is added to, or frozen for, an Italian soup.
I will freeze a couple slices of the meatloaf and the mashed potatoes. Later I will thaw this and serve it in a sandwich, hot with the last of the mashed potatoes and some gravy---like hot turkey sandwiches. Or use it as a breakfast meal----with poached or fried eggs.We like these kinds of meals in the colder months after church.
The leftover sauce will either be frozen or used to make a vegetarian lasagna which usually serves us for two or three nights. Anything that is left over from these days will go into Monday's soup. This week I have Minestrone planned because I will have tomatoes, some Italian sauce, some beans, pasta and veggies leftover in small amounts to add to it as well as serving it with the very last of the meatloaf put in at the last minute. Most of these ingredients will have been frozen as the days go by to guard against spoilage. I will cream the last of the soup so it doesn't look like Minestrone, serve it in mugs with grilled cheese or other sandwiches.
So, here are the steps of the meatloaf thread in list form. Choose whatever you want to freeze for later or to serve during this leftover thread. Don't keep things over too long, use your freezer. These are examples of meals you can get from making one meatloaf, they are not meant to be served night after night. Again, use your freezer:
The second thread will start with a roast chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions and mushrooms the first night. Then I'll de-bone and skin the chicken and put everything but the meat in a crockpot with a whole onion, celery stalks, whole garlic, spices and water and let it cook overnight. In the morning I'll cool and strain it and put it in the refrigerator to let the fat rise to the top so I can scoop it out easily. I'll toss the bones away, then I'll whirl the veggies in my blender to add back to the broth. I'll add other vegetables and the leftover roasted veggies to the soup too. We'll have chicken soup or use the broth for something else like the gravy for the hot meatloaf sandwiches and mashed potatoes or as a base for my easy enchilada sauce. I'll chop up the leftover chicken and either freeze it or use it in recipes----sweet and sour chicken over rice, chicken tacos, enchiladas, chicken pot pie with leftover biscuits, drop biscuits or other bread instead of a crust. I will intersperse the chicken dishes giving a variation to the meatloaf thread and probably between the two end up with another whole week of leftovers in my freezer----"freebies" I call them! You can give yourself a whole week off from cooking or save them to use as needed or use to give to someone who needs a meal.
This is the way I cook. I believe it saves a lot of money. I thoroughly enjoy coming up with new recipes to disguise leftovers. I will be sharing other threads each week.
I hope you find this helpful and enjoyable to use. Don't be afraid to be creative in the kitchen.
Kathi~
A leftover thread is a string of meals I plan to get from one initial entree that stretches my food budget in an attractive and delicious way. This is the part of planning meals that I find creative. It's what keeps me from boredom in the kitchen, from meal ruts and from my husband (or family before they left the nest)singing the leftover blues.
Since some ground beef was on sale, and I found what sounds like a delicious natural pork sausage and I had one more package of frozen ground turkey left in my freezer I decided to make a giant meatloaf. I used to make this years ago but haven't for quite awhile. I have a very busy week coming up and wanted something that would be easy to prepare and lend itself to many variations that were also quick and easy.
I do not like to serve the same meat too often so, this three-meat combination seemed just perfect. But with this thread I will be adding another thread of meals with it for variation. I often intertwine two or more threads during a week for nutritional purposes and to avoid spoilage.
Tonight I will mix the three ground meats together using my own recipe for meatloaf---just use your recipe changing it up a little if you wish. I use a very large lasagna pan but you can use whatever you have. Several smaller pans will work well too. I make it about 2" to 3" high.
Tonight's menu is meatloaf with mashed potatoes. I always serve a raw, vegetable salad each night but will not mention them in my menus. I will, when the weather gets warmer list many recipes for salads and dressings that I have created as I will for other things. I will make three nights of mashed potatoes and cook two nights of mixed vegetables ---probably brocoli, carrots and cauliflower but you can use whatever you have on hand. When we are finished eating our dinner tonight I will crumble some of the meatloaf, mix it with the leftover veggies and cover with some mashed potatoes and grated cheese. I will put this Shepherd's Pie in the freezer for another week.
The next night I will use more meatloaf. It will be cut into cubes----square meatballs. In the morning I will put ingredients for a meatless spaghetti sauce for two or more nights in my large crockpot. That night when the sauce is done I will, separate it into three night's servings.
That night we will have spaghetti with the meatballs added at the last minute to warm them. Leftovers will go into a baking pan atop which I will put chopped peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives and whatever other pizza-type ingredients I have, top that with cheese, a little basil and parmesan and put it in the freezer---this Spaghetti Pizza usually serves us for a little over one meal---one night as the pizza and the second night, the little that is left is added to, or frozen for, an Italian soup.
I will freeze a couple slices of the meatloaf and the mashed potatoes. Later I will thaw this and serve it in a sandwich, hot with the last of the mashed potatoes and some gravy---like hot turkey sandwiches. Or use it as a breakfast meal----with poached or fried eggs.We like these kinds of meals in the colder months after church.
The leftover sauce will either be frozen or used to make a vegetarian lasagna which usually serves us for two or three nights. Anything that is left over from these days will go into Monday's soup. This week I have Minestrone planned because I will have tomatoes, some Italian sauce, some beans, pasta and veggies leftover in small amounts to add to it as well as serving it with the very last of the meatloaf put in at the last minute. Most of these ingredients will have been frozen as the days go by to guard against spoilage. I will cream the last of the soup so it doesn't look like Minestrone, serve it in mugs with grilled cheese or other sandwiches.
So, here are the steps of the meatloaf thread in list form. Choose whatever you want to freeze for later or to serve during this leftover thread. Don't keep things over too long, use your freezer. These are examples of meals you can get from making one meatloaf, they are not meant to be served night after night. Again, use your freezer:
- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, with steamed veggies
- Shepherd's pie
- Spaghetti with "meatballs"
- Spaghetti Pizza
- Leftovers added to make Minestrone
- Mugs of blended and creamed Minestrone with grilled cheese sandwiches or bruschetta
- Hot Meatloaf Sandwiches with mashed potatoes
- Sauce to make lasagna or to freeze for later
The second thread will start with a roast chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions and mushrooms the first night. Then I'll de-bone and skin the chicken and put everything but the meat in a crockpot with a whole onion, celery stalks, whole garlic, spices and water and let it cook overnight. In the morning I'll cool and strain it and put it in the refrigerator to let the fat rise to the top so I can scoop it out easily. I'll toss the bones away, then I'll whirl the veggies in my blender to add back to the broth. I'll add other vegetables and the leftover roasted veggies to the soup too. We'll have chicken soup or use the broth for something else like the gravy for the hot meatloaf sandwiches and mashed potatoes or as a base for my easy enchilada sauce. I'll chop up the leftover chicken and either freeze it or use it in recipes----sweet and sour chicken over rice, chicken tacos, enchiladas, chicken pot pie with leftover biscuits, drop biscuits or other bread instead of a crust. I will intersperse the chicken dishes giving a variation to the meatloaf thread and probably between the two end up with another whole week of leftovers in my freezer----"freebies" I call them! You can give yourself a whole week off from cooking or save them to use as needed or use to give to someone who needs a meal.
- Roast un-stuffed chicken with potato wedges, carrots, onions and mushrooms
- De-bone and skin chicken.Put in crockpot with onion, celery, garlic and spices. Cook overnight.
- Save broth to use in recipes or to make gravy for hot meatloaf sandwich or enchilada sauce, or other soups.
- Or use broth for chicken soup adding other veggies and chopped chicken (at the last minute) to it.
- Chop remainder of chicken to freeze and or use in more recipes such as sweet and sour chicken
over rice, chicken tacos or enchiladas, chicken pot pie, or add to salad dinners or chicken salad for sandwiches. - Starting this thread with a whole boiled chicken for a soup will yield a lot more leftovers to this thread because you won't be using so much chicken all at once like you do when serving a roast chicken
This is the way I cook. I believe it saves a lot of money. I thoroughly enjoy coming up with new recipes to disguise leftovers. I will be sharing other threads each week.
I hope you find this helpful and enjoyable to use. Don't be afraid to be creative in the kitchen.
Kathi~
This is brilliant, Kathi! Love the way you keep using the original meal in different ways. I'm hoping I can get on the ball enough to try this sometime!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barb! I love doing this---not only to save money and time but because it makes it fun and is exercise for the brain coming up with new ideas.
ReplyDeleteHey Kathi,
ReplyDeleteI've not had much luck freezing mashed potatoes. Do you have a trick. What do you incorporate into your mashed potatoes. Maybe it's the kind of potatoe. They go kind of grayish and watery. Not as appetizing as freshly made.
I am sorry, Janet. I haven't made this in a long time and may not have frozen it but just prepared it for the next night or two. I don't remember having trouble with them when I make a Shepherd's Pie---maybe because I grate cheese over them? Altho', I thought about that as I mashed the potatoes tonight because I have had trouble with quality using frozen potatoes in other dishes. When I make this I also often use potatoes that are a day or two old---like after a big turkey dinner with leftovers so the potatoes have gotten thicker and dried out a bit and I don't re-mash them but just scoop and plop them on top.
ReplyDeleteI use either russets which I prefer, or reds which my husband prefers. I don't add whole milk or cream and butter. I figure if you're drowning your potatoes in gravy or butter you don't need and won't miss all that. Never had any complaints. I never add salt to cooking because I am very sensitive to it. I do add, as I did tonight, granulated garlic to it---hubby's favorite!
Sorry, this was an oversight on my part. I shouldn't have suggested freezing them. I wonder if it would work better if I put the potatoes on the bottom, meat and veggies on top and cover that with cheese??? Upside-down Shepherd's Pie??? Again, sorry......... The meatloaf turned out good tonight and spaghetti with meatballs, even if they are square, sounds good for tomorrow night.