repurposing leftovers
an examination of conscience
If I am being honest with myself, I am not good at meal planning. I tend oscillate between very rigid and totally disorganized, and effective meal planning for a family on a budget means being somewhere in the middle. The end result of this is that every week, by the end of our grocery cycle, we’re scrambling to cobble a meal together from what we have left over, or we procrastinate and end up eating out more than we want (because hungry toddlers are not happy toddlers).
I’ve written before about the way that place shapes us, shapes our expectations, shapes our habits. One of the habits I got into at our old apartment was a direct result (and likely a direct cause) of this struggle with meal planning. We lived across the street from a mini-Walmart grocery store, so if I found myself struggle to put a meal together by 4:00pm, I’d just load the girls up into the stroller (we all needed the walk anyway, right?) and bop on over to Walmart. Some days I might just buy the one or two ingredients that I forgot to pick up on our big grocery run; other days, I’d grab something from the frozen section and stick it right in the oven when we got home.
In general, I think this was a good thing for me during the first three years of parenting. Two under two was difficult, in a lot of ways, and not having anxiety about meal prepping or running out of key ingredients was a blessing, albeit a blessing I sometimes abused. (Looking at you, pack of three cookies for one dollar right at the front of the store.)
But now that we’re out in the country, we’re not in walking distance to anything, and my strategies are having to shift. Four o’clock grocery store trips now look like the sixteen month old shrieking and climbing out of the cart while the three year old wails about the things I won’t buy her. There are lots of weighted glances from strangers, and lots of huffing and fluffing on my part.
Less pleasant for everyone involved, and much longer than a ten minute trip.
As a result, I’ve found myself becoming more creative in my cooking, trying to find ways to repurpose leftovers that don’t involve either eating them cold or reheating them on the stove and hoping for the best. Some days, this is stressful! But recently, I’ve discovered an easy go-to meal that’s kid-proof helper-friendly, infinitely flexible, and enjoyed by everyone in our family: pasta bake.
The first time I made it, James told me: “Wow. This is incredible. I am proud that you are the mother of my children.”
Silly comment aside, it was a real confidence boost for me. Our three-year-old and I had worked together to assemble everything, we’d all kept our calm, and dinner was on the table (hot!) on time. Almost all of the ingredients were sitting in the fridge threatening to go bad, and I knew from experience that I may just stare at them, full of guilt and dread, and watch them day by day as they spoiled. Instead, we turned them into something delicious, avoided food waste, and cleaned out space in the fridge to boot! It was, by and large, a rousing success. (We made this recipe again recently, with much the same response, which inspired this reflection.)
It’s gotten me thinking about the virtues of resourcefulness, thrift, and contented gratitude. As I said above, there was a definite good in being able to run to the grocery store to relieve witching-hour stress, but I don’t think it would have served me well to have that access indefinitely. A la “Chopped”, having a set number and quantity of ingredients is forcing me to become more attentive during my weekly grocery runs, but it’s also giving me the chance to waste less food. I’m getting forced to experiment and strengthen my kitchen skills. And as an adult with taste and texture sensitivities, I’m learning when and how I can utilize unfamiliar or less-than-ideal ingredients so I can gradually try to expand my palate.
But beyond just food, I’m wondering if there are other areas where I can be implementing this same set of virtues and attitudes:
Can we prep the coffee maker in the evening so that there’s no excuse to buy coffee on our errands in the morning? Would a small “reward” like adding sugar to homemade coffee reduce the appeal of store-bought coffee? Likewise with breakfast, at least some of the time?
When trying to bring some order to our days and weeks, can we re-think our existing routine and work within the natural paths we’re already walking, rather than imposing a new and totally foreign routine, complete with Shiny New Things to buy?
When I notice the tug of envy, anger, or loneliness on my heart, where can I turn instead of compulsively spending money on things I don’t need (or even really want)? How can I retrain myself to seek solace in other people, and in prayer, instead of in purchases?
What basic skills could we learn to help us pursue a mindset of repair and longevity, rather than a throwaway mentality?
Do I pursue “sustainable” solutions because I believe in long-term waste reduction, or because it’s an excuse to buy a Shiny New Thing?
Am I generous in sharing out of my surplus, whatever that surplus might look like: hand-me-downs, hosting lunchtime play dates, holding space for others during difficult seasons, giving James time “off” when I know he’s feeling tired?
Frankly, I’m struggling or outright failing in most of these areas right now. It’s so much more soothing to my ego to buy vegetables ambitiously, even if I know I likely won’t use them, and then tell myself that I’m composting them, so they’re not really going to waste. It’s so tempting to spend time (and sometimes money) designing print-on-demand coffee mugs1 or sweatshirts when I don’t want to face difficult conversations. Likewise with online shopping and dissatisfaction with my two-kids-in-two-years tummy—why face my real problems when Old Navy or Kate Quinn is running a clearance sale?
All this to say, I’m feeling reflective today, examining my conscience (and my subconscious) for areas where I’m “running to Walmart” when the Lord is inviting me to try “making a pasta bake”.2 I’d love to hear where the Lord is inviting you to grow as we move from the oppressive summer heat and towards intoxicating fall breezes and the promise of spending time outdoors without melting like a popsicle.
Plus, below, see my super official pasta bake recipe, featuring Very Exact Measurements (tm) of Whatever Food in Your Fridge is About to Expire. Enjoy, if you’re so inclined.
Dietz Family Pasta Bake
Ingredients:
Pasta, as much of whatever shape as you have, ideally leftover but could cook fresh
Meat, as much of whatever as you have, preferably ground meat, but shredded chicken or pulled pork could also work
Cream cheese, mascarpone, ricotta, some kind of creamy base
Tomato sauce, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, whatever
Italian seasoning, garlic, onion, salt, pepper (to taste)
Extra cheese (feta, parmesan, etc.) to top, if desired
Instructions:
Mix an ingredients in a 9x13 pan, or whatever pan it will fit in
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes
There ya have it, folks.
okay but forreal i’m so excited about this coffee mug i had made and i’m exploring options to do a small merch release alongside the release of my novel, hopefully this fall/winter!
Is that stretching the analogy too far? That feels a little too far.
You've managed to hit upon a very niche subject that I'm weirdly passionate about, so apologies in advance for the ensuing info dump...
- pasta bake makes frequent appearances in our house too. Pizza, much easier to pull off if you've got a food processor or KitchenAid to knead the dough, is another good leftover user upper, as is soup. Enchilada casserole is another one; I've used leftover diced veggies, leftover (drained) bean soup, and leftover macaroni and cheese in it. Enchilada sauce is really easy to make and covers a lot of flavor differences, and corn tortillas disappear far less rapidly than wheat ones in my house but taste good in quesadillas or casserole.
-If you're as crazy as we are, you can save all the bones from your meals (chicken, beef, pork, whatever), and veggie peelings (carrot peels, celery ends and leaves, onion ends) in a bag in the freezer, then toss them in the crockpot with water and a tablespoon of vinegar on low for a day or two to make broth. We literally just save the bones after supper: you don't have to debone anything ahead of time. We pressure can ours, but you can also freeze it or put it in a big gallon jar in the fridge. It makes a good base for soup obviously, but I've also used it to make sauces. I've even gone half broth half milk for macaroni and cheese sauce (better tasting than just milk, in my opinion).
-you can re-wash and reuse plastic Ziploc (and the HEB equivalent) baggies. Turn them inside out and wash and dry them that way.
-i usually keep some bulk staples in the house and meal plan based off of those (plus whatever else we picked up on sale) rather than meal planning and then shopping. We buy a huge 50 lb sack of beans and another of rice from Sam's Club once a year or so (I keep it in food safe buckets we got for free by asking at the grocery store bakery), we buy flour 25 lb at a time (I bake a lot of bread, pizza, and muffins, and we make pancakes for breakfast a lot), and we buy cheese and butter in ridiculous bulk amounts from Sam's and keep most of it in our freezer. Food is generally cheaper per ounce in bulk, and you have to shop far less often. I keep smaller containers in my kitchen (mostly gallon pickle jars) and "shop" in my pantry to refill them.
-Going off the last point, a chest freezer saves you a lot of money in the long run. We bought ours used on FB marketplace.
-The Tightwad Gazette is an older book (written in the 1990s) so a lot of the info in it is outdated, but a lot of the strategies she uses for food management still work. Highly, HIGHLY recommend checking it out.
I always feel like a genius when I can use leftovers or weird scraps and come out with dinner! One good hack is to just start delaying your grocery trip by a day or two. There’s almost always enough food in the house, it may just not be the kind you prefer to eat first. We probably use soup and stir fry most frequently, but I also can sympathize with the leftover dilemma because we didn’t bring our microwave when we moved and I don’t want to buy one or sacrifice counter space. Most things reheat well enough in a skillet though 🤷♀️ or I’ll toss it in the oven on a sheet pan. I use parchment to save on dishes — it’s one of the small concessions I will pay for to make cooking at home easier so I’m not constantly washing bulky sheet pans (we use them almost every night for something).
My current problem is more that everyone eats so much that we rarely have leftovers at all. Sigh.
I was listening to a podcast with a lady named Cassy Joy Garcia, and while her recipes are too fussy/not budget friendly, I really like the concept. She basically picks 1 meat, 1 starch and 1 veggie/veggie mix to prep that can be used in three different meals. For example, you could roast a chicken, mash a bunch of potatoes and roast some broccoli. First night is just roast chicken and potatoes with broccoli, maybe the second night is a sort of chicken pot pie situation with a mashed potato topping, and the third night is chicken stir fry with the broccoli and some other veg and you make rice. I don’t know if that’s a great example, but the idea of preparing flexible ingredients in bulk and not having to start from scratch every night is so helpful when you can remember to do it. I never regret having things like plain chicken or baked potatoes on hand bc there’s a million ways to use them.