Leftovers for dinner

I've become an expert on judging how much food to cook for dinner so that we'll just have enough for dinner, and packed lunches for the day after. Of course when it's a favorite of the kids, they don't seem to mind when we re-heat the food the following day and have it for dinner again. Not only is it a great way to save money, it also gives me a break from cooking (which I can spend doing other chores).

Often I make dinners with the intent of having leftovers so I don't have to cook on another night - ha ha! I love having leftovers - even if it's a little - because it can be lunch for my kids the next day - or a lunch/snack for myself (it's nice when something is waiting for me in the fridge - instead of having to scrounge around or make something during the day). Not only does this save some money - it saves me some time!!

Dorannmwinn I agree with every thing you said in your discussion. See I don't think every one is able to cook just the right amount of food and not have left overs ever. Also I don't think everyone comes home from work at exactly 5 p.m. or in enough time to cook or isn't tired from work everyday and can cook a fresh meal everyday. Now my grandmother used to come home from work and cook just about everyday but she also always had leftovers. Left overs is a good idea because it may not be as fresh as the day it was cooked but as long as it is still fresh enough to eat then it is food in your belly. Also it does save time on cooking when you are running late for something and it is good when you are too tired to cook. Also it does save money on going out when you can't afford it much. It saves food from being waster and it's at least food to eat which is better than not eating. I know some people that if the food isn't finished that day for that meal they throw what is left out and never eat left overs and that to me is a waste of food. There are people in this country and others all over the world starving so be glad you even have left overs to eat. My hubby and I eat left overs all the time and are perfectly happy with it as long as they are still fresh enough to eat.

hi dear dorannmwin we are only two persons here, hubby and me and I got to say we only rarely have leftovers. During the week I am home too late to cook so its a sandwich when I get home but we cook on weekends. If we have leftovers I freeze them too, your post just reminds me we still have one generous serving of chili con carne which is frozen. I made a big pot of soup today which we will enjoy later for dinner when the flavors are nicely blended, and if we have leftovers from that I will freeze them for sure. Plus I browned all the ground meat and onions together and then put half of that mix into a container for freezing and later use.

Yes all of the time. There are some things that I do not keep as left overs. Right now hubby is working a full time job at the mall so I do lot of left overs or bring home food from my parents house.

I always make use of the leftovers to prepare for later meal its kind waste if I don't.I love to make some fried rice when rice hasn't finished. For some dishes I just reheat for next time meal. I think its kind of practicality make use of the left overs for us to save a little.

Personally there are many times when we cook something that we try and make sure to have enough for left overs, or will cook me something for my lunch that will last me a couple of days. Usually this is an added bonus for helping you plan and save some extra money as well.

hbi dorannnmwin when I was cooking for myself I often used leftovers and put something else with them and it was new and really tasty too. So often I froze some leftovers then reheated and had lots of meals from them.Saved money and also it made me find new ways to make leftovers into good tasty meals.

We usually have our leftovers for lunch the next day and try to change it up a little so it doesn't seem like the same meal. We we had noodles for dinner we might make the same meal with rice for lunch and maybe bake it with chesse in the oven.

I often eat leftover because it is difficult to cook for just one person. Besides I always like to cook more, just in case someone comes. Usually there is leftover soup or cream when I make one. As I cook a piece of chicken for the broth, it`s always more than just one dish. I also make some saiuces specially in bigger amounts and I freeze them placing them as flat as posible in a plastic wrap so that I can defrost them by just placing them in lukewarm water.

Its alright to keep left over for the next meal specially for dinner and we just put in int he refrigerator and have it for the morning, we normally just preheat it again, though most of the time we only cook enough food for us though if you have big family its really hard to estimate on how much food you will eat than just the two of you like me and my mother.

hello mylotter, you are correct. Left over food should not be thrown out of the house. As much as possible cook food only enough for your family for that day, so that there would be no left overs. But if ever you have left over foods, we can re heat them for next meal specially if you feel a little bit lazy to cook, lol! Or we can make it a different meal .

i would never ever prefer that,because its not fresh and not healthy to eat,so i would ignore it

I had a friend during my undergrad studies who would throw away any left over food from the night before, it seemed like a huge waste to me. It also was a waste of money when you think about it. One time, we had a huge party, there was perfectly good roast and pizza and such left over. Woke up in the morning since I slept over, went to the fridge, there was nothing there. Asked him about it, and he goes: "Oh I don't eat left overs, let's go get some fresh food." Fresh? Hmmm, the food left over was still virtually "fresh". Just seemed pretty pedantic to me. Maybe it's just me?

Sometimes, I put it freezer containers for us to have in a hurry. Other times, we may have something 2 days in a row, but the second day I try to add something extra to it. I do try not to throw out anything.

I think it is good to have leftover meal and leftover meals help to save money. I do keep the food in the fridge and reheat them and then try to eat them. I also think it is a great way to save money.

I do leftovers whenever I am tired. Now that the cold weather will be setting in soon I will make a lot of soup and freeze it. That way if I am sick Randy can pull out a container of soup and we can heat that up for dinner. It is a great alternative so you can save money by not eating out. I know when Randy was working he would bring in sandwiches to work so he can save money by not visiting the drive thru window.

I almost always plan bigger portions than I know we are going to eat, so i can have the leftovers at lunch the next day. there are some nights where we are all busy and do not have time to cook, so it is either sandwiches, or leftovers.

It is very rare that the food I cook for a meal gets finished. I always have some leftovers to put away in the fridge. And having teenaged siblings living with us, we all know that they are not particularly fans of foods that have been served on the table twice. So I have this thing every Friday to fix something out of all the leftovers or stuff that are going to expire soon in the fridge and come up with something new. Like if I have some greens that are about to get soggy and some leftover fried chicken, I will try to make a chicken salad. Or if I have some leftoevr meat I will try to make a sandwich out of it. It is a hit and miss but since I'm the eldest they can complain all they want but they will still eat it.

That's what I mostly do too at lunch. I just re-heat the leftover food from last night. I normally cook at night co's there are more people eating at night than during lunch time. Sometimes... it's just me and my baby so I don't bother cooking food but at night... there's the whole family. Totally... leftover foods are money saver food. I always try to cook more amount of dish than just the exact thing. I'm hoping that there is a leftover as always co's I needed it the next day. Cooking twice a day is quite tiring too specially in my kitchen which there is no fan in there... so when I cook I sweat a lot too.