by Texas Homesteader ~
Planned leftovers is purposely cooking more at one meal with the intent of turning those leftovers into a completely different kind of meal the next night.
We’d purposely grilled more chicken & vegetables so I could incorporate planned leftovers for the next day (which means a night off cooking!) That excess grilled food was quickly changed into delicious homemade chicken fajitas in minutes.
Eating At Home, Saving Money
Recently we invited my parents over for supper. RancherMan grilled boneless chicken breasts as well as different garden veggies. I made Rosemary Rice & chocolate Crazy Cake to go with the meal.
The whole shebangie only cost about $15, much less than treating them to a restaurant meal.
So we saved some money yet enjoyed a hearty meal and good conversation.
Preplanning for Charcoal-Grilled Leftovers
But the food that went on that grill that night was carefully thought out.
You see, Planned Leftovers means you’re purposely cooking a lot at one time with the intent of having leftovers.
For me, that means my leftover chicken & veggies will be repurposed into another dish.
So when RancherMan fired up the grill, I brought out enough chicken breasts to fill lots of grill space. That way grilled chicken would already be prepared for my planned leftovers.
And for the grilled veggies I’d purposely chosen vegetables that I could put to further use after the main meal. Such things as jalapeno, bell pepper & onion as well as some thick slices of zucchini & summer squash.
Once again I’d brought out much more prepared vegetables for RancherMan’s grill than we’d eat on that night.
I’d cut the vegetables into very thick slices and RancherMan grilled them to perfection – grill marks & all. We’ll not let those veggies go to waste, oh no!
We all ate our fill (plus some!) and there was still plenty leftover for RancherMan & me for subsequent meals.
But I was eyeballing those leftover grilled chicken breast & grilled veggies.
I love that RancherMan has no problem eating leftovers. His thought is “If it was delicious last night, it will be delicious tonight too!” I feel the same, and this mindset saves us so much money, y’all.
But I decided to finish off these leftovers by turning them into a completely different meal – chicken fajitas!
Preparing Our Leftover Chicken Fajitas
So I took the last two leftover chicken breasts & sliced them thinly. I did the same thing with the grilled peppers, onions, jalapenos and squashes.
Now all that’s left to do for tonight’s supper is heat it up, roll it in some warm flour tortillas and dinner is served!
Planned Leftover Cooking Benefits:
Cooking with planned leftovers in mind carries many benefits.
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More Variety
Planned Leftovers means I’m making a completely different meal with leftovers. This assures our palates aren’t bored by eating the same thing over & over.
Thankfully RancherMan’s palate doesn’t get bored easily, but still I like to mix things up for our suppers. This is a super-easy way to do that.
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Eliminate Food Waste
I’m also eliminating leftover food which is good for our budget. Food waste is a hot-button issue for me.
So I’m pretty good about making sure the food we have – whether purchased or grown in the garden – is fully utilized.
That adds up to an environmental as well as financial score…
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Get A Night Off From Cooking
And finally by utilizing the Planned Leftovers method of cooking we’re enjoying a delicious, perfectly-grilled meal with no extra cooking nor preparation dishes to wash.
It’s almost like getting a night off from cooking. Now who doesn’t love that??!!
Heat-n-Eat Homemade Chicken Fajitas in minutes, y’all!
Doesn’t get better than that.
~TxH~
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Planned Leftover Meal Ideas
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- Pulled Pork Enchiladas From Leftover Roast
- Planned Leftovers: Carnitas Tacos From Pork Roast
- Leftover Meatloaf Made Into Quesadillas
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- Chicken Tortilla Soup From Leftovers
- Chicken & Dumplings Using Leftover Chicken
- Using It ALL – The Art Of Eliminating Leftover Food
- Leftover Great Northern Beans Into HUMMUS
- Leftover Turkey & Dressing Into Patties
Other Planned Leftover Posts
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I love using left overs to make a totally different meal. In early August I put a large roast in the crock pot with a can of french onion soup. Then added potatoes, onions, carrots and green beans. I let that cook all day. I made us some biscuits and we had our meal. Next day I sliced off some of the roast sandwiches. I added some BBQ sauce on the roast and we had a BBQ sandwich. I then chopped the meat into about 1 inch pieces, added a jar of my canned tomatoes, added a can of pinto beans, a can of corn and some water and made soup. A couple days later I added a can of Ranch style beans (the ones that have chili pepper in them) and we had a different flavor. I then packaged the remainder of the soup in quart freezer bags. We’ll have soup a few more times this fall. I love your suggestions and look forward to your articles. Thanks.
I love your roast remakes and how you made full use of it in so many different ways! And there’s still soup for winter months – good job, Patsy! ~TxH~
I don’t know what it is about grilled or roasted veggies, but they always seem so much better than steamed to me. I love them all though!
Have you ever noticed that stores, Wal-Mart in particular, often have some frozen turkeys on clearance? The turkeys are always in-date, so I assume they are just needing to make space in the freezer section. Whatever the case, I’ve gotten some fantastic deals. You roast the turkey once, portion the leftovers, and freeze. There’s always plenty for enchiladas, soup, whatever. Plus, it’s kind of fun to have a Thanksgiving meal in the middle of summer once in awhile.
I’m with you, Miss B. The flavor of veggies cooked on a charcoal grill just cannot be beat. I think it’s the smoky flavor and the tender-crisp texture. And you can bet your boots I won’t let any of them go to waste! ~TxH~