Okay, let’s be honest here. How many times have you instructed the waiter to place your leftover chicken in a plastic bag for takeaway because you simply cannot stand the sight of leftover food on your plate?
But when you do get home you usually just shove it in the deepest recesses of your fridge only to be forgotten.
And once you do remember it the chicken has already gone stale and you’re left with no other choice but to throw it away. Admit it, it happens all the time and somehow it has become a sick cycle of ordering or cooking food that you will eventually throw away.
You Can End This!
Did you know leftover food could actually be recycled and incorporated to make a new dish? You can recreate leftover food as long as they are still okay and by still okay we mean they’re not stale or they aren’t infested with mold.
Some people don’t like to reheat and eat the same food over and over that’s why it’s easy for them to ditch it in the trash.
Don’t be a food waster, learn how to recreate leftover food and turn them into deliciously mouthwatering dishes so no food will ever go to waste. Here are some recipes that you might want to try.
Curried Noodle Patties
This recipe is very inventive because you can turn yesterday’s soggy noodles into a delightful snack instead of throwing it away. All you need are the following ingredients:
- 4 whole eggs
- 2 teaspoons red Thai curry paste
- ½ cup of chopped cilantro
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 chopped green onions
- 4 cups leftover noodles preferably cold
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Cilantro, green onions and peanuts for garnish
Directions: Get a clean bowl and spread the curry pate thinly at the bottom. Add one egg and stir it until the paste is fully incorporated. Whisk the remaining eggs.
Add the cilantro, salt, green onions and tofu followed by the noodles. You can use your hands so your noodles won’t break.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1/3 of your noodle mixture. Use egg rings or metal biscuit cutters and cook it in batches, three minutes on each side. Fry until golden brown.
Season it with salt and then garnish by peppering it with peanuts, green onions and cilantro.
And voila! You’ve got yourself a light and heavenly snack!
French Onion Soup
So you’ve got leftover bread in the pantry because for some reason you’ve miscalculated the number of bread slices you were going to have for breakfast and now you don’t know what to do with it.
Don’t fret because leftover bread is not going to be a problem. A French onion soup recipe actually requires stale bread so there’s no reason for you to throw it away!
Each bowl of French onion soup would require two slices of bread, one placed on top and the other at the bottom. All you need are the following ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pounds onions
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 pinch of salt
- Black peppercorns
- 1 piece bay leaf
- Fresh thyme
- 5 cups of beef stock
- 2 cups red wine or beer
- Bread
- 5 slices of cheese
Directions: Slice the onions and then set aside. Pour the olive oil and melt the butter in a stockpot. Peel and crush the garlic.
Caramelize the garlic in the butter and olive oil. Add the onions and season it with some salt and pepper.
Continue to stir until all the slices onions are completely coated with the butter and olive oil. Add bay leaf and thyme and stir for around twenty minutes. When the onions are caramelized pour the beef stock.
Add the beer or wine and let it simmer. Make sure that the pot is uncovered for at least sixty minutes. Taste the broth occasionally so you can adjust the flavors accordingly.
Slice your bread. If you are using stale bread, which by the way is excellent for this recipe, heat it up in a warm oven to make it soft. Then toast it on both sides.
Grate your cheese and prepare it. You can add different cheeses together such as Gouda, pecorino and/or Parmesan. Add it to your bowls when they are ready.
Preheat your boiler. Remover the bay leaf and thyme sprigs rom your soup. Arrange your serving bowls on a lined baking tray.
Place a toast at the bottom of each bowl, pour in the soup and cover the top with another slice of your toasted bread.
You can allow the cheese to seal the soup and have it draped over the top or you can grate them whichever way you like.
This is a pretty nutritious snack or appetizer because of the flavonoids present in onions.
Final Take
There are tons of ways for you to recreate leftover food like you can even make a homemade pizza using leftover bread by smothering it with spaghetti sauce and then adding leftover sausages and hotdogs or leftover chicken while sprinkling it with grated cheese.
A few recipes and you’ll know what to do with leftover food next. Don’t stop exploring for new recipes because you’ll never know what leftover food you’ll have the next time.
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