Leftovers - what do you do with yours?

Inspired by Wren's 'pig head' thread, I thought I'd open a thread so we can all share our leftovers recipes/tips.

Wren did mention what she can do with a 4lb chook.... so hopefully we'll find out here!

So what do you do with your left overs?

Akuma x

Ah the Chook! OK I'll share.

I roast the whole bird, and when it's cooked, I shred it! Yup, none of this carving nonsense, I let it cool enough to handle, and get me fingers in and rip the meat off that bird! Every last bit I can get off.

THEN I put aside enough for our meal that day, usually a Sunday, so loads of roasties and veg as well.

the rest get's divided into those OH so useful chinese meal containers, and I usually manage to get three of those with enough meat for both of us in each. cover with the gravy and freeze. Back to those in a bit.

the carcase gets boiled up with an onion and some root veg, whatever I happen to have, salt and pepper for around and hour and a half. THEN I strain it all, pickoff any more stray bits of meat, and chuck the carcase away.

Half of the ensuing stock is then bottled or frozen for later use. The other half gets the veg added back in and then is blitzed in a blender to make soup, I add the meat bits back in once that's done, and also add some Quinoa or cooked lentils to it. This can also be frozen or kept in the fridge and eaten within two days.

So the plastic containers. One will more than likely be used to make into a chicken pie, with some added root veg.

another will become chicken curry. I add Tandoori spice, cumin, ground coriander and a chilli powder, around a tsp of each to some diced onion that I sweat down in butter with some garlic, then add the chicken complete with the gravy I froze with it. Serve with rice of your choice.

More often than not, the other container will simply be another roast dinner, but can just as easily be turned into something very tasty indeed by the addition of some cream and a good glass of dry white wine, YUM!

One other thing, I DO buy organic birds, I won't buy the cheap birds full of growth hormone and badly kept. BUT, I never ever pay full price, I always buy one when there's one reduced at the super or if they are cheap at the farmers market, and I have NEVER yet paid more than £4.50 for one.

Not a bad few meals for the price eh?

mmm yum Wren !

We had a roast leg of pork on Sunday , with all the trimmings...roast spuds, parsnips, kale, carrots, brocoli, gravy

We ate roast pork sandwiches yesterday and today for lunch, Cg ate some last night for her evening meal, we used some left over gravyand the left over veg from Sunday to bulk out some home made veg soup yesterday and today, we all 3 ate a large portion each of sweet and sour pork tonight with noodles and various accompanyments..

A portion of sliced meat and gravy for a generous meal for 3 is in the freezer, some is left for tomorrow in the fridge, and the pork fat is in the fridge..

Usually a Sunday roast will do us 2 or 3 more main meals for 3 plus sandwiches or meat in an omlette or suchlike...for 2 lunchtimes

and if the joint had a bone I pressure cook it to make stock, usually 3 or 4 marge tubs worth, which I freeze to use in soup making later on.

Well you have both come up with what I do. I also do what we call Monday lamb. When I get a big enough lamb joint we have a roast, then I slice off enough for another meal. The rest gets used for pies, shepards pie or curry but the slices get laid in a dish & covered with a rich brown sauce & heated through served with real creamy mash & veg, not good for the cholesterol etc, but delish.

Wren wrote:
the rest get's divided into those OH so useful chinese meal containers, and I usually manage to get three of those with enough meat for both of us in each. cover with the gravy and freeze. Back to those in a bit.

You should be very careful about reusing those. Most, if not all are designed to be single use and not designed for freezer or microwave. This can result in chemicals leaching from the plastic into the food. Definitely do not re-use them more than once and definitely do not microwave them if you have frozen them. Better by far to invest in a set of proper freezable, nukeable kwik-lok containers - they often have them on very cheap offers in Aldi, Lidl, Lakeland etc.

You don't have to "nuke" in the same container in which you froze. Back when I was first living on my own it was pre microwave days so cooking in the came (plastic) container in which frozen out of the question. But if you think of that container the way you would an ice cube tray it's easy. Loosen the lid and immerse in a pan of warm water (not as high as the top) or run wate ron the outside. That won't thaw the mass but will unstick from the sides so can pop out into a pan (or nowadays, glass microwaving bowl).

I used to cook (primary cook) main meals just a couple days a week making large batches most of which got frozen. Would then have a variety of stews in the freezer. Let's see, tonight some New England style fish chowder. Or maybe some of that lamb and red lentil stew.

Also when cooling meat to stick in the fridge, did you know there is a 90 min rule?

get it cooled down and in the fridge at 5 C within 90 mins...

Food Hygiene course, L2. taken last month...full of interesting info....

Made me have a hard look at some of the things we do here, I must admit...but on balance was ok!

I do the same as all of you too! As my mam did too, one of my favourite 'home' memories is roast on a sunday followed by cold meat, chips & coleslaw on a monday and curry on a tuesday....all of them were DELISH! IIRC Wednesday was pasta night and friday was fish..... I only missing Thurs & Sat....I'll have to ask mum

A x

We used to have cauli cheese or mac cheese on a thursday..or rissoles if the meat had lasted that long :silent:

and fish on fri, as Mum came from an Irish catholic background...

Another good frugal tip re making stock is, rather than making it with a single carcass every time you have a chicken, to break the carcass up and stick it in the freezer (it will take up very little space this way) until you have amassed half a dozen or more and then make a large volume of stock in one go.

Not only do you use significantly less energy by doing it this way, you need fewer root veg, herbs etc and end up with a much richer stock.
If you have had more than one kind of fowl in this time, the mixture of chicken, pheasant, partridge, even duck, carcasses will result in a much more complex and tasty stock.

Personally, I also keep the rind and rib bones from my cooking bacon and toss that in the stockpot as well. It adds a wonderful silkiness to the whole thing and a hint of smoked flavour, which makes a truly delicious base for soups and risottos.

You can, of course reduce the stock down as much as you want and reconstitute it later if freezer space is at a premium, or bottle it in a pressure canner. Or even reduce it right down to a paste-like consistency, then spread this on sheets in the dehydrator and dry it out and crumble it for home-made stock powder.

Left over potatos, carrots etc mashed together. Odd spoonfuls of leftovers thrown in freezer, then put into soup.
Odd bits of cheese blitzed & frozen use for baked potatos toppings etc.
Bread crumbs either dried in the oven as coating or put in freezer for stuffing.
Odd bits of veg good for omlettes.

What makes you think I am a tight b*gger
:bigsmile:

polgara wrote:
What makes you think I am a tight b*gger

actually I'd rather not think about that at all.

Thank you Billy

Left over veggies, just chop fry & top with an egg.
Pol

Most leftover (meat, vegetables, olives, cheese, ham) can be put into a savoury cake. The cake base would be, roughly

150g flour (SR probably, if not, add baking powder)
3 eggs
10cl milk
10cl oil

Sorry that is not the real recipe, as it depends so much on what you have to put in it - good to add spices and herbs too, being as creative as you want. Put in a bread tin, and bake about half an hour or more, Gas 6

I have made courgette cake with goat cheese, dried tomato with goat cheese, tuna with whatever, it always seems to turn out OK.
Here is a link for the pictures (sorry it is in French!) but loads of recipes, which are really all the same.
http://www.linternaute.com/femmes/cuisine/recette-cake-sale/

Or just make a pie with a savoury sauce.
Pol

I try to not have any 'leftovers'
Surpluses are a slightly different matter though.
What I usually do is wait until I have acquired a reasonable quantity of excess bits and bobs - and then build them into another motorcycle !

We are talking FOOD Gus, pay attention.

Most of Gus's motorcycles are complete lemons, Pol, so it's not entirely OT.

Maybe, but do they look & smell like lemons

Wilhelm Von Rhomboid wrote:Most of Gus's motorcycles are complete lemons, Pol, so it's not entirely OT.

Not true - My Moto Guzzi is a V1000 G5 - not a Le Mans at all !

Today I am making Pizza - because I have spare bread dough, a couple of leftover mushrooms, ditto cherry tomatoes, a slice of ham, a small quantity of cubed smoked bacon, one small onion, a little bit of Red Leicester and a lump of Mozarella

The Mighty Gusset wrote:

Wilhelm Von Rhomboid wrote:Most of Gus's motorcycles are complete lemons, Pol, so it's not entirely OT.

Not true - My Moto Guzzi is a V1000 G5 - not a Le Mans at all !

Ha ha ha

The Mighty Gusset wrote:

Wilhelm Von Rhomboid wrote:Most of Gus's motorcycles are complete lemons, Pol, so it's not entirely OT.

Not true - My Moto Guzzi is a V1000 G5 - not a Le Mans at all !

Today I am making Pizza - because I have spare bread dough, a couple of leftover mushrooms, ditto cherry tomatoes, a slice of ham, a small quantity of cubed smoked bacon, one small onion, a little bit of Red Leicester and a lump of Mozarella

I'd love to know how he turns that into a motorcycle...

I am intrigued as to how cherry tomatoes are leftovers.

..boiught for some pother purpose?

gus's pizza sounds yummy