Are you one of those people who regularly stick leftovers in the refrigerator and then routinely pitch them in the garbage a week later when they sprout bluish-green fuzz? I am occasionally guilty of that, and I get extremely mad at myself for wasting food.
My parents grew up during the Great Depression and consequently were frugal. Their kitchen had a whole drawer devoted to neatly folded and slightly used tinfoil, and Mom was even known to wash and recycle Styrofoam cups.
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It was a given that Mom wrote her grocery lists with the purpose of using leftovers in a second meal. Monday's pot roast became Tuesday's Italian beef sandwiches, and Wednesday's roast chicken was reinvented as Thursday's soup.
Mom saved more than money by planning meals this way because those second-time-around meals were quick and easy. Often her healthy versions of "fast food" were served on days when she was busy with errands or projects. Everyone benefited from her method: Dad was happy because the grocery budget was within reason, Mom was thrilled to not have to spend hours in the kitchen, and we kids got balanced hot meals almost every single day. We ate in restaurants about once a month, and usually that was lunch in a diner.
Since I'm the editor of a fine dining magazine, my family and I eat out a lot more often than once a month. However, I also love to cook and every week usually have at least one dish that pulls double dinner duty.
So in honor of my late Mom, otherwise known as Patricia Jeanne Stanley Maxson, today's Smart Shopper list is "10 Ways to Have a Second Healthy Meal for Less Than $3."
These are not haute cuisine, but they are tasty, healthy, quick, easy and inexpensive recipes for busy families.
1. Round Steak and Wild Rice/Vegetable Beef Soup
Price of ingredients added to leftovers: $2
Meal 1: Both of these meals are easy. The first day, I put two large pieces of round steak in a baking dish, dump in a box of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice mix (not the quick-cook version) and add 4 cups of water. Cover the pan tightly with foil, and bake about three hours at 325 degrees.
Meal 2: Put the leftover meat and rice in a slow cooker. Add 1 single-serve can of V-8 vegetable juice, 1 can of condensed tomato soup, 2 beef bouillon cubes, 2 handfuls of diced baby carrots and 1 can of drained green beans. Add enough water to fill the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker on high for two hours, then turn it down to medium for the rest of the day. Before serving, correct the seasoning with fresh cracked black pepper (it already contains plenty of salt).
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