Here's our thesis: leftovers are lovely. Truly! Don't bag on them when they can help you create some excellent dinner options in a fraction of the time. The key to making leftovers more exciting: repurposing them. You'll see them in a whole new light. These are 12 of our favorite ways to reimagine your leftover roast chicken, grilled steak, roasted vegetables, or pretty much whatever you have in your fridge.
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Make A Quesadilla
Quesadillas are always a crowd pleaser. This recipe uses chicken breast, but use any leftovers you may have on hand: rotisserie chicken, grilled steak, shredded pork, etc. Vegetarian? Leftover sautéed mushrooms are an excellent option.
Soup is the ultimate leftover user. Veggies? Protein? Cooked noodles or rice? Literally any herb? Feel free to go wild and throw in everything but the kitchen sink.
Grilled cheese is inherently comforting. It's also very forgiving. The bread choice is entirely up to you. Use any melty cheese you have on hand, leftover cooked bacon, any sliced veggies or fruit (we love apple), caramelized onions, herbs...the list goes on and on.
Salads are naturally flexible. Build a bed of greens (lettuce, kale, baby spinach, or arugula) or grains (wheatberries, lentils, quinoa, or farro). Top with any leftover meats, cheeses, cooked vegetables, or eggs. Top with a homemade vinaigrette or store-bought dressing, toss everything together, and you're good to go!
If you've never made a calzone from scratch, you're in for a treat. Crisp crust, oozing cheese, and myriad fillings? We're in! Any meat would be delicious in these, but vegetarian options such as sautéed spinach, artichokes, and roasted peppers would also be wonderful.
Frittatas are a perfect blank canvas: as long as you abide by the ratio guidelines, you can feel comfortable adding whatever the heck you want! Just don't forget to add copious amount of cheese, of course. 😀
Baked dips are really quite straight-forward: Start with a base of cream cheese and/or sour cream then bulk it up with melty cheeses and whichever flavors and mix-ins you have on hand.
Unsure what to do with some leftover cooked meat or vegetables? Just throw 'em on a pizza! Our homemade recipe is a showstopper, but we're also fond of gussying up ANY type of pizza in this fashion.
Turn extra pasta or cooked vegetables into a frittata. Blend cooked vegetables with a can of whole tomatoes and create a veggie-packed sauce for pasta. Create burritos with leftover cooked rice, meat and vegetables, and top them with sour cream and salsa.
“The more color you can add to your dishes, the more excited you'll be about what you're eating.” Use vegetables and fruit to bring vibrancy to your meals. Sprinkle toppings — such as fresh herbs, diced nuts and lemon or lime zest — to elevate the dish and add a finishing touch.
Serving foods that can be served in fun shapes or are brightly colored can help encourage interest. For example, broccoli and cauliflower look like trees. Or use a cookie cutter to make a cucumber slice look like a flower!
GIve your leftovers an extra kick of flavor by adding spices. The quickest way to upgrade last night's dinner is to add some extra seasonings. This works best if you plan ahead when cooking the meal the first time — you can keep portions of foods, like meats, beans, and veggies, unseasoned.
Grains bowls are a perfect way to move leftovers — including soup. Start by heating up a 1/2 cup of soup then add a heaping cup of cooked grains. Then, top with cheese — maybe even a fried egg — and drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil or a spicy condiment like harissa.
Generally, you should reheat dishes at a low temperature like 350°F so they don't dry out. Cover your dish with foil and cook it between 8-20 minutes (depending on the food) until it cooks all the way through. Food like meats or casseroles tend to reheat well in the oven, because they don't typically dry out as much.
How do you make food not boring? Learn to cook. Not just to make a recipe and repeat it, learning to cook is mainly about learning basic techniques and then mixing them with balance to obtain any dish you can think of with whatever you have in the cupboard.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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