Leftovers — What do You Do with Them?

Leftovers. They’re the bane and the prize of cooking! I hate plain old leftovers, except sometimes for lunch. In fact, certain things I treasure for lunches, since I work out of my home. But trying to use up leftovers and make them something other than “leftovers” for dinner is a challenge.

Leftover rice and some kind of meat can become fried rice. That’s an easy one.

Leftover meat, chopped up, with some refried beans and cheese can become burritos.

Leftover beef, diced potatoes and some gravy can become hash.

Various things can go into quiche or omelets.

I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things. But tonight I turned the leftover pork into some great sandwiches. I fried up some red peppers and onions first for my sandwich, although I left them off the kids.

I split open some French rolls and spread them with some mustard, plus some horseradish sauce on mine. I laid some thin slices of pork down on one side of the roll and spread some avocado on the other half and topped it with slices of Cheddar or provolone. I added some of the pepper and onion slices to my own, then slid them under the broiler for a few minutes.

I served some raw carrots, sliced red peppers, and endame on the side. It was a fantastic dinner. Sometimes I think of sandwiches as not really “real” food, you know? But with just a bit of attention they come together and make a meal.