Any mother will tell you that her grocery bill is the single most daunting bill she has to pay. It never seems to go down till the kids are in college. It comes every week, and seems to grow and grow in proportion to how many activities your children are involved in and how popular your children are with the other children. Sometimes it seems the grocery bill will soon overtake the mortgage as the largest bill.
Not to worry. Here are some great ideas for leftovers, and lunches. Back to school time is here, and rather than let them eat sodium and fat- ridden cafeteria food, you can pack them nice lunches that are healthy, and use up any leftovers from the night before.
First, some things are never allowed to be leftovers in our house, because they just taste wrong re-heated. Pork of almost every kind, except a well-seasoned piece of roast, macaroni and cheese, because putting milk in it never brings up the sauce, and chicken, mostly because I despise chicken soup.
What? Heresy! No, really. I'll eat anything, including chicken soup, but I hate it, so I don't serve it very often. Some foods look like they might not go together, but they taste good, while some foods seem like they should go together, when they really don't. For instance, I like a grilled cheese, bacon and tomato sandwich; but to put diced tomatoes and crumbled bacon in macaroni and cheese was a poor idea. I thought beer bratwurst and chicken-flavored Rice-A-Roni would be foul in a wrap with chili hot beans, but it was actually pretty tasty, especially with cheddar cheese.
Leftovers are just made-overs, waiting to happen. Any meat that reheats well or tastes good cold can be used as a sandwich the next day. You can put it on all kinds of different bread, or wrap it in tortillas, pan bread, or even cabbage or lettuce leaves.
Don't be afraid to mix flavors; sometimes a flavor you thought would never mix with the other two ingredients you have on hand will set both of them off and improve the whole dish.
Taco Salad Sandwiches With Veggie Spread
Leftover taco meat, pre seasoned
Cooked carrots
Lettuce leaf
Tomato
Cheese of your choice.
Hamburger bun
Microwave leftover meat until hot.
Mash heated carrots with a little margarine till spreadable, like mashed potatoes.
Spoon meat on bun, add cheeses, tomato, lettuce. Spread carrots on top bun. Serve, This is a good sandwich for lunch, served with corn chips.
Pepper Steak Wraps
Leftover Spanish rice, or Old El Paso rice side dish
Leftover meat and peppers from pepper steak
Tortillas
Taco sauce
Spoon rice onto tortilla, add meat and peppers.
Add a small spoonful of taco sauce, to dampen the rice a little.
Wrap burrito-style, serve. You can also add chili beans, kidney beans or black or refried beans, whatever you have on hand. This is perfectly edible cold. Add some cheese and it is a complete meal; there is something from every food group.
Chili Pies
Leftover chili
Canned biscuits
Tortilla chips
Flatten biscuits. Spoon chili on one half of each biscuit. Close by folding dough over chili, crimp with a fork. Fry in hot oil on both sides till bread is brown. Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream or ranch dressing.
You know what your family will and will not eat better than anyone, so do what comes naturally. If your kids won't eat a breadless meal, use whichever bread you had the night before; cornbread with bologna, garlic bread with anything; if you only have a few tortilla chips left, put them on the sandwich, instead of on the side. This way, they eat fewer chips, but they get a tasty treat at lunch.
Sprinkle fruit with a little lemon juice to keep it from turning brown, and pack it in their lunch the next day. Use frozen juice boxes to keep their lunch items cold; when lunchtime rolls around, the juice box has thawed, and the cold items are still cold. I even make spaghetti sloppy joes. I put the sauce I made the night before, which I load with meat, between two slices of garlic bread with a lettuce leaf and some cheese on top. Sloppy joes sauce I fry in refrigerated biscuits or crescent-shaped roll dough. The possibilities are endless. Food does not have to be wasted, just because it wasn't finished the night before; no one has to overeat to make sure the food doesn't waste.
Some vegetables make nice snacks after they are cooked. Potatoes with cheese or sour cream are an option. Sweet potatoes mashed with raisins and a little brown sugar make a tasty treat. Even stove top stuffing makes a decent snack. Spoon some between two pieces of wheat bread, add some turkey or ham, and a little applesauce, instead of mayonnaise or other condiments. If carrots were served the night before, they will mash and spread to go on just about any sandwich. Use beans freely; they are an excellent source of protein and fiber.
