Making the Most of Leftovers

If you don’t love leftovers, but neither do you love wasting money, take heart.

There are plenty of options when it comes to making the most of leftovers.

My story

First, a confession. I don’t really like turkey.

Second, every other year I host the, very large, family Thanksgiving meal. These two situations do not make good partners!

Even though this year I threatened to serve shrimp, serving turkey remains a Thanksgiving meal expectation.

As much as I try to make sure most of the turkey goes out the door in takeout containers, it is a sure bet I will have leftovers.

And although I don’t love turkey, I’m definitely not going to let it go to waste.

Luckily, when it comes to making the most of leftovers, I have options!

One of the best ways to use up leftovers is to make them into an entirely new meal.

This is not a skill that comes naturally to me. When I see turkey, I think turkey.

However, turkey can be the base for so many other meals; turkey pot pie, turkey in gravy over biscuits, and one I never thought of until I asked a friend, turkey jambalaya.

For almost every leftover, there is a way to transform it into a new meal.

Make friends with your favorite search engine.

Simply do a search for what can I do with leftover….

The results will amaze and motivate you.

Another way to make the most of leftovers is to freeze them.

Did you know that cooked stuffing can be frozen?

A lot of things you may never have thought about freezing can probably be frozen for later use.

Again, make use of the internet to find out what can be frozen and the best practices for freezing it.

Imagine freezing the best leftovers from Thanksgiving and pulling them out for a delicious meal on a night you simply aren’t up to cooking.

Freeze small portions so you don’t have leftovers from the leftovers!

Transform the leftovers into lunch for the next day.

When cleaning up the evening meal, portion out the leftovers into a divided container so that it becomes lunch the next day.

This is a win-win. You save money by not throwing out leftovers and a second time by not needing to buy lunch.

Consider your neighbors.

This isn’t an option for everyone, everywhere, but remember, I live in rural WV.

Is there a neighbor who would benefit from your leftovers?

The elderly often have a difficult time making meals and having a meal delivered is a huge blessing.

Single people often get tired of cooking for one and would enjoy a nice, home-cooked meal that simply needs heated.

Make a plate to donate to a neighbor.

Just be sure to ask before dropping off a meal.

Not everyone will want a meal, and that’s ok. At least you offered.

Even with the best of intentions, at some point, leftovers will go bad and need to be thrown out.

Instead of automatically tossing all the leftovers in the trash or down the garbage disposal, compost what you are able.

If you don’t compost, consider starting.

Those leftovers from today will become great gardening soil for tomorrow!

Not everything can be composted, do a search to see if it’s safe to compost your particular leftover.