DiscussionsCooking for Two

Is anyone else sick of eating leftovers?  When you’re cooking for two, it’s inevitable -- we all end eating that pot roast for a few days. I love making wraps with leftover chicken, turkey or beef. It’s so quick and yummy, and with nice, fresh veggies and a drizzle of something interesting (like honey mustard), I usually forget I’m eating last night’s leftovers.  What do you do to make leftovers taste better the second day?

Sometimes it depends on what is leftover!  I am a soup lover, so many times I make a pot of soup, just enough for several servings as I don't want a huge amount of leftover soup to consume!! Roast beef is good fried up as hash with onions and potatoes.  Left over chicken/turkey is good in casseroles - cream soup plus cooked noodles, leftover vegetables, if any, can be added, maybe a little cheese.  As with the soup, not a huge amount, but enough for several servings. 

I love soup, too, so I usually save leftovers and freeze them to later throw in a soup. I just made a wonderful beef stew where I used a cheap beef shank with the bone in (which adds tons of flavor). I simmered the meat for a while in broth until tender, then I took out the bone, broke the meat up and threw in some leftover veggies I'd frozen. I also added some extra cooked hamburger I had leftover, too. Then I thickened it up with a roux and cooked up some of those frozen Pillsbury biscuits. I actually just found out about those things and they are wonderful!! It's usually only my husband and I and I love it that I can bake only  3 or 4 biscuits at a time instead of having to bake the whole can of refrigerator biscuits.

Sometimes, I freeze leftover dinners to have on hand for my husband to take to work when he works late. Some things aren't so great frozen and reheated (like mashed potatoes), but some aren't so bad. I also freeze leftover meats and when I have a bunch, I'll throw them in the crockpot with tomatoes and some mexican spices and some green chiles, peppers, onions whatever I have on hand and let that simmer for a while then make enchiladas, tacos or chilli out of it. It's really even better than making it from scratch.

I love to have leftovers for soup,with onions, potatoes, gosh everything. I also like to fix corn beef with potatoes and onions. This to me is a special meal. I don't have a lot of time, so i'm gathering up meals that don't take a lot of time.. I've never tried roast beef with onions and potatoes before. i bet that it is real good...

I make a quick pot pie.  I cut up the left over meat and veggies (either pot roast or chicken/turkey) and add either a can of gravy, make your own gravy, or use a can of "cream of____" soup for the sauce. My DH likes both a top and bottom crust, so I use the refridgerated crusts. Make sure you cut a couple of small vent holes in the top crust, bake for 30 min or until browned. This will make a 9 inch pie, and you can freeze the leftovers.

I like things to be simple when it comes to left overs. I agree pot pie is yummy, but for me it is labor intensive & time consumming (I am slow) so I generally pull out fresh cilantro, celery, maybe some lemon grass, green onion and other fresh ingredients to make a quick stir-fry.  Because I am working with already-cooked meat, I slice it thin and add it last.  While I  am chopping with my Nicer Dicer, I am also cooking rice or angel hair pasta for the stir-fry.  It usually only takes 20 to 30 minutes from refrigerator to table.