LEARN TO LOVE LEFTOVERS

Many people turn up their nose at the idea of leftovers. The mere thought of reheating food originally prepared a day or two before convinces many that the food will be bland and rubbery, not worth eating. This assumption sadly results in a lot of good, quality food hitting the trash can before its time. The truth is that with a little bit of careful planning, leftovers can be a delicious and highly inexpensive meal. Some ideas:

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  Add additional spices that you have on hand to leftovers just before you serve them. This will create a fresh snap to the flavor of the food.
  
  
  
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  Use the leftovers as the basis for a second meal. For example, take leftover spaghetti and sauce, chop up the spaghetti, put it in a bread loaf pan, sprinkle some mozarella cheese on the top, and bake it in the oven. Or take the leftover chicken breasts from the grill, dice them, and add them to a rice and vegetable skillet meal.
  
  
  
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  Freeze the leftovers. This especially works well if you have made a large batch of soup and have plentty left over. Freeze it in portion-sized containers.