Showing posts with label mom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mom. Show all posts

Monday, April 25, 2011

5 Leftover Meal Ideas Without The Boredom

After several months of big meals, many folks run out of ideas for eating the many dishes of leftovers piling up in the refrigerator. I am guilty of forcing my family to eat endless repeats of the same old plates filled with the same old food. Chances are you’ll be throwing out food if you try to present that same plate a third time.

How can you create a meal that isn’t a repeat of the same old plate? The trick to creating a new dish is to think about what ingredients you are working with, not just the finished dish.

1) Old Fashioned Potato Soup

Mashed potatoes are a good basis for most creamy soups. In your big soup pot, brown up some diced bacon, about three or four strips. Then, in the same pot, add some cut up celery and carrots, as much as you like. Once they are soft, add diced onion. When the onion is soft, add 1 tbsp. oil, 1 tbsp. flour, and 1 1/2 cups milk and stir until thick. Now add your potatoes and bacon pieces and cook very slowly until nice and warm. This is a simple and filling meal with a little crusty bread alongside.

2) Turkey And Gravy Sloppy Joe’s

Cut up or fork-shred some turkey, both white meat and dark will do. In a large skillet, brown a little diced up bacon. Add some diced onion and minced garlic if you like. Put the cut up turkey in the skillet and top with enough leftover gravy to cover the turkey pieces. Now add just enough of a good barbeque sauce or grill flavoring or dry rub to flavor your gravy and turkey mix to give it that Sloppy Joe flavor. Scoop on top of a hamburger bun or a leftover dinner roll.

3) Turkey Curry Cauliflower Soup

Place cooked cauliflower into a food processor and blend until smooth, drizzling in milk until you reach a smooth, soupy consistency. Put about 2 teaspoons of curry in as you blend. You may want more or less curry, so start slowly. In a heavy pot, drizzle a little oil and cook some chopped carrots and onion until just tender. Add your creamy cauliflower mixture to pot. You may now add some cut up turkey that you have leftover. Cook the soup slowly until heated through.

4) Cheesy Green Bean Tomato Soup

If you have leftover green bean casserole, you’re in luck. It makes the perfect start for a cheese soup. Adding some diced tomatoes gives this soup a fresh flavor. Get out your big soup pot and saute up some bite size pieces of celery until just soft. Add several big chunks of onion, cooking until transparent, and then add a little minced garlic. Pour in a can of diced tomatoes. You may want a little extra seasoning, like a grill seasoning or dry rub. Put in your green bean casserole, slowly mixing in all the ingredients. If it seems a little thick, add a bit of chicken broth. Now just heat, stirring often, until the soup is all creamy and hot.

5) Egg And Stuffing Breakfast

Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or brush with butter or oil. Spoon enough stuffing in each muffin cup to form a little cup with room for one egg. Break one egg into each cup and top with enough shredded cheese to cover egg. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the egg is done and cheese is melted. Let stand a few minutes before removing egg and stuffing from muffin tin.

These are just a few of the ways to recycle your leftovers so that your family isn’t staring at the same plate repeated for days. Give some thought to what ingredients went into each dish, and where you’ve seen those ingredients together before. Chances are you’ll come up with a few surprises of your own.

Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom and owner of ShowMomtheMoney.com – a fun and informative resource to help moms achieve success working from home. She welcomes you to learn more ways to save money in her Frugal Cooking Tips section. Be sure to sign up for her free lessons for work at home moms.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Wish A Nice Looking Kitchen? Here Are Some Ideas

Microwave. The big, boxy and expensive microwaves that initially came out are gone! Or they must be. If you have got a massive, cumbersome microwave, it’s time to upgrade. Microwaves now come in all dimensions and colors, not to mention power levels. If you only would like one to heat up food sometimes, a small one is for you. If you are doing a lot of baking with the microwave because the supply, you will need a sturdier one. Microwaves can be bought at any department store, appliance store or even a grocery store. They will be plastic, metal or stainless steel.

Paint. Fresh paint can add a fast boost to an old and uninteresting kitchen. To correctly put on new paint, make sure the walls are spotless. Take out all nails, hooks or other protrusions from the wall. If they cause numerous or large holes, be sure to fill with spackle so it is even with the rest of the wall. Allow the spackle to dry and sand until it is level with the wall. Apply primer or paint and then fancy your new color! Lightweight colours can make a room appear larger if you are having a color choice dilemma.

Flooring. Does your floor appear dingy and gray, even after you just mopped? It might not simply be the cleaner or water in the bucket. It may be that your linoleum floor is outdated. The linoleum or laminate floors hold up to damage, but do would like substitution after many years go by. Get replacement flooring that complements your colours to brighten the room. There are many designs to pick from, including laminate, laminate wood, wood, vinyl and linoleum. The price can vary to, therefore make positive you’ve got a budget in mind before shopping.

New Theme. Another approach to give an old kitchen a fashionable facelift is to vary the theme. A number of kitchens go after an elaborate design, such as using all red equipments or having grapes on everything. Whether or not you have a stern code or not, search for modern replacements to the old rooster that’s been sitting on top of the cupboard for twenty years or what your theme was. Things to exchange can comprise towels, ornaments, wall decorations, and rugs. Fashionable new themes embrace chili peppers, cherries, frogs, and bugs.

Bar. An addition of a bar or center island can provide you much more operating space in your kitchen. It will be an area to cool cookie trays, hold mixing pans or store the mail from the day. A bar additionally works as a place to try to homework or to hold a night snack. No matter you utilize it for the most, it will make you hold much more area in your kitchen. The island or bar typically has cabinets beneath for extra storage. A trendy kitchen is a kitchen with tons of cabinets and cupboards!

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