It’s all about leftovers now. And how to extend your food to make it last longer. This past week I made a big pot of sausage with onions and peppers. We first had them in sandwiches (no pics of them, sorry) but I made two omelettes with the leftovers for two separate breakfasts. So, that was about 3 to 4 meals I got out of one dish. I also made a big pot of Italian tomato sauce. The main reason why was for fusilli. That’s a specialty pasta that most regular grocery stores may or may not sell. I get them at Job Lot and (at $2.19 a pound, Ouch) that’s a far cry from the usual .77 cents to .88 cents I pay per pound for either Ronzoni or Barilla pasta when it goes on sale. Nonetheless, it’s a treat. I put in a scoop of low-fat/part-skim ricotta and top with grated parmesan cheese and I’m in heaven. The next day I used the remainder of the tomato sauce to make Chicken Parmesan.
First up: making two different but distinct breakfast meals out of the leftover sausage, onions and peppers. One dish I made scrambled, with a side of toasted, buttered Italian bread. The other I cooked up as an omelette.
Here are my two nights of fusilli pasta. Underneath it all is a scoop of part-skim ricotta. I do that for the protein intake. I topped one with parmesan cheese. The other I left plain. Each meal was served with a side salad of romaine lettuce. Later on in the week I used the leftover tomato sauce to top chicken cutlets (made with leftover stale bread turned in to crumbs) a slice of mozzarella cheese and made Chicken Parmesan.
The remainder of the week I cooked up those gift hot dogs we received from the Omaha Steak House at Christmas time. They were HUGE! And delicious! I also made a turkey noodle soup with spinach from some leftover turkey parts from Thanksgiving. I had them stored in my freezer and it was time to whip them out and use them! Lastly, I got whole chickens on sale this past week at only .99 cents per pound. Hubby roasted up the bird and I made some cranberry relish from cranberries I was still storing in my freezer. We had a bunch of russet potatoes leftover in their original bag. They were growing eyes. Hubby just brushed the eyes off and made a big pot of mashed potatoes (with gravy!!) It was a very good eating week, for sure!
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Ciphers From Cindi 
All your meals sound wonderful! DH has been working away from home, so he eats frozen dinners in his hotel room and I eat PB toast for dinner during the week. The weekend has me making us burgers, sausage and broccoli, chicken tenders and pizza.
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Patti, when my husband is out of town, I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I also love ramen soups. the easier the better. I was planning to have burgers this weekend also! Like minds think alike. Sunday has a big sale on 80% chopped beef. We’re going to check it out. Thanks for your comment.
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Love it when you can cook once and transform the dish multiple times!
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Happy Sunday, You influenced me to do a batch of cranberry sauce to go along with this week’s Turkey breast big batch cooking. I spent an hour chopping vegetables and prepping before I filled my oven with Turkey, roasted vegetables, soup vegetables for Turkey rice and wedding soups, baked potatoes, baked apples, brownies, and brown rice. I also chopped the vegetables for stir fry, pot pie, lomein, fried rice. 20 meals to finish out January no groceries needed till sometime in February. I call this planner overs not leftovers. Sincerely Lara
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Lara, I ‘m exhausted just reading about this. LOL! The only thing I’m doing today is baking oatmeal cookies (with walnuts and raisins) Got a good deal on chopped beef today ($2.49 a pound!) and we’re making Salisbury steaks today, with a side of mashed potatoes and brown gravy!!! Can of green beans (using up my canned veggies, fresh are too expensive right now). That’s about all I can manage on this Sunday.
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I had a Sloppy Tom sandwich and Turkey rice vegetable soup and the last of the baked apples with walnuts cinnamon brown sugar syrup for lunch. So easy and so delicious! I don’t have any canned vegetables here. I prefer fresh or frozen vegetables. Great bargains on romaine lettuce, tomatoes, organic mix greens carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli combine with last week’s sale zucchini, mushrooms, celery, and onions, rounded out with frozen peas and mix vegetables. It usually takes me an hour of prep and an hour of cleanup besides the cooking time for at least 7-10 days of meals in the refrigerator and more in the freezer, So worth and I am avoiding restaurants with the Covid outbreak. Sincerely Lara
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Lara, I like the idea of baked apples. That sounds yummy! I think in these past two years hubby and I have been to a restaurant or take out maybe 5 or 6 times? And 90% of the time the food was just plain awful. Cooking from home is the much better way to go!!
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