Dinners from Leftovers
Most of my steady readers know I love dinners from leftovers. But it’s not just eating the same leftover meal from the previous day, I like to take leftovers and turn them into a totally different meal.
Chicken Parmesan from leftover chicken strips
When I have a BOGO coupon it’s hard to pass it up! Rich and I were out Dashing and since we ended late we stopped at Zaxby’s for a buy one get one free chicken strip meal. The two meals were 5 pieces of chicken, fries and coleslaw. There is way too much chicken to finish for a meal so I saved the leftover for another meal.
I made chicken parmesan from the left overs! I cut the strips into small pieces and layered them in a baking dish. Next I covered it will spaghetti sauce, stirred it together and heated it in the oven until warm then added cheese to the top. I put it back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. The provolone cheese was left over from a previous Subway tuna sub. Since Rich doesn’t eat cheese I have them put his cheese in a little bag. Okay so I’m frugal but did you ever notice if you go to a fast food place they charge extra to add cheese but don’t reduce the price if you don’t want it? Of course hubby always rolls his eyes at me but what can I say!
My chicken parmesan over spaghetti was delicious but it wasn’t just for one meal, I had enough of my leftover meal for a second leftover dinner by just added some shredded mozzarella to the top and heating it up! What started out as two chicken strip meals from Zaxby’s went for 3 more meals of chicken parmesan!
Chicken Sandwich from leftover fried chicken
I never had good luck at making fried chicken but I decided to try it once more before turning to KFC. I started with chicken drumsticks and cut up pieces of chicken breasts since they would be easier to deep fry. Next I dipped the chicken in buttermilk and then flour. I fried them in oil and it worked this time! It was a light batter but it was delicious!
Once again I made up too much for one meal so I saved the leftover chicken for another leftover meal. This time I chopped the chicken pieces and made chicken salad! After chopping the chicken I chopped up two hard boiled eggs and added those along with chopped onions and relish to the chicken. I mixed this together with mayonnaise and what another delicious meal made with left over fried chicken.
Bacon & Cabbage Sandwich
Fried cabbage with bacon is one of my favorite meals. It’s quick and easy to fry up bacon (I cut it in small pieces before frying it) then add chopped cabbage for a delicious dinner. I always have enough for a few more meals.
But after having three meals from my cabbage and bacon I decided to make a sandwich with the leftovers! I added a piece of provolone cheese to each side of the bun then added the cabbage and bacon. I put in the toaster oven until the cheese was melted and it was oh so good and just a little variety from having it on a plate.
Yogurt Meals
This isn’t about using leftovers for another meal but I wanted to share my latest yogurt meals with you. Since I was still on a yogurt and jello diet due to my diverticulitis I decided to come up with ideas to flavor plain yogurt.
The first day I added seedless raspberry jam and was that delicious. The next day I added vanilla extract and it gave it a hint of vanilla taste. Since I was getting tired off just yogurt meals I decided to make a yogurt dessert by adding chocolate syrup! Then my next idea was to add caramel sauce to the plain yogurt. They all were delicious and took the “yogurt” taste away with the flavorings. Of all of my creations, the raspberry was my favorite, followed by the caramel then chocolate and last was the vanilla. This might have given me some ideas for adding new things to recipes! I’ll keep you updated if I come up with something new!
If you have leftovers do you like making up different meals from them?
These are great ideas for using leftover chicken!
Thanks Kate, I love coming up with different meals from the same original one.
You’re making me hungry with these photos! I appreciate you sharing this foodie post.
I should put a disclaimer on my food blogs Danwil, read at your own risk or wait and read when your hungry! LOL
We have yogurt with a pinch of salt and sliced cucumbers for a nice tangy side dish or add cold water, ice cubes and some sugar to make a nice Lassi.Its the perfect probiotic if made fresh at home.
WOW I’m going to try making Lassi Amrita! Sounds delicious and I wonder if I could add cinnamon, I’ll try it!
You’re a true artist! Not only do you come up with creative approaches on how to “upcycle” your leftovers, you make a whole new meal out of them 🙂
I think if you offered classes, people would sign up to learn from you! Many – me included – have a hard time coming up with new lunch and dinner ideas every single day…
Maybe I should start a weekly “upcycle” your leftovers class Tamara!
Great Ideas, Martha. Last night, I added a little sugar-free pistachio jello pudding to my plain Greek yogurt. I was happy with how good it is! Quite a few people do this on Keto diets with sugar-free cheesecake mix for a treat! Thanks again for the tips! Cindy Rae
I like flavoring my plain yogurt Cindy but never thought of adding sugar-free jello! Thanks for the tip.
I, too, extract value from any food left over from a previous meal. But, sometimes (like last night), I just reheat and/or replate that dinner. (Last night I devoured the rest of my great salad and tuna with pineapple and jalapenos.)
Oh I love tuna salad Roy! Sometimes I have it on a roll, toasted with cheese, other times I use a tortilla or just served on a bed of lettuce.
Well, I’m officially hungry now! And I’m very impressed that you were able to create all those meals from the leftover chicken. Fried chicken sounds really good right now.
I love coming up with ideas from leftovers Jeanine and stretching meals to last a few more days.
Living alone (but next to my daughter!) I plan on getting several meals out of what I cook. So I Have ‘planned overs.’
Rice n lentils with various veggies is a weekly favorite! And I generally only eat ~ 1/2 of the meal when I dine out.
I make coconut milk yogurt ~ weekly – easy to cut down cost and avoid extra ingredients!
I’ve been off gluten 14 years, so need to plan accordingly! (And eat little dairy) I’ve recently begun making Burmese style tofu with small beans (lentil or Mung) and that’s a great addition to any meal.
I get local pasture raised lamb at the Farmers market, and a lamb shank, meat balls or tongue last for several meals!
I like that, planned overs Nadya! I find that second time around the meals taste better! Coconut milk yogurt sounds delicious! I haven’t tried making that but I purchase plain or french vanilla yogurt and than add my own flavoring to it.
I love using leftovers. 🙂
There are so many ways to use them a second or third time around Amanda!