Day 6 – In praise of leftovers

By Corridor Kitchen On October 21, 2011 · 4 Comments · In The $35 Challenge

The $35 Challenge, where we have just $35 to spend on a week’s worth of food and drink, is drawing to a close. And while it hasn’t been as hard as I thought, we are getting to the point where were actually running out of food. Or so it seems.

Eating last night’s dinner for lunch will be impossible tomorrow, because today, dinner is steak and mash. Discount rump steak that’s been sitting in the freezer for a week, waiting for this very day. The day when I can’t be arsed to chop more than a potato and some beans. But what of our tomorrow-lunch?

As usual, the answer is leftovers, but not in the way you’d think. This time, I’m taking all the disperate leftover bits and bobs we’ve accumulated over the week and making them into (hopefully) a tasty dish for tomorrow.

Here’s what I have to play with:
Crepe filling from day 1 (cottage cheese, spinach, dill)
A tiny bit of chicken pie filling that’s been in the freezer forever
Tomato sauce for the pizza we ate on day 5

To that I added:
The juice of a lemon
Green beans
A tin of butter beans
Spaghetti

Basically, I cooked the spaghetti and green beans, stirred everything else through it and bunged it in a container for tomorrow. It’s not the most incredible meal in the world, but it’ll have to do.

What about you? Do you ever throw all your leftovers together in this way?

4 Responses to Day 6 – In praise of leftovers

Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) says:

October 21, 2011 at 12:08 pm

Cooked leftovers I keep and reheat. With Chinese meals at home, it’s quite easy to put a small portion of something alongside something larger you’ve cooked for the evening.

Otherwise leftover ingredients usually work quite well thrown in with pasta, on a pizza, in a salad, in a soup or, sometimes, even in a stir-fry bulked out with other stuff!
Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) recently posted…Sugar Hit: Shangri-La
leaf (the indolent cook) says:

October 21, 2011 at 1:50 pm

I’m only just catching up with your posts. You’ve been doing well! Getting creative with leftovers is all part of the challenge with frugality in food, for sure.
leaf (the indolent cook) recently posted…carrot ice cream / carrot kulfi
Senhor R says:

October 21, 2011 at 5:54 pm

AAARRGHH! In my haste to get to work this morning I left my delicious lunch as pictured above on the train!

Realising I had no lunch I’m glad I had a cup-a-soup stashed at work and a fruit box and biscuit tin I could raid, but reflecting on the reality of being able to buy lunch if I forget it with barely a second thought was sobering.
Toni Fish says:

October 21, 2011 at 9:16 pm

I actually really enjoy the forced creativity of making dinner with nothing but left-overs and pantry staples. Some of my best meals have been created that way (and chickpea curry with home-made green tomato chutney is now a firm favourite!). Some nights it’s left-overs “tapas” instead.

Tonight it’s bits & pieces fritata topped with some hummus I made last night (thanks for the recipe). Tasty low-fuss Friday night noms.
Toni Fish recently posted…Cupcakes, bitches!