A dinner of leftovers tonight. I can hardly cook when the doorbell keeps ringing!

First, I had some leftover Sort of Mexican Chicken Soup.  I added a large spoonful of this avocado pico del gallo and some crushed tortilla chips. Mmm!

I also used the last of the cooked chicken to make a chicken salad sandwich.  I am totally guessing at the measurements just to give any new cooks a starting place. You must taste and adjust!

• 1 cup diced cooked chicken
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1-2 Tbs sweet pickle relish
• 2-3 Tbs mayonnaise
• 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
• a dash of sweet curry powder
• a dash of salt

I toasted up some sliced sourdough for the sandwich part. Had I wanted a salad without the bread I might have added some diced apples and/or diced grapes.  I kept the curry powder very light. I just wanted a hint of it.  Really quite nice!\

Oh, and I don’t mean to imply this only made one sandwich!  There is more chicken salad for tomorrow!

Wow, check out this comprehensive list of recipes for leftover chicken!

I’ll add a few favorites of my own:

• Chinese Chicken Salad #1
• Chinese Chicken Salad #2
• Chicken and Corn Chowder
• Chicken Curry Salad
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken Quesadillas
• Chili Chicken Casserole
• Creamed Chicken on Rice
• Creole Chicken
• Enchiladas
• Fried Rice
• Leftover Turkey or Chicken Sandwich Spread
• Middle East Chicken Soup
• Pasta with Chicken and Artichoke Sauce
• Turkey Casserole
• Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
• Turkey Skillet

I experiment now and then but I keep coming back to this one. It’s so simple. I always have the ingredients on hand. It goes together quickly. I usually serve it with ribs, slow cooked over a 300 F grill for a few hours, turning every 45 minutes.

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Mix it all up and simmer very slowly, stirring now and then, for 30 minutes or so.

I served this for dinner tonight. I was nervous trying out a brand new dish for company so made a fantastic cheese souffle as well so folks would have a choice, but this was really good!

• 3/4 cup dried lentils
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups cored and chopped fresh tomatoes (or sub 1 can diced tomatoes)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbs fresh marjoram or 1 tsp dried
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 pound pasta, elbow or other small shapes
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Now, first, the recipe called for a pound of pasta but I find I like more “sauce” and less pasta so halved the original pound and found it just to my taste. If you like more pasta, cook a full pound rather than my half.

Cook the lentils, carrots, half the onion and enough water to cover over medium heat.  Cover when the water hits a low simmer and cook 2o-30 minutes, stirring periodically and watching the liquid.  Beans and lentils can take various amounts of time to cook depending on how old they are so test and cook longer if needed.

Add the tomato, salt and pepper and half the marjoram, stir, and cook another 10 minutes or so, then keep warm over very low heat.  Or do the recipe up until this point ahead of time and then refrigerate and freeze and pull the lentils out later.

Heat 2 Tbs of olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan and cook the other half of the oven, stirring, for 10 minutes or so, until it just becomes slightly brown and crisp.

Put a large pot of water on to boil, add a pinch of salt then cook 1/2 pound or so of dried small pasta, like elbows, until done. Drain, reserving a cup or so of the water.

Stir the cooked and drained pasta into the onions and add the lentils, plus the garlic and the rest of the marjoram plus the olive oil. If it seems overly dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.  Heat for 2-3 minutes and serve.

We all love tapioca pudding around here. It’s just a sweet creamy treat and so easy to make!  Buy the little box of “quick” or “minute” tapioca and follow this tapioca pudding recipe.

Tapioca Pudding

1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs minute tapioca
2 3/4 cup milk
1 egg, well beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together everything but the vanilla and let stand for 5 minutes.  Put it on medium heat and bring to a boil, making sure you stir it almost constantly so the milk won’t scorch the bottom. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t boil over either!  Once it boils,  remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla, then let it sit for twenty minutes or so.
Put the tapioca pudding in bowls and refrigerate a bit before eating, unless you like it warm.  Usually we eat half of it still warm, then save the other half to eat the next day once it’s set up a bit.

Sometimes the simplest dinners are so good!  I had barbecued some chicken leg quarters the other night, after marinating them in the best chicken marinade.  We had one leg quarter left over.  Last night for dinner I turned it into chicken salad for some great sandwiches.

Pull the skin off the chicken and pull the meat away from the bones, watching for gristle or fat.  Dice it up finely. You should get about a cup of chicken. Add enough mayonnaise to moisten, then stir in some diced dill pickles. (Or sweet pickle relish if you’d like.)  If it was just me, I’d add some diced celery as well but the kids gripe about that so I left it out. Depending on the chicken, you may or may not need to add some salt and/or pepper.

• 1 cup diced cooked chicken
• 1/4 cup or so of mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup or so of diced dill pickle
• salt and pepper to taste

I toasted some whole wheat bread and spread this out for 3 healthy sandwiches.

Served with a simple green salad of:

• 2  cups chopped red leaf lettuce
• 1/2 an avocado, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• oil and vinegar dressing to taste

Now if it had been just me, I would have added some garbanzo beans and sliced red onion and maybe some sunflower seeds or dried cranberries to the salad.  But I kept it simple, for one night at least.

We had a wonderful suprise birthday party barbecue here last weekend. It left me with some surplus hot dog and hamburger buns. Some I made room for in the freezer.  Here are a few other ideas if you find yourself in the same situation. These are things I’ve done in the past that worked out great.

Bread Crumbs

These are a bit obvious perhaps but if you’ve not made your own before, here’s how. Let them air dry a bit or speed them up in a low oven. Then grind them up in your blender or food processor. Freeze them in a freezer bag and you can easily pull out just what you need later.

Croutons

Nearly as obvious but still…. Cube them and toss with some olive oil and the seasonings of your choices. I like some garlic powder and parsley at the least.

Bread Pudding

Anything you can do with leftover bread,  you can do with leftover hamburger and hotdog buns.  Use this recipe for bread pudding as a starting point.

Frankfurter Circles

Okay, leftover hamburger buns with hot dogs. Talk about using up the odd mix?!  A childhood favorite of mine that my grandma used to make.  I really need to get a picture on here as it’s definitely worth a thousand words!

Sloppy Joes, Meatball Subs, Tuna Melts, etc.

Make your favorite “food on bread” recipe but use your leftover hot dog or hamburger buns instead of whatever you normally use.   Make your own “Quizno” melts at home.  Smaller sized buns are perfect for smaller appetites rather than wasting a whole french roll.

Garlic Bread

I prefer to mix some butter with minced garlic, spread on the bread of choice and broil. But we also like “cheater” garlic bread in a pinch. Spread with butter (or margarine), sprinkle with garlic powder and broil. Sprinkle with some grated cheese first if you like.

French Toast

Cut into sticks and make French toast sticks with them using your favorite recipe.  Here’s my normal mode of French toast.

Need some more ideas?

Peruse these:

• Real Simple’s Take on Leftover Buns
• Thifty Fun’s Forum with lots of ideas
• Chowhound’s Forum thread
• Yahoo Answer’s forum thread

These are all based upon using it up within your family, of course. You can always share with neighbors or your local food pantry or homeless shelter.

I made a soup tonight from bits and pieces and it turned out quite good. I had a tub of some leftover frozen squash and corn and lima beans in the freezer, which I incorporated. I had also frozen some leftover tortellini one night, thinking it would be good in soup.  When I make chicken or turkey broth, I freeze 4 cup portions for soup. I used one of those also. From the pantry, I added a can of diced tomatoes, a diced onion, and a few cloves of garlic minced. From the frig, I added an egg and some grated Parmesan. So here’s a great way to use up those leftover bits and pieces…

• 1 Tbs oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 -2 cups leftover frozen vegetables (or diced fresh carrots, celery, squash, etc.)
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup leftover frozen tortellini (or just add some pasta or beans or cubed potato)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic a few minutes, until softened. Add the broth and vegetables. Bring to a simmer and stir in the pasta or tortellini. Cook until the pasta is done.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl, then drizzle into the soup stirring constantly. Add the cheese, salt and pepper, then serve.

Who else has creatively used some bits of leftovers? I love reading these ideas from you all when we get a thread going about this. Soup’s an easy one.  Other favorites of ours include burritos, fried rice, and quiche.

Of course I’m biased because they have my blog listed, but there are some other great blogs here as well. Go explore these frugal food blogs!

I’ve written before about sprinkling peeled and sliced oranges with a bit of cinnamon and sugar for an easy dessert. Last night I went a different route and sprinkled the orange slices with just a tad bit of sugar, because our oranges are extra tart this year, and then splashed a bit of vanilla extract on them. Stirred them up and refrigerated while we ate dinner. Mmm!

I got this idea from Monday-to-Friday Cookbook. I had assumed it was out of print but am happy to see that it’s been reissued! Lots of good recipes and very much aimed at “real life” cooking.

More cheap menu ideas here from Grocery Outlet.