Good recipes to create leftovers with?

Question

I'm a college student and know how to cook well its just finding the time. This fall I'm going to have to start commuting to school and wont have a lot of time to cook, getting home after 8 pm 4 out of 7 days a week. So I wanted to know of what food is good for leftovers or to freeze. So I can make food in bulk and take it with me or heat it up.

Answer 1

I cook every Saturday for the entire week and package my leftovers in single serving tupperware containers. Any type of casserole (chicken casserole, tuna casserole, etc...) keeps very well. Lasagna or enchilada's work very well too. Personally my favorite re-heatable meal is Jumbalaya.

Here's a really nice recipe for chicken spinach lasagna that I absolutely love...

* 1 (8 ounce) package lasagna noodles
* 3 cups heavy cream
* 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
* 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/2 large onion, diced
* 4 cloves garlic, sliced
* 5 mushrooms, diced
* 1 roasted chicken, shredded
* salt and ground black pepper to taste
* 1 cup ricotta cheese
* 1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed
* 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, mix together heavy cream, cream of mushroom soup, Parmesan cheese, and butter. Simmer, stirring frequently, until well blended.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion in olive oil until tender, then add garlic and mushrooms. Mix in the chicken, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with enough of the cream sauce mixture to coat. Layer with 1/3 of the lasagna noodles, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1/2 of the spinach, 1/2 the chicken mixture, and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with 1/2 the cream sauce mixture, and repeat the layers. Place the remaining noodles on top, and spread with remaining sauce.
5. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until brown and bubbly. Top with the remaining mozzarella, and continue baking until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Answer 2

I like to make turkey enchiladas. You just chop up the leftover turkey, let it simmer with a little chicken stock, some chili powder and canned green chilies. then you spoon the turkey mixture into either corn or flour tortillas ( I love corn tortillas) and put a lot of cheddar cheese over the mixture. The you just wrap up each tortilla and put them in a casserole dish. Then I mix a pint of sour cream with about a half cup of milk and pour the mixture all over the top and pop it into a 350 degree oven for about thirty minutes. Right before it finishes cooking I spread more cheese over the top so it's all nice and melty.

Answer 3

Power cook one Sunday. Make a roast, chicken and a stew or soup. Leftover meats from the roast and chicken can be made into future meals during the week.
Sandwiches, stir frys, chicken pastas. all sorts of stuff

Answer 4

my favorite leftover use is using leftover plain boiled rice to make fried rice the next day or so. I also use it to make pinneaple fried rice. very delicious. It's from the real vegetarian thai cookbook. For regular fried rice, fry an egg or tofu in oil then add onions, and other vegetables. Add seasonings like ginger, chinese 5 spice, salt, cumin, whatever. Then add the rice and keep stirring so it doesn't stick. When it's heated through, it's done.

Answer 5

SOups are great to make and freeze and you can make so many types that the varieties are endless. Fry up chicken legs and keep in fridge. Yummo cold! Tray of lasagna is great also, You can cut it into individual servings and freeze for when you want them.

Answer 6

Lasagna

Lasagna is good because you can cut it up and freeze in seperate containers once you make it. Have it for lunch, Dinner another night etc.


BAKED LASAGNA CASSEROLE

1 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion, minced
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tbsp. salad or olive oil
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
2 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
8 oz. lasagna
2 eggs
3/4 lb. ricotta or creamed cottage cheese
3/4 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced, grated
Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. parsley, chopped

In large heavy pan, brown ground beef in oil with onion, garlic and parsley. Add tomato paste, water, salt and pepper; simmer for 1 hour. Meanwhile, cook lasagna as directed on package.
Mix eggs and ricotta or cottage cheese in 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Spread about 1/2 cup sauce, then alternate layers of lasagna, sauce, ricotta and egg mixture and mozzarella until pan is filled. Top with sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees about 20 minutes.

Makes 8 servings



Chicken

A whole chicken and then cut it into Pieces, First night have it hot from the oven, next day on top of Salad for lunch,It will stay good for a few days in the fridge so you can stir-fry it with veggies or make a Soup another night.

ROAST CHICKEN

1 stick (1/4 c.) butter
5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 onion, chopped fine
1 tbsp. tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lg. roasting chicken

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a small pan, then add garlic, onion and spice. Clean chicken; pat dry and brush inside and outside with butter mixture.
Place chicken in oven roasting pan and cover with foil. Put into oven and bake for 1 hour. Then remove the foil and continue to cook until browned.



Macaroni and Cheese

Mac & Cheese same idea as Lasagna, invest in some plastic storage containers and divide up the leftovers into meal size portions.

INGREDIENTS:
16 oz elbow macaroni
1 stick butter or margarine
salt
pepper
8 oz grated mild cheddar cheese
8 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz grated Velveeta brand cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 can evaporated milk
paprika
PREPARATION:
Boil macaroni and drain. Add butter or margarine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cheese to macaroni. Add eggs and milk. Sprinkle paprika on top of macaroni and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees till browned.

Those are the only ones I can think of at the moment, Hope I helped.

Answer 7

i would make stew which freezes very well. freeze different cuts of meat so that when you take it out you can just throw it in a bag with marinade and leave it to sit while your gone . chili is also a good option almost any soup is. keep macaroni and cheese as a standby just in case! : ]

Answer 8

I love making a big batch of beef stew and freezing it. It seems to keep well. Chili does well, also.