Instead of tossing out leftovers because your family doesn’t eat them, have a leftover night and make it fun! Come up with creative ways to make them interesting again:
- Transfer the leftovers to fancy serving platters and line them up along the table. Let specific family members fix their plate first. It could be oldest to youngest, the one who guesses the number first, the one with the best grades for the week, etc.
- Throw all the leftover meat into a skillet with some of your favorite marinade. Give it a funky name like “Mama’s Meltdown Mixup” and serve it with the leftover veggies.
- Find large potatoes and bake them in the oven. Scrape out the insides and mix them in a bowl with some of the tasty leftovers. Then stuff them back in the oven and top with cheese and bake another 10-15 minutes to make twice baked potatoes.
- Let one of the kids play restaurant and make up a menu and present it one at a time to each seated family member. Let them ‘order’ their food and let the little waitress serve the family.
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Clare C. says
We have leftover dinners or lunches as often as possible around here. My kids actually like this since it’s their chance to get to choose what they’re eating. I love seeing my fridge cleaned out of all of the little plastic containers!
Denise-Scrapmouse says
Totally onboard with leftover night. We’ve done this on occasion too. We pull out all the leftovers, no need to cook, just warm everything up, and split everything into even portions. Then the fun begins, because we usually negotiate and trade portions. “I’ll trade my portion of this item for your portion of that item. ” It’s all in good fun and everyone gets to enjoy their “custom” dinner.
Danielle O. says
Don’t forget to plan your menu accordingly to use up your leftovers! Meatloaf becomes meatloaf sandwiches (or ground back up into sloppy joes & the meats already cooked! Just add a can of Manwich) or veggies get tossed into “left over casserole” as I like to call it. We’re having leftovers for dinner tonight actually… Meat picked off my last crock pot chicken, leftover veggie cuts from pasta primavera & a dash of soy sauce over rice. Ta-da! Leftovers stir fry ;) Smoothies are also a great way to use up the fruit/green veg that are about to go bad. We have smoothies every other morning or so with whatever is looking like it’s about to go to the way side. Spinach is super easy to mask under strawberries. Kale & half a lemon plus a stevia packet become green-smoothie-lemonade.
Possibilities = endless!
Noel Chapman says
Kristen, I so agree with you. Leftovers sometimes get a bad rap but they can be transformed into some great “new” meals so easily. We have a leftover night every Saturday now that I meal plan for the whole month. Having a leftover night each week, helps reduce food waste and make the most of what you have, thus saving money.