Dressing Up Leftovers

Betty · 11-14-2008, 07:32 AM

I've been doing this more lately as well.

When whole chickens are on sale at the store for about $3 or $4, I buy two and roast them both in a pan with potatoes, carrots, onions, and whole garlic. (Mmmmm... roasted garlic). They all roast in the pan drippings and are delish.

I take the meat off the extra chicken and us it for all sorts of stuff - lunch sandwiches, chicken and tortillini salad (like a macaroni salad but fancier), filling for tacos or burritos, just chopped over a regular salad.

The whole roasted chicken is just so easy to make and always ends up so juicy.

This week I had leftover roasted pork tenderloin. I used the leftovers to make beef stroganoff substituting the pork for the beef. That was very tasty.

I love taking pretty much any left over meat and mixing it up with some salsa, rice, pinto beans, a little chili powder and/or cumin and some cheese sprinkled on top. Like a mexican cassserole I guess?

Love this thread though.

~MS~ · 11-14-2008, 08:34 AM

This time of year turkeys are dirt cheap and are so easy to stretch into multiple meals! There is no way I can pass on an 8 dollar bird that will make 4 meals for my family of 3 plus a couple lunches for Missy. We don't do the stuffing/dressing when I roast the bird, first, neither of us like that whole texture/flavor of traditional bread cube/cornbread stuff and second it takes the bird a lot longer to cook. By not stuffing the bird it reduces the risk of not cooking properly so it all works.

I do a rub of garlic, pepper, lemon zest and onion in the cavity and all over the outside of the bird then just roast at 350 for about 15 minutes per pound. When the bird is done, first night we do 'traditional' big dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy and veggies and salad and rolls. When the bird cools, I take all the meat off the carcass and toss the carcass and big bones back in a stock pot and simmer it with an onion and some carrots and some garlic for a stock for later. When it simmers down and smells delish I strain the stock thru cheese cloth and then just let it cool then I usually put it in empty 2 ltr soda bottles then toss those in the freezer for base for soup on a cold day. For the meat, day 2 Missy takes it for lunch (she loves the dark meat) and we usually have hot turkey sandwiches for dinner. Two days of the same food is enough for anyone so I divide up the rest and usually chunk one portion into 'soup' size chunks to go with the broth that I froze ...quick and delish turkey soup later on. The other bag I make turkey Ala king...make a nice white sauce/gravy with some of the turkey broth, add the chunks and serve over either rice or potatoes. $2.00 a meal for a family of 3 for the protein is pretty budget conscious and tasty to boot.

For a roast, I do roast on the first night then a version of beef in gravy over noodles or potatoes for the second day. When I make tacos I intentionally make extra meat so I can make enchiladas later and not have to start from scratch.

11-14-2008, 07:32 AM	#1
Betty Kicking up my heels! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The Silver State Posts: 3,783	I've been doing this more lately as well. When whole chickens are on sale at the store for about $3 or $4, I buy two and roast them both in a pan with potatoes, carrots, onions, and whole garlic. (Mmmmm... roasted garlic). They all roast in the pan drippings and are delish. I take the meat off the extra chicken and us it for all sorts of stuff - lunch sandwiches, chicken and tortillini salad (like a macaroni salad but fancier), filling for tacos or burritos, just chopped over a regular salad. The whole roasted chicken is just so easy to make and always ends up so juicy. This week I had leftover roasted pork tenderloin. I used the leftovers to make beef stroganoff substituting the pork for the beef. That was very tasty. I love taking pretty much any left over meat and mixing it up with some salsa, rice, pinto beans, a little chili powder and/or cumin and some cheese sprinkled on top. Like a mexican cassserole I guess? Love this thread though. __________________ Nee Stell Thue
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11-14-2008, 08:34 AM	#2
~MS~ One Happy little Missy! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 658	This time of year turkeys are dirt cheap and are so easy to stretch into multiple meals! There is no way I can pass on an 8 dollar bird that will make 4 meals for my family of 3 plus a couple lunches for Missy. We don't do the stuffing/dressing when I roast the bird, first, neither of us like that whole texture/flavor of traditional bread cube/cornbread stuff and second it takes the bird a lot longer to cook. By not stuffing the bird it reduces the risk of not cooking properly so it all works. I do a rub of garlic, pepper, lemon zest and onion in the cavity and all over the outside of the bird then just roast at 350 for about 15 minutes per pound. When the bird is done, first night we do 'traditional' big dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy and veggies and salad and rolls. When the bird cools, I take all the meat off the carcass and toss the carcass and big bones back in a stock pot and simmer it with an onion and some carrots and some garlic for a stock for later. When it simmers down and smells delish I strain the stock thru cheese cloth and then just let it cool then I usually put it in empty 2 ltr soda bottles then toss those in the freezer for base for soup on a cold day. For the meat, day 2 Missy takes it for lunch (she loves the dark meat) and we usually have hot turkey sandwiches for dinner. Two days of the same food is enough for anyone so I divide up the rest and usually chunk one portion into 'soup' size chunks to go with the broth that I froze ...quick and delish turkey soup later on. The other bag I make turkey Ala king...make a nice white sauce/gravy with some of the turkey broth, add the chunks and serve over either rice or potatoes. $2.00 a meal for a family of 3 for the protein is pretty budget conscious and tasty to boot. For a roast, I do roast on the first night then a version of beef in gravy over noodles or potatoes for the second day. When I make tacos I intentionally make extra meat so I can make enchiladas later and not have to start from scratch. __________________ "Sometimes Miracles Hide"
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