Lucious Leftovers…bacon not required, but always welcome 🐄 🐷 🐔 🍤 🥚

justdoit19

justdoit19

Proud parent of an ANG, USNA X2, and a MidSib
5-Year Member
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My freezer is full of little Tupperware’s of leftover morsels of (mostly) protiens. Even a few bags of kale. The other day, in desperate need of storage, I pulled a few out. Pondered a bit and then it hit me: fried rice.

It turned out SO GOOD 🤤!! And was an easy way to clear out space and make a meal from delicious bits I couldn’t bring myself to toss at the time (this is a new problem for us, as newish empty nesters). Adding it to the biweekly rotation! All I needed to add was some frozen mixed veggie choices and a fresh egg. Even the rice was leftover. Something oddly satisfying about that whole experience And I didn’t have to buy more Tupperware 💯

What are your go to methods of using up leftovers?
 
I love leftovers and hate wasting food. We have roast beef and a potato in the fridge. Wife and daughter are going to DC today and I will fix roast beef hash and drop three runny fried eggs on top for my supper. I'll fry the hash in a different skillet from the eggs and use garlic, lots of black pepper, and Texas Pete.
 
Devil Doc said:
I love leftovers and hate wasting food. We have roast beef and a potato in the fridge. Wife and daughter are going to DC today and I will fix roast beef hash and drop three runny fried eggs on top for my supper. I'll fry the hash in a different skillet from the eggs and use garlic, lots of black pepper, and Texas Pete.
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Darn you! I haven't had breakfast yet, and now you have my mouth watering!
 
I love Thanksgiving dinner because a couple of awesome things come a day later.

Gumbo: I make a very rich stock from the turkey carcass (simmered for 8+ hours), then toss in white meat and dark meat picked from the bones. Some andouille and oysters round it out. We eat it for days.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches: My kids adore this one. Sliced sourdough with Brie and homemade cranberry sauce in between, griddled with butter to golden perfection. Yow!
 
Any potato leftovers (french fries, scalloped potatoes, au gratin potatoes, etc.) are great fried up with eggs, onions, tomatoes (and bacon) in the morning. Mashed potatoes make a good base for potato pancakes, as well.
 
Devil Doc said:
I love leftovers and hate wasting food.
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We had a volunteer thing with work at a local food bank. Was really cool because it’s set up like a grocery and provides the full experience, dignity, etc. I had to sort the meat in the freezer room, where everything was “expired”. Quotes because they taught us two things I can’t forget. 1.) expiration dates don’t mean it’s bad. 2.) Americans throw away 40% of their food.
 
Supersix00 said:
We had a volunteer thing with work at a local food bank. Was really cool because it’s set up like a grocery and provides the full experience, dignity, etc. I had to sort the meat in the freezer room, where everything was “expired”. Quotes because they taught us two things I can’t forget. 1.) expiration dates don’t mean it’s bad. 2.) Americans throw away 40% of their food.
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My family was working poor. We never went hungry but never had plenty. I grew up on beans and corn bread. And balony which some people spell bologna. We called it Alabama round steak.
 
Supersix00 said:
We had a volunteer thing with work at a local food bank. Was really cool because it’s set up like a grocery and provides the full experience, dignity, etc. I had to sort the meat in the freezer room, where everything was “expired”. Quotes because they taught us two things I can’t forget. 1.) expiration dates don’t mean it’s bad. 2.) Americans throw away 40% of their food.
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I watched a big bad retired Marine's eyes get a little misty as the food pantry we had collected for told us to throw out all the "expired" cans. Where he was from, anyone would have been glad to have it. Heck, with 3 kids each, he or I would have been happy have this "waste" food.

Currently cooking up some year old Jimmy Dean I found in the freezer. If I post tomorrow, it didn't kill me.

Devil Doc said:
My family was working poor. We never went hungry but never had plenty. I grew up on beans and corn bread. And balony which some people spell bologna. We called it Alabama round steak.
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And mullet, aka Biloxi Bacon. Used to be considered a trash fish at one time.
 
With regard to bacon, as a cautionary note, I do think posters here should avoid using the term “leftover bacon,” 😱 without clarifying the cooking of surplus bacon not eaten in one sitting was intentional and deliberate, for employment in other recipes, which may or may not include leftovers.
 
Capt MJ said:
With regard to bacon, as a cautionary note, I do think posters here should avoid using the term “leftover bacon,” 😱 without clarifying the cooking of surplus bacon not eaten in one sitting was intentional and deliberate, for employment in other recipes, which may or may not include leftovers.
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LMAO I have never seen a leftover piece of bacon.
 
Mad Scientist Potato Skins.

I only do this with baked potato skins my husband and I have not fully consumed, no one else. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t.

I use kitchen shears to immediately cut up the skins into rough two-inch pieces, throw them in a freezer bag. Once I have a gallon bag of them, I get them out and defrost on paper towels for a short period. Then I grease a Pyrex baking pan, size determined by how much you are making, whether it’s the 8” square or bigger rectangular ones. I open the refrigerator and gather up whatever bits and pieces of cheese there are, any bell peppers, onion (supplemented by a fresh one if needed, other veg, leftover protein that I think will work (part of a big steak I couldn’t finish, etc.). If I don’t think I have enough cheese bits and pieces, I break out the small bar of Kraft extra-sharp cheddar, which I call my “utility cheddar,” a workhorse for everyday shredding, grilled cheese, etc., when I don’t want to use the Cabot extra-aged vintage cheddar we usually have.

Look into your pantry cabinet as well. The orphan can of mushrooms stems and pieces bought when fresh mushrooms were not looking good, drain it and use. The little can of ortega chilis you just happened to have, drain and use.

I make layers of the skins and top with chopped or shredded ingredients, dotting with butter, dusting with garlic powder and grinds of black pepper as I go. Bake at 350 or use convection setting at 325 until cheese is melted and going delightfully golden brown and potato skins on top are clearly crispy. Serve in big slabs, grab that half-empty pint of sour cream from the fridge and use that as a dollop of dip on your plate. DH often uses hot sauce or steak sauce. Big green salad on the side goes well.

One of the best combos was pulled pork leftovers that had some bbq sauce mixed in, with jack cheese with jalapeño and half a carton of fresh mushrooms. We don’t serve this to anyone, since these were our own partially eaten or uneaten potato skins.
 
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I have to say I loved the unintentional typo in the thread title - Lucious Leftovers sounds like a Harry Potter character!
 
I struggle with fatigue so many people would want to jazz it up more but the basic idea is the same.
This is what has made leftovers not be wasted for me. Keep meal prep containers out when you serve the meal or make your dinner plate. I also have a stockpile of no salt added canned vegetables. So I will open a can if I need to make it balanced or just add more food. So there is a meal ready that just needs to be put in the microwave.
It is amazing too what seems like too small amount for a meals in a pan or tray is actually enough for one or more.
 
Supersix00 said:
Same here. Beans, cornbread from cast iron skillet, bologna and mustard, burgoo and government cheese.
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A college roommate of mine was the son of a USDA food inspector. So roomie would often return from home visits with some “gov’ment cheese,” as we called it. It was a 10-pound brick of stuff that’s best described as Velveeta-like. We were poor and hungry college students, so we devoured it!
 
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