I Confess...

We eat leftovers.

Not only do we eat leftovers, I plan my menus with every intention of having leftovers.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook. But I'm busy and broke most of the time, and having planned leftovers saves me both time and money.

I hear people complain that they (or their spouse or kids) don't like leftovers. But what's not to like? Most things hold up well to being refrigerated and reheated, and many things (like chili) taste even better when they've chilled overnight.

As a way to save time, I make large batches of almost everything I cook. On average, I cook three complete meals each week. We eat each meal twice (on consecutive nights or spaced out, depending on our moods) and on the seventh night of the week, I normally fix a fast, simple meal that we eat only the one time. Or we might go out to eat on the seventh night. (And on the Seventh Night, God rested by going to Applebee's.)

I've been cooking this way for about four years now, and I can't imagine going back to cooking every night of the week. It's so nice to look at how my week is going to play out and plan to have the leftovers on the busier days.

You can probably see how eating leftovers saves time, but you might be wondering how it saves money. Good question. The savings go along with that old saying that time is money. Any time I don't spend in the kitchen cooking can be spent otherwise, maybe making or saving money in other ways. And whenever I feel crunched for time and I'm tempted to grab some carry-out food, I know that the leftovers are there waiting for me and can be reheated in the same time (or less) it takes to bring something home from the drive-thru, yet they are less expensive and probably more healthy.

But leftovers just don't taste as good, you might be thinking. Part of problem is in knowing how to handle them. A quick cooling and an airtight container is usually all it takes to successfully store food in the fridge. Cooling quickly keeps condensation from forming and dripping onto the food, and the airtight container keeps flavors from transferring back and forth between foods.

If I'm going to freeze something, I find it helps to put plastic wrap around each piece of meat, or right on the surface of soups, refried beans, mashed potatoes, etc. It really helps to keep those ice crystals from forming and freezer burn from happening.

Another complaint I hear about leftovers is that they are boring. There's a way around that, too. Try transforming them into an entirely different meal. If you make sauce with meatballs to go over spaghetti on Monday, try using the leftover meatballs for meatball subs on Wednesday. If you roast a chicken on Sunday, turn the leftover meat into a chicken pot pie on Monday.

Leftovers might not be "your thing". But if you think your family might go for it, and you want to save a little time and money, try planning a few meals from leftovers. Even one night a week will save you a couple of hours in the kitchen. If nothing else, it'll give you more time to spend blogging!