Monthly Menu Planning - Planning for Leftovers

The hallmark of a good monthly menu is planning for and using leftovers. I know there are some out there that hate leftovers but in this post, I am not talking about packaging mini-meals for later,but re-purposing what you had left over to create a new dish. Tons of magazines and websites have devoted articles to making a meal one night and using the leftover protein or components for another dish. One of my favorite mags, Real Simple,  did a feature on reusing leftover hamburger and hot dog buns! Like monthly meal planning, planning for leftovers takes a little extra time at the front end but overall, proves to be a time and money saver.

As a mom with a job also outside the home, I save my more complicated meals for the weekends. I am also sort of a traditionalist in that I do like trying to have a nice big Sunday dinner. So for me, my leftover planning starts with whatever I have chosen to cook for the weekends. Remember I start my menu planning by first filling in the evenings I know I am not responsible for dinner. The next step is planning my weekend meals and their related leftovers.

Let’s say Sunday is pork loin day. Depending on the time of year, the seasonal vegetables and what else we have that week, I can cook pork loin in a variety of different ways. However, you can bet that somewhere on the menu for the following week is my fried rice (a family favorite) using the leftover pork. I have even chopped the leftover pork and frozen it for that purpose if the schedule isn't going to allow for rice the next week.

By now you have probably seen all of the cooking segments, recipes and articles that revolve around rotisserie chickens. I will pick up a store made chicken in a pinch, serve it as a meal and then use the leftover meat for another meal. What I prefer, is to roast my own chicken as a Saturday or Sunday meal. I pick the chicken of all the leftover meat that evening and have several meals I can choose from to make using the leftovers (enchiladas, pot pie, wraps, salad, etc.). Then I take the carcass, place it in a large stock pot* with some water and poultry seasoning and boil it to make my own chicken broth. Sometimes I reserve the meat and go ahead and plan for chicken soup using the broth. Otherwise I freeze the broth for later or reserve in the fridge for another meal during the week (if you have never added chicken broth to vegetables when you steam or mash them, you are missing out).

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Wendy’s uses it’s leftover hamburgers for its chili, why not use leftover meatloaf to make a savory chili that you can eat alone or use as filling for a casserole. There is always a can of crescent rolls and/or biscuits in my fridge for just such an occasion. Did you grill an extra chicken breast or two? Slice them up for use in quick fajitas (I sauté in Newman’s Own lime dressing and add a little taco seasoning) or make a grilled chicken salad. My husband loves giant chicken Caesar salads but we have done Asian salads too. And of course, there’s always nachos!

So when you plan out your meals, think about how you can use what’s left for a future meal. If you have a large family, double or triple a recipe if you need to. Because you are using leftovers, you are cutting down on prep time and often cook time for a future meal. Got a leftover you don’t know how to use? Let me know. I am sure I can MacGyver something!

*I have a stock pot that has the removable insert for draining. This is the BEST for making chicken stock because you are not trying to skim out bits of bone and such when your broth is done.