Use Those Leftovers

One of my major household cost is feeding the family. It takes a lot of money to feed our family with several on special diets it is also at times to come up with a menu plan. It seems at times as junk food is cheaper than real food. If you are like me and would love to save some money here are a few of my tips that I use.

Cut down on waste.
The average American family throws away $1300 in food a year. That is not only a lot of money but a lot of food that we are throwing away. That does not mean that we should eat food that is old or expired it means that we should use up food before it goes bad or gets tossed out. Using our leftovers gives some people a definite nod of no others think they are great and can think of lots of ways to use them. The truth is using our leftovers offers us a chance to get creative in the kitchen and saves us money as well.

Leftovers were something often found on our family table. Our mother was not that creative and this often made my sisters and brothers and I eat with an attitude of "Not that again" But there are some great ways to dress up leftovers. A few of these include:

Fried Rice is great to make from leftover rice. You can use any veggie or meat or you can go meatless. Its a great meal you can prepare in minutes and best of all it uses up leftover rice. It does not matter what rice you use brown, white, quinoa etc...

Salad Rolls allow you to use up leftover meats, veggies, rice or pasta. Using leftovers are easy when you make up salad rolls.

Soups are a great way to use up leftovers. Chowder or beef stew are great to use up leftovers. You can make up your own soup using different veggies, meats, pasta or rice will allow you to be creative and use leftovers for your family and save money.

Rice is usually easy to make up meals using leftover rice. Rice with milk, dried fruit make an easy breakfast. Chicken and rice soup is great for leftover rice.You can easily freeze rice to use later as well.

Omelets and quiches are perfect for leftovers. Use a basic recipe and throw in whatever leftovers you may have. Eggs, cheese and veggies are perfect to use.

Cake Balls are perfect to use with leftover cake that has become dry, crumbly or just simply leftover. Using canned frosting to make up cake balls. You can use many different flavors to make these little goodies.

Freezing leftovers is great as well. Bananas, ginger, pureed pumpkin, applesauce and citrus can be frozen and used later. Most veggies can be frozen to use in soups, stews, chillis at a later date. Cookies and muffins freeze well as well.

Do Not Freeze: cream sauces, custards, high water content vegetables (like lettuce, cucumber, tomato), sour cream, mayonnaise, fried foods, anything with gelatin.

• Chill the food completely in the refrigerator before freezing. This makes smaller ice crystals and less textural damage to the food.
• For small items (like meatballs, cookie dough, or fruit pieces), freeze while spread out on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag once solid. This prevents the pieces from clumping.
• Make sure there is room for air to flow in the freezer, which will help maintain proper temperatures.
• Label and date your food. LABEL AND DATE YOUR FOOD.
• Freeze in smaller portions when possible. This makes foods freeze faster and reduces the need to thaw more food than needed.
• “Shop” your freezer on a regular basis to stay on top of your inventory.

What is your favorite way to use leftovers?

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