I love leftovers.

I find great comfort and security in a refrigerator full of cooked food that is ready to reheat and enjoy.  It means I will be able to quickly get together a meal that will be delicious and economical.  It means I will have something yummy for my lunch at work, and I won’t have to spend money or go somewhere for it.  It means that I am taking good care of myself and my family.  It also means that I am not wasting food and wasting money.

I think a lot of food tastes better after the ingredients have had some time together.  Seasonings become more complex and flavors often become smoother and richer, resulting in a tastier dish.

I was surprised to learn that not everyone has the same enthusiasm about leftovers.  Some in my family won’t eat a leftover unless I apply a great deal of persuasion, or it’s something they really, really enjoy . . . like lasagna.

My solution was to figure out how to remake some leftovers into entirely new dishes.  It’s interesting to consider leftovers as ingredients for the next lovely meal.

All of us do this, to some extent.  For instance, leftover roast turkey from Thanksgiving becomes turkey sandwiches, or a casserole.  Or maybe leftover cooked vegetables get reheated with chicken broth, seasonings, and tiny pasta to make a light vegetable soup.

When I plan meals, I often also plan how I will make use of some of the prepared food to make something new.  I am not merely doing my best to deal with leftover food – I am purposely making more of it than is needed for the meal because I plan to use it in another way in another meal.

In this blog, I will show how to be intentional about leftovers.  I’ll give a recipe for today’s delicious dish, and I’ll give a recipe for a brand new dish to make on another occasion.

I will discuss ingredient substitutions and I also will give complete nutritional information, cost per serving, and prep time.  I will use ingredients that can be found at mass grocery retailers across the USA, and I won’t suggest that you buy weird, impossible to get,  or ridiculously expensive ingredients.

Welcome to my blog.  I hope you find lots of useful and inspiring tips and information here.