Coming to Terms With Leftovers

Leftovers....

OK, let's just by start by saying
leftovers and I have not always been friends. 

Maybe it has something to do with the play on my last name...

Holly "Leftover" instead of Holly Lefevre...

{clearly I have resolved all of my elementary school issues}
or

Maybe it has something to do with hubby.
When I first met him he was thrifty
{he still is, he just didn't marry well}.
He never wanted to go out,
"I made stir-fry last night, let's have leftovers."
Boring...at least when you are first dating!

Worse yet, I cleaned his bachelor frig for him one day...
and leftovers had a whole new meaning.
Put it this way, Hefty and I were buddies that day,
and he ended up with all new Tupperware.

Until recently, the only leftovers I ate were cold pizza, meatloaf, or my mom's stew {which no one in my immediate family will eat}. I was fine with leftovers being a bad house guest that I could toss out in the morning.

I have changed...not completely, but I did have an epiphany...eating leftovers means I do not have to concoct a new meal every single night! Now, I love to cook {really I love to bake} but there is lots of blogging to be done and baseball to be practiced and karate to be chopped. A new meal every night is not in the cards.

Leftovers are now regular guests at our house...I have rolled out the welcome mat, wiped down the frig shelf, and bought some fancy plastic containers to accommodate their stay. My version of leftovers may not be a traditional leftover, but, for me, it counts!

Here is how I cook in my house:

*At the beginning of the week I make 5-6 chicken breasts. Some are cooked up fajita style, some are baked. I use them until we run out...in salads, in pasta, in wraps. When we run out...I start all over again.

*I'll cook two whole chickens...one is dinner that night and later chicken stock. The other becomes Sandy's Spicy Chicken Chili {which is excellent as a leftover and I do eat it for days...yum!}.

*I make loads of rice and/or pasta {we do not fear carbs at our house!}. Of course we eat it plain, in wraps, and with stir-fry.

Every few days, we end up with "a little of this" and "a little of that" left. I heat it all up, serve it on beautiful platters, make a green salad, and call it a meal. I also love to throw a bunch of my favorite things together and make new salads...One of my favorite "leftover" salads is a rice, bean, and corn salad {adapted from The Mcdougall Program: 12 Days to Dynamic Health}.

RBC Salad 

{click HERE for a PDF version}

Salad

1 cup brown rice, cooked

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed {or fresh}

2 T fresh dill, chopped {dried works too....just add it a little at a time}

1/2 cup black beans {rinsed}

1 tomato chopped

Dressing

1 T Red wine vinegar

1 T water

½ to 1 T soy sauce (depends on your taste

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Let rice cool (warm rice is OK)

Add all ingredients, prepared as directed above, in one bowl

Mix dressing

Add dressing to salad and toss.
This is actually better when made a few hours {or more} ahead.

Easy-peasy! You can also substitute dill for other spices that you may prefer.

Personally I think leftovers need a new fancy name...
everything seems better with a fancy name.
Any ideas?


What's your favorite leftover?

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