Check out my progress on Warming up to Leftovers
**Before I delve into tonight’s post, be sure to check out my guest post for Namaste Gurl!**
As I’ve mentioned on several occasions, I loathe leftovers.
This aversion can be attributed to two facts:
1) I’m a foodie. Life’s too short to eat the same thing twice!
2) A lifetime of leftovers. Both my mother and grandmother clutch onto leftovers for dear life—saving a mere tablespoon of tuna salad “for a snack”; making a sandwich out of two measly shrimp; eating leftover Easter ham on Memorial Day. I had so many repeat meals over the years, that I’ve developed quite an aversion to leftovers.
As a result of this aversion, I typically cook in single servings (hence the abundance of singleton dishes on my recipe page) so as to avoid monotony at the table. However, both the Ellie Project and the purchase of my new Crock Pot have forced me to make multi-serving meals of late. Although Seth typically finishes off most leftovers, even he can’t keep up with the pace of my cooking these days. My fridge now overflows with… [shudder] leftovers.
Today, I’ll admit—those leftovers came in handy. I returned home from chemistry lecture, anxious to get finish up my homework so that I could tackle my household chores. I opened the fridge and contemplated my lunch options…and soon decided that leftovers would be the most efficient route. I warmed up a bowl of Sunday’s split pea soup and set about my afternoon’s agenda. OK, so leftovers aren’t all bad.
How do you feel about leftovers—love ‘em or hate ‘em?
Onto the eats, leftovers and all:
Once again, I strayed from my usual banana-oat bran combo this morning and used diced pear as the fruit component. ‘Twas delicious but not quite as sweet as the standard.
Aforementioned leftovers lunch.
Dinner was another Ellie recipe, Sloppy Joes.
My tweaks:
-Her recipe called for lean ground beef, for which I substituted texturized vegetable protein (TVP). In case you’re curious, 1 oz dry TVP=3 oz meat.
-I used vegan Worcestershire sauce, which I discovered is much more costly and hard-to-find than the regular kind!
I found this recipe very filling, thanks to its hefty protein content (my version had approximately 18 grams!). However, due to my use of no-salt-added beans and tomato sauce, I found it a little bland. I might add a few extra dashes of salt and a little cayenne pepper to the leftovers.
If you’d like to try this recipe for yourself, you can find it on FoodNetwork.com: Sloppy Joes
Alright, off to watch the Duke-NC State game!
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
Dinner looks yummy. I love leftovers- less work and also I’m cheap!
I, like you, typically make single serving meals. Hey, I like to cook
You can save SO much money by keeping leftovers. I always put mine on the top shelf of the fridge so we are sure to eat them!
Well, 4 comments. 1) Unlike you, I don’t like to cook and hence, cook enough for at least 2 meals. 2) I don’t ever recall you saying you didn’t like leftovers. If you had spoken up, maybe I would have adapted. 3) We have NEVER eaten Easter ham into Memorial Day. 4) Criticize me all you want, but I really bristle when you aim at my sainted mother. Her use of leftovers was a virtue–it was her innate sense to avoid wasting any of the earths bounty.
BroccoliHut Reply:
January 20th, 2011 at 12:19 am
I think I just got dissed by my mom.
I hate leftovers too! You could always adjust Ellie’s recipes to only make one serving; I do it a lot! (i.e., if a recipe serves 4 people, I just divide each ingredient amount by 4!)
The sloppy joes look awesome! But, what are okra fires? Are they a southern thing?
tvp is soooo filling! i dislike leftovers too. snoooooze.
Yeah, not really a leftover kind of a person- unless it’s cans of beans or roasted veggies, etc in which I can incorporate into salads or such. I’m a single- lady cooker, as well
My favorite veggie sloppy joe recipe is with lentils– snobby joes from PPK
I can not stand leftovers! I grew up in a house where meat was (and still is) the main component of meals. So, the idea of leftover mince spagetti and chicken in the fridge leaves me disturbed. Just the smell of old dinners when I open the doors is enough to turn me off eating completely. Things may change for me when I am out of home and using less meat and more veggies. But, I don’t like eating older food, and trying to decide if it’s still good. I like to eat something once while it’s fresh.
i usually just dont have leftovers.!! HEHE
I’m with you on the leftovers. My mother could stretch a pot of spaghetti for days. I need variety!
I quite like leftovers as I can freeze them and then use them later in the week/in the future. Depends on the recipe though!
Hehe. I actually like leftovers (if it’s a fave food).
Oh! And I had the very same brekkie last week! I liked the pear combo, I must say. Yumm.
Ooops! Actually, this is my new blog: http://jasminloveslife.blogspot.com/
Sorry!
Jasmin
I love them but this is coming from a person who ate plain oatmeal for breakfast, a baked chicken and feta slaw for lunch and edamame for dinner everyday for almost a year before I got married. If I am lucky enough to get a doggie bag from the occasional trip to Taj India I almost certainly end up enjoy it for breakfast the next AM.
I think leftovers are only good if you need something for tomorrow’s lunch. Usually I make only exactly how much I want to eat of something, for fear of the dreaded “eating the same thing twice” catastrophe
I love leftovers! But I like using them in different ways than they were originally served. That way you sort of still get to be creative! You totally turned me back onto Ellie. I made two of her recipes this week. Now I want to make these sloppy joes!!
I used to hate leftovers, mainly because most things reheat very strangely to me. As I have gotten older, I find it is really helpful to have leftovers during the week so I can have something for lunch. I have grown to like leftovers but they are definitely not my top choice that is for sure!
I’m okay with leftovers if I make something to intentionally have leftovers…often for lunch the next day. But if we just accidentally have food leftover I’m never in the mood for it!
I eat leftovers quite a bit actually. I try and make large meals and then save portions for lunch at the office. I usually get super sick of them, but it saves me precious time.
One way to help with monotony is to use the leftovers in a different way. Chili can be eaten one night and used to top baked potatoes another.
I adore Wizard’s Worcestershire, but I’m with you on the price. Wish it was cheaper. Can’t beat it for bloody Marys, though.
I LOVE leftovers! I like morphing them into different meals though because let’s be honest, eating the same dinner more than 2 nights in a row less than exciting!
Those Joe’s look great!