Using Leftovers: Waste Not, Want Not

Many people are dubious about cooking with leftovers. However, there are many delicious things you can make, and it makes economic sense for those on a budget to make the most out of the food they have paid for with their hard-earned money. Therefore, using leftovers in your cooking is a good idea.

This is certainly the case in my house as I have to sit in front of the computer writing for many hours to earn the cash to put food on my children’s plates. Therefore, I quite often transform the leftovers into new and delicious meals for the children. The saying in my house is ‘waste not, want not’!

Using Leftovers from a Roast Dinner

Something that I cook every week is a joint of meat and I usually serve this as a roast dinner. There are three reasons why I cook a joint of meat:

• The whole family loves roast dinners
• There is always enough meat left for a meal the next day
• It saves both time and money

On the second day, there is a wide range of meals I make with the leftovers, depending on the type of meat I have cooked. Typical meals include stews, curries, and stir-fries. Even a novice in the kitchen can make a delicious sandwich or salad with leftover meat. 

You might like to read my ideas for ways to use leftover ham and our recipes for cheat’s leftover turkey curry, spicy beef and rice, and chicken and ham pie.

Other Ways of Using Leftovers

It is not just joints of meat that you can use for several meals. If you have leftover potatoes and vegetables, you can easily create a bubble and squeak. A similar idea is to use up leftover corned beef hash to create delicious corned beef fritters.

Ideas from The Fruity Tart

As my ethos is not to waste food, you will see several recipes and cooking suggestions for ways to use leftovers on this blog over the next few months. Hopefully, I can help to give others some ideas that will stop them from wasting food while also saving them time and money.