In a pickle: How to make the most of leftovers

Not quite sure what to do with leftovers? Instead of reheating them or, even worse — throwing them out — get creative and start making leftovers delicious!

I’ll be honest — I’ve never been a huge fan of leftovers. I prefer my food fresh and right out of the oven. Unfortunately, leftovers tend to be unavoidable, especially if you’re cooking for yourself or for a small family. Let’s look at some creative — and simple — ways to make the most out of leftovers. The goal is to turn them into a whole new meal rather than eating the same thing a few nights in a row.

Leftover steak, chicken or pork can be made into sandwiches the following night. Shred the chicken or pork for barbecue sandwiches or slice the steak to make your own cheesesteaks. Recipe ideas include:

• Classic Philly cheesesteak sandwich
• Philly cheesesteak mac and cheese (for those feeling extra-creative)
• Barbecue pulled pork sandwiches
• Sriracha chicken salad croissant sandwiches (use leftover chicken instead of canned)

Almost anything can be made into a wrap, including leftovers or items in the fridge you need to use up. We love the variety that a wrap offers — be it simple or complex, healthy or unhealthy — it’s really up to you! Recipe ideas include:

• Veggie wraps with avocado honey dressing
• Grilled cheeseburger wrap (perfect for leftover burgers)
• Hawaiian chicken wraps

After a long, hot summer, fall is finally here. Fall screams pumpkins, sweaters, boots, lattes and, of course, comforting soups! Check out our ideas for turning your leftovers into a soup perfect for the fall:

• Low carb soup recipes for fall
• Chilled Southwestern corn and steak soup
• Chicken, sausage and shrimp gumbo

Crazy way to make soup: Place random leftovers in a container in your freezer. Once full, dump into the slow cooker. Feel free to add in seasonings, broths and canned or fresh veggies to give it that extra kick it may need.

• Bread: Stale bread sitting on your counter? Turn it into bread pudding or make homemade croutons. If the bread’s not stale but you need to eat it up quickly, have French toast one morning!
• Veggies: Need to use up all those veggies sitting in the bottom drawer of your fridge? Chop and saute all of them to serve as a side to one of your meals, slice and arrange on top of a homemade pizza (you can use leftover spaghetti sauce as your sauce), toss into a salad or make a quiche!
• Fruit: Bananas gone bad? Make banana bread. For other fruits, make smoothies or bake into muffins, cakes or pies.
• Rice: Rice can be made into arancini, it can be fried, added to soup or turned into a delicious rice pudding. Check out these ideas for what to do with leftover rice.

More on leftovers

From leftovers to lunches: 5 Kid-friendly ideas
In a pickle: What to do with Thanksgiving leftovers
How to store leftovers properly