10 great ways to use up leftovers | Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

When I was a child, I am sure the whole of England - from the Queen down - ate cottage pie on Monday without fail, to use up the leftover beef from the day before.

I hated it!

But you do need some quick, reliable ways to use up leftovers whether it's meat, veg, pasta, potatoes (we always seem to have these!), some ever so slightly stale bread or a tiny portion of pudding that isn't enough for 2.

This is my list of current faves ...

1. Bulgar Wheat Pilav
A great way to use up just about anything in the fridge. I make a really simple, but incredibly tasty almond and butter pilav using a recipe from Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food and turn it into a mezze for anything there is in the fridge that needs eating ... cold potatoes, vegetables, houmous, fish, meat, olives, literally whatever there is.

You just cook ~225g bulgar wheat in ~300ml stock for about 8 minutes whilst toasting some flaked almonds under the grill. When the stock is all absorbed stir the almonds and a big knob of butter into the bulgar wheat and leave to stand for about another 8 minutes. Yummy!

2. Frittata
We are so inconsistent about how many potatoes we eat in our house and always seem to have some of them hanging around in the fridge. A simple frittata is my favourite way to use them up.

I just slice up the potatoes, fry them lightly, pour over 3 whisked and seasoned eggs and sprinkle with grated cheese. When it's almost set I put the pan under the grill for a few minutes to lightly brown the top.

3. Toad in the Hole
This British favourite is traditionally just sausages cooked within a Yorkshire Pudding batter of 3oz flour, 1 large egg and 3fl oz of milk. But you can add anything you like to the batter such as leftover roast vegetables or meat. Just serve it up with a great gravy.

4. Pasta e Fagiole
This Neapolitan soup was traditionally made with all the bits of assorted broken pasta at the bottom of the jar. Just fry some celery with garlic and chilli. Add a couple of tomatoes and a few pieces of any other veg you need to use up. Add a litre of stock, the parmesan rind and ~400g of beans, (cannellini, borlotti and chick peas all good), bring to the boil, add about 300g of pasta and cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is done.

5. Pasta with Yoghurt or Cream Cheese
Some penne or tagliatelle stirred with a few spoons of left over natural yogurt or cream cheese provides a great rich base for even the tiniest scraps of cold meat or fish that you have in the fridge. And you can really jazz it up with just the smallest helping of spinach, broccoli or green beans.

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6. Muffins
Fruit muffins only need a few pieces of fruit and are great for finishing off a few sorry for themselves bruised pieces at the bottom of the fruit bowl. This list of 100 yummy fruit muffins will give you some ideas of how to jazz up.

7. Bread and Butter Pudding
Despite my best attempts to prevent it we do frequently end up with glut of bread. Bread and butter pudding is a great way to use it up and is definitely better with slightly dry bread.

You just butter the slices of de-crusted bread, (you can add jam or marmalade to make it really fancy). Arrange in a dish and pour over a beaten mixture of roughly 300ml milk, 250ml double cream, 3 eggs and 4 tablespoons of sugar. Cook for about 50 minutes at ~150c.

8. Puff Pastry Parcels
Parcels, turnovers, pasties or whatever you want to call them are a great way to use up an assortment of different leftovers. All you need is some puff pastry and a white sauce which has been whisked well to thicken it up.

Mix the white sauce with the left overs - you could do a variety of different combinations to use everything up and to allow for e.g. veggies or fussy eaters. Roll out the pastry and cut out saucer size circles. Pour the mixture onto half the pastry, flip over the other half and seal and glaze with beaten egg.

Bake for about 30 minutes on 180c.

9. Egg Fried Rice
This is great if you've got left over meat and/or veg but no carbs. Lightly cook a small omelette. Fry some rice with garlic and onion, add leftover vegetables, (or frozen peas), and meat. Break the omelette into strips and toss it for a minute or so with soya sauce in the rice and meat mixture. Couldn't be easier!

10. Pancakes
Pancakes don't have to be saved for Pancake Day and again they are great if you've got left over meat and/or veg but no carbs. You really can stuff them with anything you like savoury or sweet. They're incredibly good with a garlicky hot mash-up of what ever's left.

If you're looking for other meal planning tips check out this Pinterest board ...

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