Leftovers don’t have to be drab! Did you know you can take some of those leftovers and turn them into something just as delicious as the first time around? Meals with leftovers is a great way to re purpose them!

Leftovers sometimes can get a bad rap. I know I am super guilty of this. I hated leftovers and I never put them into my meal plan and I dreaded when my husband said “let’s just do leftovers.” One year for Christmas he got a smoker. We would almost always have leftover meat. So I decided once to take the leftovers from pulled pork and make pulled pork nachos. These instantly became a favorite meal with leftovers in our house! Now each time we have pulled pork, the nachos go on the menu the next day.

My husband also really likes to grab leftovers to take to work the next day for lunch. Now that I re purpose them pretty frequently, he has to ask me if he’s allowed to bring it or if it’s in the meal plan later in the week!

What can I do with leftovers?

So much! Meals with leftovers can happen once a week. Most meats are very versatile and can be put into anything. Some of the favorites in our house are quesadillas, pasta salads, sandwiches and eggs. Any type of meat can be put into these vessels!

Meals with leftovers

• Pulled pork leftovers: Nachos, hash browns, eggs, quesadillas, soups
• Taco meat: Taco dip (meat and shredded cheese warmed up), quesadillas
• Chicken: Chicken salad, chicken/tuna salad, chopped salad, chicken sandwiches, add to BLT’s.
• Mashed potatoes: Potato pancakes
• Fruit: Smoothies, pancakes, waffles, muffins
• Chili: Chili casserole – a layer of chili, cornbread mix, then cheese and bake.
• Rice and vegetables: Make some stir fry! Day old rice is the best kind to use for stir fry.

How do you use your leftovers? Tell me in the comments! If you use your leftovers for any of these, tag me on Instagram – @mostlyundercontrol.

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