Use Up All Of Your Leftovers

Sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach when you’re making dinner or ordering takeout. You eat until you’re content and are left with so much food that you end up throwing most of it away. That doesn’t have to be the case, though. There are so many things you can make with your leftover dishes that don’t involve either nuking it until it tastes like a mediocre version of your previous dinner or putting it on a sandwich. Online culinary school teaches you to be innovative with your cooking, and you can do that with your leftovers as well.

Bread
It seems tough to finish an entire loaf of bread before it goes stale, but you don’t have to throw that bread away just because it isn’t suitable for a sandwich anymore. Stale bread is actually ideal to make breadcrumbs and croutons. You can also put it in French onion soup, and the original purpose of bread pudding was to use up stale bread. You can also use any type of leftover bread to make French toast. Bakery bread, banana bread, pumpkin bread; you name it. Think about all of these options before you toss half of a loaf of bread into the trash can.

Chicken
Chicken is one of the most versatile meal staples and can be used in just about anything. Throw diced leftover chicken into a tortilla with some of your favorite cheeses for a quick and easy quesadilla, or into a pie crust – along with your leftover vegetables – for a chicken potpie. It;s not necessary to prepare fresh chicken for chicken noodle soup or a chicken salad either; leftover chicken works just fine.

Veggies
You have absolutely no excuse throwing away vegetables. No only can they be used in stir fries and soups for lunch and dinner, but your leftover veggies can be key ingredients in quiches and frittatas for breakfast as well. If you’re really pressed for time, toss them into a salad and top with your favorite dressing.

Steak
That steak you made last night may have been cooked perfectly, but if you try to microwave the leftovers the next day, chances are they’ll be tough and much less enjoyable. Instead, try using your leftover steak in a stew or stroganoff to keep the meat tender, or mix it in a stir fry with any leftover vegetables you might have. It’s a great way to make a whole new meal.

Ground beef
Ground beef can be used in so many dishes, with so many different flavors determined by the seasonings you use. Use your leftover ground beef in a taco salad with taco seasonings, corn chips, cheese and peppers, or on a chili dog seasoned with tomatoes, chili powder, and all of your favorite chili fixings. Ground beef is also the staple layer in shepherd’s pie, so throw some veggies and mashed potatoes on top and you have a brand new dinner.

Pizza
While cold leftover pizza is a favorite breakfast for many, you can make other breakfast foods with last night’s pizza, too. Cut up the pizza or peel off your favorite toppings to use in a quiche, frittata or omelet. If you have leftover marinara sauce from your cheese bread, heat that up and drizzle it on top of your pizza breakfast.

Rice
It’s not uncommon for Chinese or Thai takeout restaurants to load you up with white rice, completely throwing off your entree to rice ratio. Rather than tossing the rest of that rice away, use it to make your own fried rice, or bulk up some potato pancakes or a casserole.