Top 1 to 5 Most Common Household Leftover Foods and How to Creatively Use Them Anew

Don’t let your money go down the drain by just letting your leftover foods rot.  With the following leftover cooking recipes up your sleeve, you can breathe fresh new life to your old foods.

1.  Potatoes

Creamy Potato Soup

Baked potatoes can have a new lease on life by being cooked into a steaming hot potato soup.  Dice or blend leftover potatoes, mix with onions and herbs, butter, milk and stock and bring to a boil and then to a short simmer.

Very Easy Mashed Potatoes

For an almost labor-free, mashed potato recipe with a twist, roughly mash leftover cooked potatoes and mix with buttermilk, ground chives, a little salt and black pepper.

2.  Rice

Fried Rice

Bowls of leftover cooked rice can be easily made into Asian-style fried rice.  Sauté crushed garlic in sesame oil, add in crumbled cooked rice and stir-fry over high heat for about 3 minutes.  Season with soy sauce and salt and then garnish with frozen cooked peas and diced hotdogs.

Chocolate Rice Pudding

Crumble leftover cooked rice into a large pot, cover with water, stir in cocoa powder, vanilla and brown sugar and then bring to a boil.  Simmer until creamy and serve with milk.

3.  Beans

Yummy Hummus

The easiest use for leftover beans is to make them into that healthy dip, hummus.  Simply puree beans, garlic, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice and you’ll have that classic Mediterranean dip ad spread.

Salad Topping

Sauté cooked beans in Mexican spices, drizzle with hot sauce and use as toppings for your salad greens.  Alternatively, you can wrap them in taco or serve with pita or tortilla chips.

4.  Vegetables

Hurry Curry

In less than 10 minutes, you can make delicious vegetable curry by sautéing garlic and onions, adding in creamed coconut and curry, and stirring in leftover vegetables such as potatoes, peas, carrots, Brussels sprouts, green beans, mushrooms, etc.

Veggie Pancakes

Dice whatever leftover vegetables you have and mix with flour, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, sugar, eggs and mustard.  Shape into fritters and fry in vegetable oil.

5.  Pasta

Pastassortment

In a pot, put in peas, bits of bacon or sausage, some herbs, blue cheese and double cream.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and drop in leftover cooked pasta.  Cook until pasta is heated through and coated thoroughly.

Faster Pasta

Have a no-cook dish to use up your leftover pasta.  In a bowl, cut up ripe tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and stir in crushed garlic and torn basil leaves.  Microwave leftover pasta until heated through and toss with the fresh vegetable mixture.  Season with salt and pepper and top with grated Parmesan cheese.