Leftovers

[ZenHedonist]

"Eat the same thing for breakfast every day of your life and no one bats an eye. Have the same thing for dinner two nights in a row and everyone loses their minds."

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night? Do you eat leftovers now? What's your favorite leftover? How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out?

 

[SaffronBurke]

I always make enough for leftovers so I have something to take for lunch the next day or three.

 

[AmberCutie]

Leftover Thai food is one of the best reheat-experiences one can have, IMO.

I also enjoy leftover pasta. Add some extra butter, parmesan and salt and I swear it's better texture than fresh.

Mexican food is awesome reheated too, but best when you have fresh chips or tortillas to scoop it all up with.

 

[ElaySmith]

Pretty much everything is better the next day especially pastas and soups....some stuff I will even eat cold like spaghetti and pizza. Anytime I cook I always make enough for 2 or 3 days but I especially love cooking something for Sunday dinner that can be reheated for lunch all week.

Edit to answer your direct questions:

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night? No, my mom rarely cooked but I would reheat take out if there was any.

Do you eat leftovers now? Pretty much one meal a day is some sort of left overs.

What's your favorite leftover? Any sort of pasta or casserole.

How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out? 4 of 5 days.... give or take depending on what it is and how fresh the ingredients were when it was cooked. Takeout generally only 1-2 days.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

We always ate leftovers when i was young. Usually lunch was last nights supper. Most of our food came from rabbits we raised, a garden we grew, or animals we hunted or fished for. When you're freezing and canning all your own food just to eat through the winter, you don't let anything go to waste.

Pizza is awesome next day.

Today I usually make bigger meals just so i can eat leftovers and not have to cook every single meal. Big pot of food and i'm eating for 2 to 4 days...every meal. Usually by the time I'm done with it I'm ready to move on.

Four days is usually my limit. After that I start to get an iffy feeling about it.

Actually just made up pot of soup yesterday. Already on third meal of that.

 

[Neorulez]

I sometimes eat leftovers but not always the food is usually gone by time dinner time is gone.

I do eat leftovers occasionally. I have reheated chicken and spaghetti. It was delicious for sure~

I have reheated fried rice too! Tasted great as well

 

[Just_A_Guy]

I cook every day and eat everything so no leftovers for me. Anyway sometimes I make a great Pasta al forno (Baked pasta) or a nice Torta salata for 1-2 days.

 

[Just_A_Guy]

But for lunch, during the day, I usually have just a first plate or a second plate, or a quick toast/panino. It depends. But I'm not the one who's cooking here.

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night?

No.

 

[dilligaf0]

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night?

To a degree. Usually dinner the next day and maybe lunch. More dinners from things like ham & beans, chili or stew.
My mom (and I do too) use leftovers from a large Sunday dinner (Swiss Steak, or pot roast) for meals later on. Take the meat and dice it, leftover roasted potatoes (or boil more if needed) and carrots......reheat that in a pot with the leftover gravy.
Mom called it "hash" although it differs from the traditional hash recipes.

Do you eat leftovers now?

Yes

What's your favorite leftover?

The above mentioned hash or meatloaf.

How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out?

4 maybe 5 days at the most. (unless it tastes / smells funky).

 

[Just_A_Guy]

pot roast

Me too, on Sundays if I have time I cook arrosto with carrots/potatoes, I'm not sure if it's what you call pot roast. It lasts for 2-3 days.

 

[JessyAndJames]

We often make dinner for 2 days. Most of the time it's spaghetti or an oven dish. Often tastes even better the next day!

 

[MDouble00]

Pretty much everything is better the next day especially pastas and soups....some stuff I will even eat cold like spaghetti and pizza.

Nice a fellow cold spaghetti lover!

I've never really had a problem with leftovers as much as I hated having the same thing multiple times a week fresh. So like if Mom made something on Sunday and we had the leftovers the next couple of days. And then like Thursday or Friday she makes the same meal again!! That drove me nuts at times when I was younger. It was mostly something with roast or cube steaks. Which is also probably why I can't really eat those two things now.

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night?
Definitely grew up eating leftovers fairly regularly as noted above.

Do you eat leftovers now? What's your favorite leftover?
I definitely eat leftovers now, because I went through the effort of cooking I might as well make it worth my time. My favorite leftovers are Spaghetti/Chili/Pastas/Casseroles and anything I toss on the grill.

How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out?
Outside of stuff I cook on the grill, I'd say I max at about 3 days before I get tired of eating the same thing. So usually it is 2 dinners and then lunch for the third day. And if it is still left after that it is likely getting tossed out.

 

[dilligaf0]

So usually it is 2 dinners and then lunch for the third day. And if it is still left after that it is likely getting tossed out.

I'll make something that will give me leftovers for 1 or 2 meals. The next day I'll make something else that will give me another 2 or 3 meals. I'll then make the occasional single meal mixed in with the leftovers and I don't have to cook much in a week.

 

[little-and-brave]

i grew up eating leftovers on occasion, but now i’ll only eat leftovers for inherently large dishes like lasagna or baked ziti. even at restaurants i’ll have my food thrown out before i’d ever take it home lol

 

[Dan Epstein]

My adopting Spanish family keeps dry white bread leftovers and use it to make one of the world's best dishes, Ajo Blanco:

 

[THE MOLLIE MARIE]

I'm reheating leftovers as I type this! As someone who lives alone and cooks for one, I always have leftovers around. And I hate wasting food, so I always eat em up.

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night?
Totally. My mom is the one who instilled in me that food is not to be wasted.

Do you eat leftovers now? What's your favorite leftover?
Definitely. I like to make all kinds of things in the crock pot, all of which make great leftovers. It can't be helped with an 8qt crock.

How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out?
I just eat it before it would need to be tossed haha. I don't mind eating the same thing for lunch and dinner several days in a row.

 

[yummybrownfox]

What's your favorite leftover?

Thanksgiving leftovers! Grandmom's baked macaroni and cheese (my FAVORITE Thanksgiving food), mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.

 

[Deleted member 37064]

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night?
- Nope, rarely ate leftovers as parents cooked just enough for the evening most times.

Do you eat leftovers now?
- Yes, I live alone and tend to cook a larger amount for about three or four additional meals from it.

What's your favorite leftover?
- It depends on the meal. Chili, homemade lasagna (I need to make this again soon), enchiladas, etc are good reheated. If I cook steak, the ones which will be for leftovers will be relatively undercooked since most times reheating will make them M/R. I tend to like mine more on the rare side.

How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out?
- I will typically freeze leftovers, unless they go with me to work the next day. This is so they don't go bad.



Additional item:

Are there any meals you will NOT reheat?
- Anything such as baked fish, lobster, etc. Nasty! There's some others. But, seafood will not be reheated.

 

[Marceline]

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night?
Yep. My parents would cook enough to last us a few days.

Do you eat leftovers now?
Definitely! When I cook (instead of just heating of frozen junk), I like to go all out and it would be hard to spend an hour or two each day cooking.

What's your favorite leftover?
Chili! Imo, it actually tastes better the next day. Flavor really soaks in, haha.

How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out?
Leftovers very rarely make it long enough in my household to actually have to be thrown out. And when they do it's because it gets lost in the back of the fridge and I'm dealing with a science experiment when it does get tossed

 

[OldHippy]

As a single dad who works full time 40% of our dinners consist of leftovers, I always end up cooking for 2 nights.

My poor kids...

 

[MSlider]

"Eat the same thing for breakfast every day of your life and no one bats an eye. Have the same thing for dinner two nights in a row and everyone loses their minds."

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night? Do you eat leftovers now? What's your favorite leftover? How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out?

My big left over treat is pulled pork, I smoke it the first night for 4-5 hours then refrigerate it. I have a favorite rub I put on it then spray it with apple juice every hour. The next day I put it in the slow cooker on a bed of sweet onion and garlic. It comes out so tender and then I serve it on toasted onion buns with cole slaw. Good for days of good eating

 

[WickedTouch]

Did you grow up eating leftovers night after night?

When I was a youngster, me and my two brothers had it drummed into us that food waste was a bad thing. My mum was a really good cook and she would cook large meals like roasts and stews etc, but in a planned way, so that we knew we would have something for the next day. Leftovers wasn't really a term we used... if we had a roast lamb dinner on a Sunday, we knew before it was cooked that we would have cold lamb slices with gravy, taters and veg on the Monday.

Do you eat leftovers now?

As I'm living alone I tend to plan meals out as much as I can, but when I cook large items like a roast chicken, I know I'll be preparing something that will provide me with meals for 3 or 4 days. I often scale up dishes like curries, pasta, soups, stews etc so that I can chill or freeze remaining portions for weeks to come, which saves a lot on prep time.

What's your favorite leftover?

Roast chicken. I know I'll get at least 3 main dinners from it, then it's either sandwiches, soup, salads, a chinese or indian dish or with pasta or in a pie.

How many days will you eat leftovers before you finally toss them out?

It would be rare for me to have anything left after 4 days, but that would be my limit. Anything that ever gets to that age would be fed to the birds in my garden. I found out a few years ago that the local hedgehogs love macaroni leftovers.

If I accidentally forget to chill stuff overnight, then I'll tend to bin it rather than take a chance with consuming the item, but that is a rare option. I hate wasting food if I can avoid it, but I would bin any leftover dishes containing fish or seafood rather than risk reheating those.

 

[dilligaf0]

Another idea for leftover chicken or turkey is to grind it. Add pickles, mayo and whatever else you like (grapes, celery, etc.) and have chicken / turkey salad.

 

[AubreyMaexo]

I used to have leftovers for diner all the time as a kid and now I can't stomach the idea. I get all weird and germaphobic thinking about bacteria that may have grown on it overnight. lucky for me my boyfriend is a human garbage can and consumes EVERYTHING so I never need to waste any food!

The only leftovers I eat are, pizza, turkey, spaghetti or salmon! (I am super weird I know!)

 

[Ambers Troll]

Each week I roast something... it lasts for at least 4 meals, plus lunches usually. Chicken is the typical roast, takes a over a day to prepare and about 3 hours to cook when done right. The key to richness is keeping in all the flavour, that takes time.