Friday Question #88
What’s your take on leftovers? Love them? Hate them? Won’t eat them?
Steven and I typically make a few big meals each week, then have the opportunity to enjoy the leftovers as part of lunch, or as dinner on a busy (running) night if we so choose. We eat them hot or cold and rarely throw anything out. Sometimes we (meaning Steven) get creative and the leftovers become an entirely new dish!
I ask this question because I know people who refuse to eat leftovers. And I’m curious. Is it because they get sick of eating the same thing more than once? Is it because they think the food isn’t fresh? Is it because they don’t know how to heat leftovers up to make them taste good (hint: it’s probably not in the microwave*)? Enlighten me.
Of course, leftovers from a restaurant are an entirely different story. Ha! I don’t always make it home with leftovers, i.e., I am a little piggy and eat my entire dish there. I am getting better at that though! And we usually eat those leftovers too. If it’s a restaurant I went to without Steven, I am more likely to just let him finish it, so he can try the dish as well.
*Fun fact – we don’t have a microwave. We never saw a need for one.
Themocracy
We live for leftovers. The only problem is that when we cook, we go on a tear and make so much stuff that we can never possibly finish all the leftovers before they go bad. Then we’ll go a spell with nothing.
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My parents are anti-leftover and they used to throw a lot of food away. We always take stuff home when we go there for a meal. My husband loves leftovers. I only like them if I can make them into something new, or if they are a real favorite. I guess growing up not eating them is part of it, plus, I do get bored or nervous about them not being fresh enough.
It kind of depends what it is. Some things just don’t lend themselves too well to the leftover list. Other things I make extra of just so I can have leftovers.
Luckily I eat really strange where I get a craving for something and then want to eat it every meal for days. (I’m sure you don’t remember but when I made black bean burgers that were amazing I ate them literally every meal for a few days) That works out very well because when I cook, I can’t ever seem to judge how much to make. My kids eat a lot sometimes, and other times not as much, my husband is hardly ever home for dinner, but sometimes he is so I always need to make enough in case he is. We end up with a lot of leftovers.
I still can’t believe you don’t have a microwave. But when I really think about it, I only use the microwave for things for my kids so I guess I could live without mine if it were just me here.
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You don’t have a microwave?! That’s so awesome and unique!
I save leftovers if there’s enough for at least one lunch. I’m not creative enough to turn them into something else. Sometimes I save things thinking I will but I never do and then I just throw them out.
We appear to have the same philosophy about leftovers, especially restaurant ones. (Why take anything home when I can eat it ALL RIGHT NOW?!?!?)
I also think it’s weird when people are too good for leftovers. It’s very bizarre.
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I tend to make huge meals on sunday and the leftovers allow me a few lunches and dinners. But after a while they get kind of old and just sit in the fridge because I can’t take one more day of eating them and are eventually tossed.
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WOW- no microwave!!!! sorry, that really caught my attention!!! ok, onto the leftovers question… i love love love leftovers!!!! dc has the fantastic ability to make them taste like a completely different meal as well!! I think they make fantastic meals!! And like you, well, my meals from restaurants never seem to “come with” leftovers either!!!!
=^..^=
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I was never big on leftovers. I think it’s mostly because, as a kid, my mom made these amazing dinners, fresh every night. I was spoiled. And not I’m a brat when it comes to left overs.
Fun fact: I didn’t have a microwave in my last place and really didn’t miss it. Now that we have a microwave in our current place, we use it all the time. =)
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I am the leftover QUEEN. I LOVE them! It’s just practical for me because it’s only me that’s eating it, so everything I make lasts a few days. I eat leftovers for lunch every day during the week….sometimes I do get sick of things, but it always tastes good. And my frugal self pushes through.
Wow – no microwave?! That is awesome. I rely way, way too much on that thing (especially for my leftovers at work). Do you use an oven to warm up leftovers?
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I used to hate leftovers…but now I LOVE them. (Except leftover pizza. Hate it.) I usually make two big meals and then eat them all week. I can’t waste my precious time at work microwaving anything, so I make anything that I can eat cold. Which is much more than you would imagine. (Although I’m sure some of them would taste much better hot…)
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I looooooove leftovers. I don’t understand people who don’t! The friend I’m living with hates leftovers and wastes SO much food. While I’m living here, I’m practically living off her leftovers. It’s nuts.
Leftovers are awesome but for ONE day only. I am picky about eating things more than two days in a row for some reason. The only exception to this rule is holiday food. I will eat leftover Thanksgiving dinner forever if it’s there. 🙂
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I like leftovers but my kids don’t.
We have two microwave ovens in the kitchen and use them way more often than the ovens (also two).
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I love leftovers. I actually have a tendency to make a big batch of something on Sunday and then take it for lunch all week long. It’s nice not to have to worry about lunch each night/morning.
I wish we had no microwave. It is such a waste of space, but I am afraid my spouse would starve without it. LOL
.-= Author’s last blog post… Leftovers…blah =-.
At home I generally cook so that I don’t have leftovers, if I do, it is just for a second meal.
I’m more apt to have leftovers from a restaurant. I love it in winter, so I can leave food in my “refrigerated” car and still continue to run my errands.
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I am still wrapping my head around “we don’t have a microwave”…..
Mr. P doesn’t do leftovers, not at home, not from a restaurant with TWO exceptions. Lasagne and pizza.
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I usually forget about my leftovers or want something entirely new. My husband loves leftovers so at least they don’t go to waste!
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not a fan of leftovers!! well besides like pizza 🙂
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I’m not a fan a leftovers because I quickly get sick of eating the same thing. The Captain is smart about that though and will turn leftover meat into wraps or tacos or whatever to change things up.
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Okay, I seem to be in the minority so I’ll pipe up. I *wish* I loved leftovers! I don’t. I used to say I hate to eat the same thing every day, but I actually do that quite a lot during the work week so that’s really not a good excuse any more. Things just never taste the same to me the 2nd day. Yuck. Maybe I should try giving up my microwave and they might taste better! (I think part of it too is my mom ingrained in me never to eat anything after 3 days for spoilage reasons. So now I’m hyper paranoid about things going bad.)