Menu Making Woes...

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have trouble following directions. It's not that I can't, it's just that I don't want to! I like to come up with new ways that seem SO much better...sometimes that works well and other times it doesn't. Even when I created the instructions in the first place!

So, remember I planned a months worth of meals to get us through Frugal February? With the exception of the fish days, our family was happy with the meals I'd planned. Well, somewhere around the third week I got bored with what had been planned. There were too many "big" meals (the kind they would eat on Sundays in the 50's) and not enough easy stuff or left over days. So we 'concocted' and came up with some other meals that still fit into the criteria.

Maybe next time I'll create menus for 6 weeks, with at least one 'figure out what sounds good' day each week.

However, I am learning creative ways to use up left overs so I don't end up throwing them away or trying to figure out what the green fuzzy stuff is in the back of the fridge! Here are a few of my ideas:

Cut left over meatloaf into squares and add chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and pasta for Italian Wedding Soup

Put left over turkey in a pie crust with frozen (or left over) veggies, Southern style hash brown potato squares, leftover turkey gravy, and a can of cream of mushroom soup with garlic. Top with another pie crust for Turkey Pot Pie

That recipe works well with leftover roast or stew, too...just cut the meat, potatoes, and carrots into small pieces, put in a crust with gravy and top off for a Beef Pot Pie

Left over chicken, rice (either rice a roni or rice pilaf) and chicken broth make great soup. You can add veggies or even exchange left over stuffing for the rice for variety.

Leftover pork chops can be cut up and added to rice, fresh cut up veggies (carrots, celery, brocolli, whatever) and/or frozen peas, scrambled eggs, and soy sauce for great fried rice.

I just put the leftovers in the freezer for the future if we are tired of that kind of meat that week and I use them in the future!

What do you do with leftovers?