Leftovers

Leftovers. A fact of life for many young marrieds. It's probably one of the reasons some couples decide to have kids right away, just so there isn't so much in the fridge at the end of the week.

A lot of wives will tell me, "My husband just won't eat leftovers!" Either they learn how to cook less right away, which can be difficult with certain recipes. Or they throw away a lot of food, which is a waste of money right there.

I confess, I'm not a huge leftovers person myself. My main issue is the texture they take on after being nuked in the microwave. Hence how I am learning how to embrace leftovers more.

Whenever possible, I try not to reheat leftovers in the microwave. Instead, I'll try to heat them up the way they were made in the first place. So, if I have leftover soup, I'll put it in a pot or saucepan on the stove. I do the same thing with spaghetti sauce. If you have leftover pasta, try heating it up in a little bit of water on the stove, and voila! No hard, chewy noodles.

The tricky part is reheating in the oven. I'm still figuring that one out. So far, I've been trying to set the oven to the lowest temperature and warm them up until they aren't cold anymore. I don't really know yet.

Of course, there are times when you'll have to resort to the microwave. Some food you just can't reheat the way it was originally cooked...like fried food. Although you probably could reheat them in the oven. When I figure this out, I'll get back to you.

Another thing you can do with leftovers is try to incorporate them into a whole new dish. But that's another post for another time.