During these trying times when Americans face challenging economic uncertainty, we can all learn some valuable cooking lessons. When money is tight, learning how to stretch your food budget can become a valuable tool for individuals and families alike. If you want to save money, you’re simply going to have to learn to cook and that is a good thing. During the Depression in the 1930’s making do with a limited food budget was an art, one that was honed by necessity. Similarly, making a roasted chicken, from a Sunday dinner, last for days is an art that can and currently has to be developed. Listed below are some simple ways to help you kick start some creative ideas when making one meal and turning it into several more for the week.
Left over Bread
The left over Focaccia bread can turn into Garlic Parmesan toast by simply adding some olive oil, rubbing garlic onto the bread, and adding Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until the cheese melts and toasts the bread.
The French baguette from last night’s dinner can turn into the best French toast your kids have ever eaten. Simply combine eggs and milk with some cinnamon or nutmeg. Dunk the stale baguette slices into the mixture for a few minutes until soft. Add a tablespoon of butter to a sauté pan and toast until golden brown. Add syrup, powdered sugar, or whipped cream and watch your kids go crazy!
Take left over corn bread and make a delicious and savory corn bread pudding. Roughly slice onions, garlic, red or green peppers, and left over ham or sausage. Sautee all the ingredients with some butter or oil in a pan, add some fresh or canned corn as well as the corn bread. Transfer to a casserole and mix in 3 beaten eggs with milk. Season to taste and cook in the oven at 400 degrees for around 30 – 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Leftover Carbohydrates (Pasta, Rice, Potatoes, and Polenta)
Take left over ziti or penne pasta, add some ham, fresh herbs like parsley and basil and reheat with a ¼ cup of water in a sauté pan. Combine with a mixture of eggs and milk and transfer to a casserole. Cover with breadcrumbs and mozzarella cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Left over rice is a very versatile ingredient. Mix the rice with some sautéed onions, garlic, tomatoes, and parsley. Once cool add some eggs and breadcrumbs until thoroughly mixed. Take the mixture and stuff bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, or eggplants. Top with some Parmesan cheese and a dab of butter and bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Mashed potatoes can be added to left over ground beef for a great shepherd’s pie meal (see below in the Leftover Proteins section).
Leftover polenta can become scrumptious croutons for all your salads. Simply refrigerate the polenta until it becomes hard. Cut into small squares and sauté in a pan at med-high heat with olive oil until golden brown on all sides. When they are still hot and come out of the pan sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese. These little croutons are a nice addition to make those boring salads more enjoyable.
Leftover vegetables
Put all leftover veggies in a plastic bag and in the freezer. When the bag is almost full use all the vegetables to make vegetable stock for future soups. Additionally, once your bag is full make a fresh soup with the vegetable you have the most of using the other vegetables as background flavor enhancers.
A great vegetable leftover creation is the Italian frittata. Add any favorite vegetable to a good Teflon coated pan with some butter and olive oil. Mix and add 5 eggs and ½ cup of milk. Season with salt and pepper and maybe add some left over cheese. Cook on low to medium heat until the mixture in the pan is not too runny. You have two choices now – one simple and one fun and adventurous. The simple one is to add the pan (if oven safe) to a 350 degree oven and let the top of the frittata cook until golden brown. The other way is to attempt the pan flip! Simply take a large plate that covers the entire circumference of the pan and place it on top of the pan. In one quick movement flip the pan and plate. Once the frittata is on the plate, slide it gently into the pan again to cook the other side of the frittata until golden brown.
Leftover Proteins (Beef, Chicken, or Pork)
Left over ground beef can be added to your basic family tomato sauce. Transfer the mixture to a casserole and top the whole thing with mashed potatoes, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese for a solid shepherd’s pie. Simply add a side salad and you a have wonderful meal for the family.
Roasted chicken can turn into a multitude of meals from chicken with rice, to chicken salad or from chicken noodle soup to chicken potpie. A quick secondary dish from roasted chicken is the classic chicken salad. Everyone has their own family version or twist so use the ingredients you like. Whether you use mayonnaise, dill, parsley, lemon zest, walnuts, apples, or grapes the result is a great salad or sandwich.
Leftover pork like bacon or my favorite, Pancetta (Italian cured bacon), is an excellent flavor enhancer for many soups, stews, baked potatoes, or pastas. A great left over dish is pork infused Macaroni and Cheese. You can either make Mac n Cheese from scratch (my suggestion) or Kraft’s from the box – which ever you prefer. However, before cooking cut the bacon into small strips (called lardons) and sauté in a pan until golden in color or when the bacon starts to render its fat. Take these crispy little bites and add it to your family recipe Mac n Cheese for a ridiculously good comfort meal.
For many people, putting a meal on the table without turning to processed or takeout foods is no longer something just for a weekend dinner party but a skill they must learn on a daily basis. Take these tough times and look at it with a new perspective. A perspective that will make you get into the kitchen not only because you want to learn a new skill but more importantly because you have to stretch your food budget and get the most out of your hard earned money.
