Leftovers-do you do them and if so how?

[MamaBelle4]

DH's family was Army, and it didn't help that their groceries mostly came from the base commissary. In 20 years of marriage we never once had a meal at her house. I found this a little odd and once asked my DH why we were never invited over. His answer? "Oh, she invites us, I just never accept."

Lol, I remember the first Thanksgiving I had at her house. It was turkey, instant potatoes, microwaved corn and rolls out of the package. I host Thanksgiving now.

 

[Dakota731]

As a kid I hated leftovers, as a mom I LOVE them. I hate wasting food and I hate wasting time. So I will either eat them for my lunch the next day or if there’s enough have them for dinner two nights later. If it’s just meat leftover, I repurpose it - leftover pork will become pork barbecue pizza leftover chicken into enchiladas etc.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I hate leftovers. I will only eat them about 2-3 times per year. My DW will eat them. Every time we go eat somewhere, she takes the leftovers home. Most of the time, we just end up throwing them away a couple of weeks later when we clean out the fridge. But she does eat them occasionally.

 

[JinxedSydney]

I think it depends on the family and lifestyle. My DH will NOT, never, ever, eat leftovers unless its: Chinese, spaghetti, or pizza. That's it. After 20 years, I've given up trying. On the other hand, I love making enough for a couple of lunches for me during the week.

 

[DLgal]

I have a three day rule for leftovers. Meaning, day 1 is the day I make something, and by day 3 if it has not been consumed, it gets tossed.

I get grossed out by the idea of bacteria just multiplying in leftover food that was originally hot and then had to cool to fridge temp. You just can't cool it fast enough to avoid the "danger zone."

Now, if it is something cold like chicken salad, pasta salad, etc, that can go up to 5 days before I toss it. Ditto for sauces (like tomato) and gravies.

People who say things like "I roast a chicken on Sunday and we eat it all week." No. If it's not gone by Tuesday, it's garbage. Not to mention, I have NEVER had a rotisserie chicken last for more than 2 meals, tops, in our house. I can't stretch a chicken more than that.

 

[Tinknalli]

Leftovers go in the fridge. Sometimes they get eaten. Sometimes make them reappear in a different form. But most often they end up in the trash. I have a 48 hour rule. If it doesn't get eaten in 48 hours it's not going to so I trash it.

 

[FQLover]

My daughter and I love left overs; as there are just the two of us in our immediate family, they are always plentiful. I grew up, though, in a very large family so I don't believe that we ever once had left overs! There was never anything left by the time the meal was done, lol. Somebody would have gobbled up the last helping. If nobody else did, it was my dad who finished the last scoop, as he was a Depression baby and his family had food insecurity at times, way back then. He hated waste while we were growing up. Luckily with eight people eating dinner together every night, there was not much waste ever, anyway.

 

[Ensusieasm]

It's just the two of us. I often make enough for two meals, but we never have the leftover meal the very next night. It's either served on the second night or put in the freezer for sometime later.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Left overs are a staple in our house. It is such a time saver. I make sure to make enough so we only have enough left overs for one night not multiple nights. Unless I make a turkey in which case it gets eaten in different forms over the course of several days.

 

[quandrea]

See, that's me to a T...I volunteered at a very low overhead public food bank for a few years (pre-kids), and grocery stores would give all of the "we can't sell this anymore" produce right to the food bank if volunteers were willing to to pick it up and put it out. Some of it still looked very good...some didn't, but when you got past the looks or knew what to do, you could have all that produce for families (that they'd never be able to afford), and we (the volunteers) were taught how to help folks know what to do with it if they didn't know...to this day, I could cry when I go to a family member's fridge and see tons of wilted and dying produce that I know they are gonna throw out. Heck, at our summer BBQ last year, my sisters were literally gonna throw out the gorgeous catered veg trays at the end b/c "it might be germy now...maybe"...and I'm like "you can cook all that fresh veg in sauce or soup and it will be gorgeous b/c it's so perfect right now"...needless to say, I took those vegs home and they were loved...made 3 different cooked dishes with them...

But I also grew up on pretty much awful cooking and just cans (for produce), unless it was an apple, a banana, or an iceberg lettuce...so I also react to my own upbringing...

I think knowing what to do with the leftovers is key. I love to cook—was a caterer before I married while in university. No need to throw it out. I’m the same with the veggie trays...

 

[quandrea]

Leftovers go in the fridge. Sometimes they get eaten. Sometimes make them reappear in a different form. But most often they end up in the trash. I have a 48 hour rule. If it doesn't get eaten in 48 hours it's not going to so I trash it.

This is a good policy for food safety. I have a friend who will eat something even a week later. She’s been sick many times, but we can’t convince her to toss the old food.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I'm not wealthy. I can't afford to throw out perfectly good food. Kudos who can.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Yep, nope - we DO NOT eat leftovers, and the OP nailed the reason. My DH was raised in a large family with a poorly paid father and a mother who was a terrible, terrible cook. She'd do up a big vat of whatever was economical and they'd eat it until it was gone, or else they wouldn't eat at all. As an adult, my husband simply refuses and I'm happy to accommodate him. I've gotten very good at portion-sizing our meals and anything left goes straight to the garbage. Funny story: When our DS was 8 or 9 he noticed somebody near us in a restaurant putting their excess food in a styrofoam container. He'd never seen such a thing before. He could not fathom them taking it home to eat later, even after we explained it (several times). He had honestly never even heard the word "leftovers".

I would have been horrified if I was in your position and wondered what I was teaching my child. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

[TwoMisfits]

For those worried about food safety and leftovers...
https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Leftovers_and_Food_Safety_0.pdf

 

[Katy Belle]

I love leftovers. I love intentionally cooking a huge roast, pork butt, a couple of chickens, and using it in several recipes. We have 3 sons currently at home. I love putting leftovers into individual containers and having it available for whoever is hungry. I also freeze leftovers, especially chili and soup. I thank my “past self” when I pull leftovers out of the freezer!

 

[robinb]

This is a good policy for food safety. I have a friend who will eat something even a week later. She’s been sick many times, but we can’t convince her to toss the old food.

I have a good friend who has been pretty poor in the past who does the same thing. She'll even scrape off the mold off of tomato based foods sometimes and then heat and eat. she has an iron stomach.

 

[ronandannette]

I would have been horrified if I was in your position and wondered what I was teaching my child. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Because we didn't think to brief him on taking a quarter of a hamburger and some cold fries home from a restaurant? Seriously? Next you'll be lecturing me about starving children in Africa...

FTR, we typically avoid food waste by not preparing or ordering more than we need for one meal.

 

[xlxo]

I love leftovers.... not only to save money.

• The food is "marinated" in the sauce while it sits in the fridge.. The secret is how best to reheat the food for the following meal. Some are best microwaved. While others at best steamed to keep the protein juicy. Trial and error.
• speed. It's quicker for me to reheat food for round two then to make it fresh.
• energy..... by batch cooking for a few days..... it keeps my electric bills low for a few minutes of reheating compared to the much longer time for the initial prep.

 

[xlxo]

Are there any "freegans" here? I'm not quite there, but I am able to stretch my grocery bill looking at discounted store protein castoffs when they open the doors. I see it as a variation of leftover's.

 

[powellrj]

I am another one who plans leftovers. Pork roast one night becomes pulled pork the next. Chili next night is served over pasta topped with cheese.

My middle DS just moved out a few months ago and I was used to cooking extra for him to take to work. I am having a hard time learning to cook for 2 again