This started out as a Twitter feed and kind of grew out of that. Bear with me.
The subject: leftovers. Not the garage sale variety, the what-do-I-do-with-the-rest-of-this-roasted-chicken leftovers.
I don't claim to be an expert on leftover food, cooking or anything kitchen-related in general. This comes from my own experiences, trial and errors (so many, many errors) and generally just running full tilt whenever and wherever my cooking muse decided to strike.
Meats
I live with someone who, on occasion, has been known to all but cite chapter and verse of federal, state, and local regulations regarding food handling, preparation and storage. When it comes to meat, she goes into CDC overdrive; raw chicken may as well have come from Chernobyl. The two words that have been stamped into my denser-than-lead skull are: three days. After cooking meat of any kind, you've got 72 hours before it's eaten or frozen for later use. I'm sure many of us guys have consumed meat-like products old enough to be used as fire-starters, but I'm telling the rest of you: eat it, freeze it or toss it.
Big box (Costco, BJs, etc.) chickens are often fantastically cheap, tasty (just try not to notice the Olympic swimming pool of grease at the bottom) and are worth digging around the carcass with a knife or an educated finger or two. Spend some time peeling off the skin, deboning the meat from the legs, wings and undercarriage and you'll be rewarded with a sizable amount of chicken chunklets. This all but begs to be put into a casserole.
Burgers from your last Bobby Flay inspired cookout can be chopped up, re-seasoned with cumin and chili powder and dropped into tortillas for an awesome taco night. Pork works well in the same fashion, but needs to be reheated more carefully, otherwise you'll be gnawing on leather strips and spending the rest of the evening flossing out your chompers. I'd comment on fish, but that rarely last long enough in my house to become leftovers. Suffice it to say that any cook should find, master and tweak a tuna casserole recipe to their liking. Such a dish is often the butt of jokes and relegated to grade school cafeteria fare, but a well prepared one speaks volumes about how well you can turn a joke into a blessing.
Veggies
We prefer fresh when we can get them, but if you catch a sale, frozen vegetables are no less awesome or expensive. You can do a helluva lot with either one. Crack an egg over them, add a splash of milk and toss them into a frying pan. Instant omelet. Add them as fillers in casseroles or heat up some stock, toss them in with a few seasonings and you've got soup. Leftover noodles? Chop the veggies into bite size pieces and reheat the whole megillah in the microwave. Serve with tomato sauce or just a splash of olive oil and cracked pepper.
Rice
Rice is quickly becoming a favorite side dish in our house: dirt cheap, relatively simple to make and, if you lack any and all cooking talent, you can buy enough of it at a takeout restaurant with the change you find in your couch. If you make rice for a meal, double the amount you plan on eating. It keeps well in the fridge, makes an excellent filler in casseroles and can be turned into a cheapo version of rice pudding in a matter of minutes. A scoop of rice, some brown sugar or maple syrup, a handful of raisins, a splash of milk and a minute on high yields something far better than most pre-packaged treats and will fill you up for longer. Add some rice and a handful of vegetables to leftover broth and you have soup in less time than it takes to crack into a can of Campbell's.
Bread
Every culture has bread and almost every one of them knows something to do with leftover hunks of it. French toast. Bread pudding. Panzanella (bread salad). Croutons. Bagel chips. Fresh breadcrumbs. Google the hell out of this one.
Noodles
Much like bread, there isn't too much you can't do with these little buggers. My personal fave is to add them into a frattata and bake it in the oven. Thin noodles (spaghetti, angel hair, ramen, etc.) gets a delightful crunch on top that's hard to beat.
A Note on Takeout
If you lack the barest of cooking capabilities, you can always look to your local Asian takeout for leftover salvation. Unless you eat like a starved lumberjack, most places often provide more than ample portions of food with your order (at least around here this is the case). Most of it requires little more than a quick reheat in the microwave to enjoy it again, but don't let it stop you. Use up the leftover wonton broth, add the rice and those fried noodles, wing in some of that chicken or a cold dumpling or two. It's awesome in a bowl and stretches your dollar that much further.
The subject: leftovers. Not the garage sale variety, the what-do-I-do-with-the-rest-of-this-roasted-chicken leftovers.
I don't claim to be an expert on leftover food, cooking or anything kitchen-related in general. This comes from my own experiences, trial and errors (so many, many errors) and generally just running full tilt whenever and wherever my cooking muse decided to strike.
Meats
I live with someone who, on occasion, has been known to all but cite chapter and verse of federal, state, and local regulations regarding food handling, preparation and storage. When it comes to meat, she goes into CDC overdrive; raw chicken may as well have come from Chernobyl. The two words that have been stamped into my denser-than-lead skull are: three days. After cooking meat of any kind, you've got 72 hours before it's eaten or frozen for later use. I'm sure many of us guys have consumed meat-like products old enough to be used as fire-starters, but I'm telling the rest of you: eat it, freeze it or toss it.
Big box (Costco, BJs, etc.) chickens are often fantastically cheap, tasty (just try not to notice the Olympic swimming pool of grease at the bottom) and are worth digging around the carcass with a knife or an educated finger or two. Spend some time peeling off the skin, deboning the meat from the legs, wings and undercarriage and you'll be rewarded with a sizable amount of chicken chunklets. This all but begs to be put into a casserole.
Burgers from your last Bobby Flay inspired cookout can be chopped up, re-seasoned with cumin and chili powder and dropped into tortillas for an awesome taco night. Pork works well in the same fashion, but needs to be reheated more carefully, otherwise you'll be gnawing on leather strips and spending the rest of the evening flossing out your chompers. I'd comment on fish, but that rarely last long enough in my house to become leftovers. Suffice it to say that any cook should find, master and tweak a tuna casserole recipe to their liking. Such a dish is often the butt of jokes and relegated to grade school cafeteria fare, but a well prepared one speaks volumes about how well you can turn a joke into a blessing.
Veggies
We prefer fresh when we can get them, but if you catch a sale, frozen vegetables are no less awesome or expensive. You can do a helluva lot with either one. Crack an egg over them, add a splash of milk and toss them into a frying pan. Instant omelet. Add them as fillers in casseroles or heat up some stock, toss them in with a few seasonings and you've got soup. Leftover noodles? Chop the veggies into bite size pieces and reheat the whole megillah in the microwave. Serve with tomato sauce or just a splash of olive oil and cracked pepper.
Rice
Rice is quickly becoming a favorite side dish in our house: dirt cheap, relatively simple to make and, if you lack any and all cooking talent, you can buy enough of it at a takeout restaurant with the change you find in your couch. If you make rice for a meal, double the amount you plan on eating. It keeps well in the fridge, makes an excellent filler in casseroles and can be turned into a cheapo version of rice pudding in a matter of minutes. A scoop of rice, some brown sugar or maple syrup, a handful of raisins, a splash of milk and a minute on high yields something far better than most pre-packaged treats and will fill you up for longer. Add some rice and a handful of vegetables to leftover broth and you have soup in less time than it takes to crack into a can of Campbell's.
Bread
Every culture has bread and almost every one of them knows something to do with leftover hunks of it. French toast. Bread pudding. Panzanella (bread salad). Croutons. Bagel chips. Fresh breadcrumbs. Google the hell out of this one.
Noodles
Much like bread, there isn't too much you can't do with these little buggers. My personal fave is to add them into a frattata and bake it in the oven. Thin noodles (spaghetti, angel hair, ramen, etc.) gets a delightful crunch on top that's hard to beat.
A Note on Takeout
If you lack the barest of cooking capabilities, you can always look to your local Asian takeout for leftover salvation. Unless you eat like a starved lumberjack, most places often provide more than ample portions of food with your order (at least around here this is the case). Most of it requires little more than a quick reheat in the microwave to enjoy it again, but don't let it stop you. Use up the leftover wonton broth, add the rice and those fried noodles, wing in some of that chicken or a cold dumpling or two. It's awesome in a bowl and stretches your dollar that much further.
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