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Repurposing Leftovers


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I thought it would be fun to start a thread with how to use leftovers in various ways!

 

This evening, I found myself worn out after a day of beachcombing and hiking in the forest.  Surveying the fridge, I spotted the 2 cups of already-cooked filling leftover from the Forfar bridies (savory Scottish pastries) I made a few days ago.  The filling had ground lamb, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg, mustard, tomato paste, and a touch of cream.  

 

I decided to heat up the lamb mixture in a pot and add some other ingredients to make lamb korma.  Into the pot went yogurt, plain tomato sauce, turmeric, ginger, garlic, cardamom, cilantro, black pepper, minced jalapeno, paprika, ground cayenne, and cinnamon.  After simmering for the amount of time it took to cook some rice, it was delicious!  Quite a departure from Scottish cuisine to Indian food.  :cauldron:

 

What are some clever uses for leftovers that you've discovered?

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ArcticWitch what a delicious inventive way of going about it. I've a friend who loves making (and eating!) Forfar bridies so I'll definitely be sharing this idea with them. 

 

I'm just getting used to cooking for myself so I have nothing to share other than the well known how to make a million meals out of a roast, or chuck hard boiled eggs for breakfast into a curry for dinner (when it comes to the 'leftovers' of cooking I save the leftover carrot tops, onion peel, mushroom skin etc. and keep it in a container in the freezer so I can use it to make stock at a later date). Curious to see what others have to share!

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Genius idea for a thread!

 

I'll add using leftover cabbage/veg and mashed potatoes for good old traditional bubble and squeak. Shape into little patties and stick in the frying pan with some fried onions. Delicious.

 

I'll be watching this thread for further inspiration!

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[...](when it comes to the 'leftovers' of cooking I save the leftover carrot tops, onion peel, mushroom skin etc. and keep it in a container in the freezer so I can use it to make stock at a later date).

 

Ooo, I never thought of saving mushroom bits too for stock- thanks for mentioning that, I will definitely start doing the same!

 

 

 

I'll add using leftover cabbage/veg and mashed potatoes for good old traditional bubble and squeak. Shape into little patties and stick in the frying pan with some fried onions. Delicious.

 

This is brilliant!  I always end up making more colcannon than only myself and my partner can comfortably eat, so bubble and squeak sounds like the perfect way to utilize those leftovers- thanks for sharing!

 

----

 

Another thing I sometimes do, perhaps of interest to vegans:

 

When I soak and cook garbanzo beans [chickpeas] for hummus, sometimes I soak/cook more than I need for a hefty batch of hummus.  The extras are absolutely delicious when tossed in a bit of oil, dusted with cumin/salt/pepper, and roasted until crunchy.

 

Oh, and if a bunch of leftover fresh parsley is starting to turn- but you don't have time to dry it- throw it in a blender/coffee grinder/food processor with some olive oil, fresh garlic, and touch of olive oil for some nut-free pesto.  Absolutely delicious on pasta, crackers, certain veggies.

 

For you carnivores out there: one of the consistently cheapest cut of meats in my area are pork [shoulder] blade steaks.  I cook them like beef roasts: seared, then very simply braised with some onion, water, and a couple of spices for 1.5-2 hours.  The meat is delicious just-cooked (I serve it with mashed potatoes and corn, very American LOL), and the leftovers are fabulous: shred it and mix with barbeque sauce for pulled pork, shred and saute with Mexican spices for amazing carnitas tacos, or add to fried rice.

Edited by ArcticWitch
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Pico de gallo and mashed potatoes for one meal.....papa rellenas for the next! You let the mashed potatoes get all stiff and cold in the fridge, then make little pockets, stuff them with pico de gallo, close it up, roll in bread crumbs, and voila!  Delicious little balls of Cuban numminess

 

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Edited by Ravenshaw
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  • 10 months later...

For the third year in a row, I used leftover corned beef from St. Patrick's Day to make this recipe: http://withinthewild.com/2012/03/corned-beef-hash/ The only thing I do differently is use roughly chopped onion instead of pearl onions.

 

I'd never had (or heard of) sweet potatoes in corned beef hash before, and was skeptical that it would be tasty. Now I won't make it any other way!

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Part of my love for spicy food comes from my childhood. My dad would take all kinds of leftovers (chinese food, cornbread, spaghetti, etc.) and make "chili" out of it and make it ridiculously spicy. It's better than your brain is telling you.

 

Leftovers also happen to be great for offerings.

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Caps, my mom's best friend owned the best mex restaurant in the city before he died...now I can eat some HOT shit, but not like you!

 

:blobfire:

 

I'm like a fluffy bunny of hot shit compared to you.

 

And I've won jalapeno eating contests growing up in a mex neighborhood LOL.

 

:upset:

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

I chuck in and whatever makes for a sauce...this isn't as awful as it sounds, I've been veg for 20 years and have....vast experience cooking for myself....I also used to cater a wee bit, so, it's like, whatever, but lots of veg lol

I was a vegetarian for a number of years....until I got pregnant. That's actually how I knew I was pregnant (besides straight up intuition)- I craved steak and ate it twice in one week!! I knew something was very wrong!! I never gave up eggs and dairy completely, although I don't intake that much dairy (I like coconut milk quite a bit).

 

 

Maybe we could trade/share some recipes.

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