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19 recipes that will make you love your leftovers #GiveUpBinningFood

Published on April 5, 2017 • Last updated September 5, 2017 by Elizabeth

In collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste.

This week, why not get into the habit of making the most out of leftover ingredients, because waste not, want not, as they say! This blog post is the final instalment in our #GiveUpBinningFood series in collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste and it’s is all about re-purposing food you already have in the kitchen. You know you’re going to like it because it’s all about the food you’ve already bought! We’ve got 19 different, creative recipes for you to love those leftovers with!

#GiveUpBinningFood

The six-week long #GiveUpBinningFood for Lent campaign was broken down into weekly themes to help make reducing food waste at home a more attainable goal. These themes were:

1st March (week 1) Meal planning: Tip for Weekly Meal Planning
8th March (week 2) Storage: Food Storage Tips 
15th March (week 3) Fridge focus: How to Make the Most Out of My Fridge
22nd March (week 4) Portioning – 6 Tips for Perfect Portioning
29th March (week 5) Food labels – Understanding Food Labels
5th – 13th April (week 6) Leftovers – what can I do with my ingredients?

Many people throw food out based on how it looks but unless it’s mouldy or smells bad, it is often perfectly usable. Wilting herbs can be used up or frozen for later, soft vegetables are great for cooking and yesterday’s meal can either be eaten again or reconstructed to take on a second life. Let your creativity run wild or simply look up recipe ideas online. Cooking this way saves time and money, and helps reduce food waste too!

Top tips and suggestions from Love Food Hate Waste

  • Firstly, change your view. Think ‘ingredients’ not ‘leftovers’ and you’ll find yourself with a new found creativity for using up what you have in your fridge.
  • Freeze food into individual portions for easy mid-week meals. Keep them interesting by adding different flavours to each portion, e.g. make one hot, one quite herby, etc.
  • Once wine is opened it oxidises quickly, so pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze. Pop a cube straight into a pot for a tasty goulash or stew.
  • Keep a basic pizza dough or flat bread in the freezer at all times. Use up ingredients like soft mushrooms, wilting spinach and unfinished feta to make a quick and easy family pizza.
  • Use up soft or wrinkly vegetables in a soup or casserole. They are also perfect for making pasta sauces.
  • Download the free Olio app to connect with neighbours and local shops to share any surplus food you have. Share it with those who can use it rather than just throwing it out.
  • Use up the heel from a block of Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese in broths and stock. It adds buckets of flavour and is an ideal way to adding a ‘rounded meatiness’ for vegetarians.

Check out the video below of blogger Liberty London Girl talking leftovers. She shows that it really is easy to get creative with the things you can find already in your fridge.

Seven fun leftover recipes from Love Food Hate Waste

Leftover Pizza? – Make pizza lasagne!

Turn one Italian staple into another one… as if by magic! Preheat your oven to 180°C and cut off the crust from six slices of cold, leftover pizza. Cover the bottom of a square baking dish with tinned tomato sauce. Lie two slices of pizza on the sauce, face up. Add a layer of ricotta and mozzarella cheese and more tomato sauce. Repeat this step for another layer but this time put the pizza slices face down and drizzle a bit more tomato sauce on top. Then load up with more mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes covered, and another 10 minutes uncovered. Pizza cake!

shutterstock_388126780 By Liliya Kandrashevich

Leftover Cake? – Make a trifle!

Is Bake Off inspiring you a tad too much? Use up leftover cookies or cake by smashing them up into a tantalising Trifle which is as easy as it is delish. Layer a mason jar with alternating layers of whipped cream and crumbled cake. Decorate with some optional fruit between the layers. And voila. Yum!

Leftover Rice? – Make fruity rice cakes!

It might not seem like an obvious idea, but last night’s leftover rice can make fabulous fruity rice cakes for a delicate dessert. It is also a great way of using up fruit approaching their use-by date. Grate 75g of creamed coconut and pour over 5 tablespoons boiling water and stir until the coconut dissolves and produces a thick paste. Leave to cool. Place half a mango in a food processor (or dice with a fork)) and blend until smooth, add the coconut cream paste and blitz. Add the rice, vanilla essence, icing sugar, lime juice and lime zest and blitz for about 10 seconds so that the mixture is combined but the rice still has some texture. Cover in a bowl and leave in the fridge for an hour until the rice mixture is firm enough to handle. Divide the mixture into four equal portions, then shape into rounds using slightly damp hands. Place on a tray lined with cling film, cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Transfer the rice cakes to serving plates and garnish with strawberries and sliced mango.

By Elena Shashkina

Leftover Beer? – Make beef in beer!

Opened beer bottles are annoying, but you can turn leftover beer into a quick and easy delicacy. It’s cheap, filling, moreish and tasty. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and heat some oil in a large frying pan. Brown 500g of stewing beef cubes on all sides and set aside in a bowl when all done. Next, fry one peeled and sliced onion for a few minutes until soft, add one peeled and sliced carrot and return the beef to the pan. Pour in 400ml beer, 200ml of beef stock, 400g of tinned chopped tomatoes, 2 bay leaves and a teaspoon of mixed dried herbs and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer. Transfer to a casserole dish and place in the oven for about 3 hours, or until the beef is really tender.

Leftover cornflakes? – Make crunchy Southern-style bites!

Use up the bits of cornflakes at the bottom of the box for something a little unexpected. Mix with Cajun spice for a delicious Southern-style coating for chicken. Preheat the oven to 190°C /170°C Fan/Gas 5 and cut chicken breasts into 8 strips. Place the cornflakes into a freezer bag and crush with your hands until the pieces are small but still crunchy. Add the Cajun spice and shake well until combined. Set out three small plates, one with flour mixed with black pepper, one with beaten egg and the remaining one with the crushed cornflakes. Dust each piece of chicken in flour then dip into the egg and finally press into the cornflake crumbs ensuring that the chicken is completely coated. Place coated chicken onto a lightly greased non-stick baking tray and brush each with a little oil. Transfer to the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden and the chicken is cooked. Perfect with sweet potato wedges and homemade coleslaw.

shutterstock_614168930 By AlexeiLogvinovich

Leftover apples? – Make a toffee apple crumble!

Use up any variety of dessert apples in this delicious recipe, which incorporates a quick toffee sauce and is topped off with a crispy crumble made from a leftover doughnut. To make the toffee sauce, place 50g of brown sugar, 100ml double cream and 15g butter into a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of the spoon. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool. For the crumble blitz a leftover doughnut in a food processor or grate it until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Place in a small mixing bowl and rub in the butter. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° Fan /Gas 4. Remove the apple cores and score all around each apple with a knife. Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of each apple to make a flat surface and place the apples in a small baking tin. Pour a tablespoon of toffee sauce into the centre of each apple and drizzle over each apple. Then pile the crumble mixture on top, pressing down lightly to ensure the crumble sticks. Bake for 25 minutes until the apple is tender and the topping is golden and crisp. Serve warm with a yet another drizzle of toffee sauce.

Leftover Sunday roast? – Make homemade ‘sausages’!

These ‘sausages’ are a tasty and different way to use up leftover roast beef and vegetables. It’s also a perfect way of using up frozen mashed potato. Mix together your leftover beef, potato, any vegetables and flour, and season to taste. Mould into eight sausage shapes and chill for 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the sausages for 4-5 minutes, turning once or twice until golden. Done.

The No Waste Food Challenge Round-up

The monthly #nowastefoodchallenge has been running for five years now, and each month food bloggers from all around the world share their tips, tricks and recipes for helping to prevent food waste. From using up leftovers in rather creative ways to using up the last little bits and bobs lurking in the back of the cupboard this challenge is a community-orientated platform to share ideas. So, without further adieu, here are the recipes shared in the challenge over the last month!

Leftover chicken bones? – Make your own chicken stock from scratch!

Make Chicken Stock from ScratchA recipe prepared with homemade chicken stock can’t be beaten. Don’t throw those chicken carcases away after you’ve had your Sunday lunch – freeze them and any wilting veg and make your own chicken stock! Markus over at Earth, Food & Fire has a fantastic homemade chicken stock recipe! Chicken stock can be used to make your own homemade chicken noodle soup, just thrown in some lightly sauteed veg and your favourite noodles!

Onions gone soft? – Make Welsh Bara Lawr Laverbread Seitan Faggots!

Welsh Bara Lawr Laverbread Seitan Faggots (Ffagod)Welsh food blogger Shaheen from Allotment 2 Kitchen never fails to impress me with her creative uses for ingredients which might otherwise have gone into the bin. Here she’s shared a rather intriguing recipe to use up those soft onions in the cupboard – a vegan recipe for Welsh Bara Lawr Laverbread Seitan Faggots (Ffagod) with a gorgeous onion gravy. If you’re looking for vegetarian/vegan Welsh recipes, definitely visit her blog!

Brown bananas? – Make a Biscoff Banana Cake with Caramel Drizzle

Biscoff Banana Cake with Caramel DrizzleBrowning bananas make for the very best bakes, don’t you think? Kat, the Baking Explorer, gets extra creative with hers (as well as some leftover fudge pieces from a previous baking session) to create this showstopper of a Biscoff Banana Cake with Caramel Drizzle. Browned bananas have never looked so beautiful! Just look at that perfect caramel drizzle too – swoon!

Another tip: Peel and slice browning bananas and freeze them for smoothies later. Just blitz them straight from frozen!

Leftover sprouts? – Serve them with Chilli Roasted Oca & Hedgerow Pesto

Chilli-Roasted-Oca-with-Hedgerow-PestoChoclette over at Tin & Thyme is another really creative vegetarian cook – this month she’s shared a recipe for a fascinating ingredient I’ve never heard of before: Oca. These tubers taste like a slightly lemony potato, Choclette says, and she roasted hers with chilli and served them with a hedgerow pesto made with wild garlic. Wild garlic is just coming into season now, so if you’re lucky enough to live near where some grow get out and start foraging!

Leftover roasted romanesco? – Turn it into a pasta bake!

whole roast romanesco with za'atarOk, this recipe isn’t for the pasta bake itself, it’s for the whole roast romanesco with za’atar that she repurposed the leftovers into a pasta bake with. Romanesco, in case you were unfamiliar with it, is like a fractal broccoli crossed with a cauliflower. It’s a pretty vegetable and, when roasted with the za’atar spice blend, tastes utterly divine. All the taste and flavour, Helen at Family, Friends, Food says, with none of the fuss. Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend but you can substitute this with oregano and thyme.

Leftover Easter chocolate? – Try this No-Bake Creme Egg Biscuit Cake!

No-bake Creme Egg Biscuit CakeLeftover chocolate? What madness is this?! Well, just in case you do have an excess of Easter chocolate lying around Kate, the Gluten-free Alchemist, comes to the rescue with a rather fantastic No-Bake Creme Egg Biscuit Cake recipe for you. A biscuit cake, in case you’ve never made one before, is a great recipe to get creative with the kids with. You simply break up the biscuits, stir in melted ingredients and leave to set. Decorate with as much Easter chocolate as you want!

Tomato Glut? – Make your own Tomato Butter!

Tomato ButterI first had tomato butter while dining in the Eiffel Tower. It was served with a gorgeous piece of grilled salmon and some creamy polenta with pistachios, so recently, to celebrate 25 years of Label Rouge certification by Scottish Salmon, I recreated the meal. Tomato butter is so simple to make, just roast your tomatoes with a little olive oil, fresh thyme and some salt and pepper, and then blitz into some room temperature butter. Store for a week in the fridge, or up to three months in the freezer, slicing off and defrosting just what you need. Serve with grilled fish.

Made too much pesto? – Check out these storage tips!

Roasted Radishes with Radish Green Pistachio PestoDid you know that you can store pesto in the fridge for a few more days as long as it’s covered in olive oil? Failing that, pop leftovers into ice cube trays and freeze until needed later. I like topping my homemade lasagne with dollops of homemade pesto, but you’ll want to check out this gorgeous recipe for Roasted Radishes with Pistachio & Radish Green Pesto by Sean from Diversivore. Radish greens are often thrown out, but they are perfectly edible as Sean demonstrates!

Leftover porridge? – Make some porridge bread!

Leftover Porridge Oatmeal BreadHelen over at Fuss Free Flavours has a genius way to use up any leftover cold porridge that might be lurking in the bottom of the porridge pot – Leftover Oatmeal Porridge Bread! Make sure you wait until the porridge is completely cold first before you start making bread with it, or the warmth may rush the yeast rising process. She warns that it’s a wet and sticky dough too, but persevere as the resulting full flavoured and filling, wholesome loaf is well worth the wait.

Half a tin of black beans needing used up? – Make a protein shake!

Black Bean & Hemp Brownie Protein ShakeBlack beans are a fantastic source of non-animal protein, especially for vegetarians/vegans. Whizz up some cooked or tinned black beans into your favourite chocolate shake and add a spoonful of hemp seeds to make a Black Bean Hemp Brownie Protein Shake. I used up some Supergreens cacao powder that was nearly out of date in mine for a little extra nutritional boost. It’s not the prettiest of protein shakes on the planet, but it’s full of vegan protein and tastes fantastic!

Leftover Roasted Sweet Potato? – Make some savoury muffins!

sweet potato feta and sauerkraut muffins Johanna over at Green Gourmet Giraffe is a wonderful inspiration when it comes to re-purposing leftovers into new, fantastic dishes. Describing her Vegan Sweet Potato, Feta and Sauerkraut Muffins, she says, “They are not the bonniest muffins.  I discovered the hard way that the shape when they are spooned into muffins tins is the shape they keep, but they were slightly crisp outside and soft inside.  I loved the pairing of sweet potato and sauerkraut.  The tofu feta added nice flavour and texture.  I am really delighted to discover how good the sauerkraut is in the muffins.  It adds a certain umami.”

Bircher Muesli going stale? – Make some flapjacks!

Homemade Muesli FlapjacksI really wanted to like Bircher muesli, but for me, there’s something really unappealing about cold, soggy, apple juice sweetened porridge. It’s just not for me. I have, however, discovered that Bircher muesli makes absolutely wonderfully fantastic Homemade Muesli Flapjacks! These beauties are not too sweet, nor too buttery, and they hold together perfectly while out on long cycle trips or hill walks. The kids love to take them to school for their snacks too, and my husband can’t get enough of them. Win!

For recipe inspiration and plenty of other food waste, prevention tips and tricks sign up to the Love Food Hate Waste newsletter!

JOIN US WITH THE NO WASTE FOOD CHALLENGE!

I challenge you, dear reader, to share your own suggestions to help prevent food waste! You don’t have to have a blog to enter, simply let me know your recipe or tip in the comments below and fill out the Rafflecopter form. Bloggers – link up with the linky tool below, as usual, to be included in the roundup – click here for the full No Waste Food Challenge rules. If you want to enter the giveaway, leave a comment and enter via the Rafflecopter form.

GIVEAWAY

Now, how’s that for a wide variety of uses for leftovers? See what a little creativity can achieve? 🙂 What’s the most creative thing you’ve ever done with leftovers? Let me know in the comments and be in for a chance at winning a £25 Amazon Gift Card!

HOW TO ENTER

For your chance to win a £25 Amazon Gift Voucher enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Comment with the most creative recipe idea you’ve ever made out of leftovers. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!

TERMS & CONDITIONS

This giveaway is open to UK entries only. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winner will need to respond within 30 days of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.

The prize is offered and provided by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary. The prize is to win a £25 Amazon Gift Voucher. There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.

There is no entry fee and no purchase is necessary to enter this giveaway.

The promoter (Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary) reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice.

Entry into our giveaways will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winner at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries. Any automated entries or those who have claimed they have made the mandatory blog post comment and really haven’t will be disqualified. It’s mandatory! Please make sure your comment is eight words or longer or Google views it as spam and this negatively affects my spam score. All entries with comments fewer than the mandatory 8 words will be disqualified and deleted.

Closing date is midnight (that’s 00:00 hours, 12 am on Sunday night/Monday morning) on Monday 1 May 2017 (GMT). The winner will be announced afterwards.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste. Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to do what I love: mess up my kitchen and share recipe stories. All images, unless otherwise attributed, via Shutterstock.

Category: Giveaways, No Waste Food Challenge, Past GiveawaysTag: leftovers, Love Food Hate Waste, no waste food challenge

About Elizabeth

Solivagant. Foodie. Calls Shetland home.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jamie C Millard

    April 30, 2017 at 11:20 pm

    i’m not very creative, but some of the stir frys have been revelations

    Reply
  2. Maddy

    April 30, 2017 at 11:02 pm

    Pasta sauce, (Basically what’s in the fridge with a tine of tomatoes!)

    Reply
  3. Ellen Stafford

    April 30, 2017 at 10:34 pm

    A Curry (I’m not very inventive)

    Reply
  4. Dawn Hull

    April 30, 2017 at 10:01 pm

    I usually like to use leftovers to make stir fry. Quick, easy and delicious!!!

    Reply
  5. Faye Reed

    April 30, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    I’m pretty boring when it comes to making something with leftovers, I always make a curry out of leftover chicken from the Sunday’s dinner though.

    Reply
  6. Ian Campbell

    April 30, 2017 at 8:10 pm

    Shepherds pie with garlic and spice – man that packed a punch!

    Reply
  7. Thomas L

    April 30, 2017 at 6:53 pm

    a Curry

    Reply
  8. Julie Howarth

    April 30, 2017 at 4:53 pm

    Always make soups and curries with any leftovers

    Reply
  9. Krzysia

    April 30, 2017 at 3:01 pm

    I love to take left over veg, chop it up, add some egg , flour & spices and make some delicious fritters.

    Reply
  10. Sarah Ann

    April 30, 2017 at 2:06 pm

    I made a delicious ratatouille with some leftover veg.

    Reply
  11. Daniel Austin

    April 30, 2017 at 12:53 pm

    Turkey curry

    Reply
  12. Zoe Payne

    April 29, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    chicken and veg soup

    Reply
  13. Tracey Belcher

    April 29, 2017 at 6:54 pm

    I suppose my Thai stir-fry – basically many different bits of veg in my own Thai spices and sauce

    Reply
  14. Keshia Esgate

    April 28, 2017 at 10:34 pm

    probably just bubble and squeak!

    Reply
  15. Dave

    April 26, 2017 at 4:22 pm

    Most leftovers can be currified, stewed or turned into soup -i’m afraid that’s the extent of my creativity lol

    Reply
  16. ADEINNE TONNER

    April 24, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    I once made soup with left over meals and it tasted lovely

    Reply
  17. Sally angel

    April 24, 2017 at 12:19 am

    I’m not the most expert in the kitchen, but I managed to use up veg like aubergine, cauliflour and potatoes to make a lovely vegetable curry with an added tin of chickpeas. It was so easy and delicious! 🙂

    Reply
  18. Victoria R Morrison

    April 23, 2017 at 6:35 pm

    I love making fried rice with the fridge leftovers.

    Reply
  19. Lynda Jones

    April 23, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    I make a mean bread pudding with any left over bread

    Reply
  20. Francesca Jones

    April 21, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    Meat pie – shoved in lots of scrap left overs, veg, gravy and made a quick pastry!

    Reply
  21. Sarah Lee

    April 20, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    Turkey curry on boxing day!

    Reply
  22. Katy Malkin

    April 18, 2017 at 10:53 pm

    Banana ice cream or banana bread when bananas have gone a bit soft

    Reply
  23. Emily Clark

    April 18, 2017 at 9:57 pm

    Can’t beat a lovely vegetable soup

    Reply
  24. susan hoggett

    April 18, 2017 at 4:41 pm

    When I have leftover risotto I always make risotto balls, stuff them with goats cheese, and roll them in panko breadcrumbs. They are so nice baked or fried and I serve them with any leftover garlic bread and salad from the evening before.

    Reply
  25. Ellie Wood

    April 17, 2017 at 3:00 pm

    Bottom of the fridge fritta, an omlette made out of everything left. peppeoroni, peppers and feta

    Reply
  26. Emma Rawlinson

    April 16, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    Not overly creative but I make bolognese sauces with leftover tomatoes and include chopped up veg (whatever I have in the fridge – carrots, mushrooms, celery, cauliflower etc)

    Reply
  27. Sian Budgen

    April 14, 2017 at 11:20 pm

    I made a yummy curry with leftover lamb!

    Reply
  28. Jane

    April 13, 2017 at 10:02 pm

    Lovely spicy samosa’s with left over lamb or chicken with a side of yogurt .

    Reply
  29. Gillian Hutchison

    April 12, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    At the moment most of my left overs are mushed up, portioned, frozen and used as baby food.

    best recipe was after kids party there were left over biscuits, fruit and sweeties… I turned them into cheesecakes which went down a treat with the extended family as we gave them to them to say thanks for helping at the party

    Reply
  30. Helen Tovell

    April 11, 2017 at 8:09 pm

    A hash with the leftover meat veg and potatoes

    Reply
  31. Michelle Kinsey

    April 11, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    It has to be left over roast dinner (mash, carrots, peas, broccoli, cabbage, sprouts, green beans and swede) all fried up into ‘Bubble and squeak’ and served with either leftover meat and gravy or a fried egg on top if no meat or gravy left. I have been known to turn up at my parents on a monday to see if dad has any bubble and squeak on the go!

    Reply
  32. Christine Dodd

    April 11, 2017 at 2:55 pm

    All my leftover fresh veg goes into a chorizo soup – with added beans or chickpeas – whichever I have to hand.

    Reply
  33. njs

    April 11, 2017 at 2:00 pm

    My favourite leftover solution is freezing brown bananas then blending them to make a version of icecream that is sooooo tasty 🙂

    Reply
  34. H Lauder

    April 11, 2017 at 11:00 am

    I always seem to have too many vegetables that need using all at once, so regularly make a gratin using the veg, leftover bread and hard ends of cheese! I put the bread in my magimix to create breadcrumbs, although a grater would probably do the same job. Mix with the grated cheese, any varieties. Parboil the veg then layer in a baking dish, add some of the stock to moisten the veg, top with the mixed breadcrumb/cheese. Spray or drizzle with oil and bake in a medium oven until the top is crispy and bubbling with cheese. Yum. Even my finicky veg avoiding hubby scoffs that!

    Reply
  35. Patricia Avery

    April 10, 2017 at 10:11 am

    I rarely have leftovers! Empty nesters we cook as when we were four then plate up and freeze the extra. Much more economical on time, effort and energy 🙂

    Reply
  36. Susan Ellins

    April 10, 2017 at 9:42 am

    Hotpot

    Reply
  37. Melanie Gardiner

    April 9, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    We will curry our meat leftovers, make small tarts from pastry and soups from left over veg

    Reply
  38. Victoria N

    April 9, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    Usually just soup or similar but I really should be more creative

    Reply
  39. Iris W

    April 9, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    I chop up leftover roast meats for a cottage pie or a tomato based pasta sauce. Leftover new potatoes make a perfect swiss rosti with cheese

    Reply
  40. terri kelly

    April 9, 2017 at 6:59 pm

    I normally just re-heat them and eat them for lunch the next day!

    Reply
  41. Amanda Johnson

    April 8, 2017 at 9:46 pm

    The children and I made a beetroot and carrot lasagna and it was delicious.

    Reply
  42. Maggie Coates

    April 8, 2017 at 5:37 pm

    I’m not very creative, so just something like bubble and squeak, but made with brocolli instead of cabbage.

    Reply
  43. Solange

    April 8, 2017 at 4:34 am

    Bubble and Squeak.

    Reply
  44. purpleshoes

    April 7, 2017 at 7:41 pm

    usually just a pasta but I could use some inspiration

    Reply
  45. Kate Knight

    April 7, 2017 at 7:38 pm

    Bubble and squeak!

    Reply
  46. kw

    April 7, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    I make a microwave bread pudding for breakfast when the mood takes me and we have stale bread.

    Reply
  47. leanne weir

    April 7, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    Bubble and Squeak

    Reply
  48. Val Swift

    April 7, 2017 at 2:53 pm

    I make chilli from Bolognaise, then make a chilli lasagne from that

    Reply
  49. Claire Nutman

    April 7, 2017 at 9:03 am

    Using the vegetable water to make curry base sauces x

    Reply
  50. LINDSEY CLARK

    April 7, 2017 at 6:30 am

    A Fish Kedgeree with leftover Rice and some spare vegetables that I didnt want to throw away so needed to use them up. it was delicious, healthy and filling – even if I say so myself!

    Reply
  51. lyn burgess

    April 7, 2017 at 1:00 am

    Moussaka, made as usual but with leftover roast lamb (minced) and sliced roast potatoes, so much tastier than ordinary lamb mince

    Reply
  52. Marc Chivers

    April 6, 2017 at 8:13 pm

    A curry with left over roast lamb

    Reply
  53. Camilla Hawkins

    April 6, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    Great blog post Elizabeth, I love using up leftovers and they often inspire you to make new and delicious dishes!

    Reply
  54. Jade Adams

    April 6, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    Left over easter eggs as desert bowls. Perfect for ice cream!

    Reply
  55. Jo Carroll

    April 6, 2017 at 11:33 am

    I often turn a dried uneaten (obviously) bacon rasher into bacon salt and use it to season food such as sprinkling on my poached eggs…it’s simple but incredibly tasty. x

    Reply
  56. Tracey Peach

    April 6, 2017 at 10:43 am

    Cottage Pie you can hide so many vegetables that you need to use up in there! 🙂 x

    Reply
  57. Stuart Allen

    April 6, 2017 at 2:37 am

    super bubble and squeak – we had so much in it we couldn’t tell what it was! was very very tasty though!

    Reply
  58. Caroline H

    April 5, 2017 at 10:50 pm

    Christmas dinner soup – veg, nut roast, cranberry sauce, red wine gravy – the lot went in alongside some veg stock, and blended when done. It tasted great but the colour was really a little strange!

    Reply
  59. Tee Simpson

    April 5, 2017 at 10:41 pm

    A type of stirfry

    Reply
  60. Sarah Morris

    April 5, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    I usually make a pasta sauce or a pasta dish that is butter based rather than one with tomato, I chuck in old sausages broken up in to bits, bit of white wine, onion, butter, garlic, chilli flakes and some onions and its blinking lovely… if I have any other stuff (random veggies) I just add that as well, the more the merrier.

    Reply
  61. Natalie Crossan

    April 5, 2017 at 10:11 pm

    I’ve made some great leftover stews with my leftovers 🙂 Yummy 🙂 xx

    Reply
  62. Emma Gibson

    April 5, 2017 at 9:43 pm

    Im not very creative but usually a frittata or bubble and squeak.

    Reply
  63. jenna rothen

    April 5, 2017 at 9:14 pm

    bread and butter pudding

    Reply
  64. Soph H

    April 5, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    not creative but usually a pasta dish or risotto!

    Reply
  65. Kristy L Brown

    April 5, 2017 at 8:54 pm

    Soup!

    Reply
  66. Anthony Harrington

    April 5, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    vegetable curry, lots of odds and ends of vegetables, added chick peas, sprouts, cubed potato , beetroot and spices

    Reply
  67. Sam R

    April 5, 2017 at 8:40 pm

    I usually use left overs for some kind of pasta bake or risotto – its usually a success! 🙂

    Reply
  68. Barbara Knight

    April 5, 2017 at 8:01 pm

    I make an ‘anything goes’ pizza and ‘bottom of the fridge soup’ with any lingering leftovers.

    Reply
  69. Helen W

    April 5, 2017 at 7:55 pm

    Just banana bread.

    Reply
  70. Richard Tyler

    April 5, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    A veggie curry normally

    Reply
  71. michelle thompson

    April 5, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    not so creative but bubble and squeak !

    Reply
  72. Kate

    April 5, 2017 at 7:27 pm

    Leftover apple peels and cores = apple cider vinegar! Admittedly my first attempt went wrong (totally my fault!) but I’m planning to try again. 🙂

    Reply
  73. Janice

    April 5, 2017 at 7:24 pm

    I’m afraid that I’m not very good with leftovers

    Reply
  74. Fozia Akhtar

    April 5, 2017 at 7:10 pm

    A yummy pasta bake

    Reply
  75. clair downham

    April 5, 2017 at 6:59 pm

    turkey curry!

    Reply
  76. MM

    April 5, 2017 at 6:44 pm

    Turkey curry for me

    Reply
  77. laura banks

    April 5, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    not really very inventive just bubble and squeak

    Reply
  78. Ann Robinson

    April 5, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    Probably Banana Bread which I recently made, I don’t normally bake or cook but decided to try banana bread with the bananas I had which weren’t going to be used. It was dekicious

    Reply
  79. Sophie Foulds

    April 5, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    Hot pot!! Was amazing! 🙂 x

    Reply
  80. dolly A

    April 5, 2017 at 5:08 pm

    bread pudding with all mine

    Reply
  81. Gabby Evans

    April 5, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    smoothies with left over veg

    Reply
  82. Ella

    April 5, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    boiled too many potatoes – either slice them and shallow fry them, mash them up and make potato cakes, chop them into small squares roast them with garlic.

    bread gone slightly stale – grate it and use it to coat fish

    too many boiled veggies – make a cheese sauce and serve veggie au gratin

    left over chicken – chop small and put into an omelette

    left over roast dinner – make into a stew

    Reply
  83. Carole E

    April 5, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    I once used leftover easter eggs to make a chocolate and orange cake.

    Reply
  84. heatherhaigh74@gmail.com

    April 5, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    Probably a smoothie – I made a green juice base using brocolli stalks, cabbage stumps, and windfall apples, then blended in the contents of my fruit bowl. it certainly had the most random ingredients.

    Reply
  85. Debi

    April 5, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    End of the month veg soup

    Reply
  86. Sarah N

    April 5, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    I make great soups with leftover meat and veg from a roast dinner.

    Reply
  87. Liam Bishop

    April 5, 2017 at 3:38 pm

    A bread and butter pudding – with stale croissants. It was epic!

    Reply
  88. Johanna @ Green Gourmet Giraffe

    April 5, 2017 at 2:33 pm

    What a lovely post – so many interesting ideas – I have frozen bananas before but never been smart enough to chop them first. I love the pizza lasagna idea but we never have troubles eating our pizza – it is always a treat the next day. I am trying to use what is in the pantry rather than rushing out to buy more – occasionally my leftovers are only fit for the bin or even thrown in the bin before I can rescue them (as E did with some leftover rice the other day) but so often they are that easy meal that keeps me sane!

    Reply
  89. Zoe C

    April 5, 2017 at 2:29 pm

    A stir fry, it’s great for using up veg

    Reply
  90. Jo Hutchinson

    April 5, 2017 at 2:17 pm

    A yummy left over meat or left over vegetables tangy curry.

    Reply
  91. Louise Smith

    April 5, 2017 at 1:55 pm

    Bubble and Squeak

    Reply
  92. Alica

    April 5, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    We have really enjoyed burritos with leftover cooked rice, meat and vegetables, and top them with sour cream and salsa! Delicious!

    Reply
  93. Fiona

    April 5, 2017 at 1:48 pm

    I always try to use leftovers, not sure how creative I am! One of my favourites is to make soup, I especially like Chicken noodle soup from a chicken carcass.

    Reply
  94. Emily Knight

    April 5, 2017 at 1:35 pm

    I made a hot cross bun and butter pudding last year, using slightly stale hot cross buns, with marzipan and apricot jam in between them!

    Reply
  95. Kristie Metcalfe

    April 5, 2017 at 1:20 pm

    Leftover chicken is made into a leek and potato soup/chowder dish.

    Reply
  96. Pamela Gossage

    April 5, 2017 at 1:14 pm

    Sunday Dinner Soup.

    Reply
  97. Rena Plumridge

    April 5, 2017 at 1:12 pm

    Bubble and squeak and corn beef hash

    Reply
  98. Ritchie

    April 5, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    If I have a glut of apples from my apple tree, I stew and freeze them so I can make pies and crunbles throughout the year.

    Reply
  99. Mary Heald

    April 5, 2017 at 12:58 pm

    Summer pudding!

    Reply
  100. Andrew Petrie

    April 5, 2017 at 12:48 pm

    I’m not a Cordon Blue but I have often put leftovers into a decent soup.

    Reply
  101. Tracy Nixon

    April 5, 2017 at 12:47 pm

    Bubble and squeak!

    Reply
  102. Amy Wright

    April 5, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    Just bubble and squeak

    Reply
  103. Jay Turner

    April 5, 2017 at 12:32 pm

    This looks great

    Reply
  104. stuart hargreaves

    April 5, 2017 at 12:25 pm

    bubble & sqeak

    Reply
  105. Becky John

    April 5, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    I usually make a vegetable and meat curry, not very creative but easy and delicious.

    Reply
  106. Sarah Pybus

    April 5, 2017 at 12:16 pm

    Not exactly creative but left overs always go great in soups and curries 🙂

    Reply
  107. Peter Watson

    April 5, 2017 at 11:53 am

    I have not got any further than Bubble and Squeak

    Reply

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