Turning Leftovers Into A Gourmet Meal

Ron and I have a lot of leftovers, just like just about everyone else. Over 27% of food we buy is thrown out. So, if you were actually able to use all the food you bought, your food bill would be 27%less. Part of the reason for so much thrown out food is that we go out to eat, and invariably bring home more food.

  Recently Ron and I went to Crust for dinner. We have different tastes in pizza, so we each ordered an individual pizza and each brought home 1/4 of the pizza. So, the next night I wanted to use up the pizza without making dinner seem like another night of leftovers. Here's what I did. First I made a delicious caesar like dressing (but without the cheese). This dressing is for those that love salty things, like anchovies.

  I combined 1/4 cup mayonnaise, a few splashes of Worcestshire Sauce, a few splashes of lemon juice, and about 4 anchovies. I blended well, then thinned the dressing with a little milk. Adjust the anchovies to your taste. I poured this over crisp romaine. Next, I made some homemade croutons. There's no comparison to the ones you make at home in just a few minutes, and the ones you buy at the store.

  Take a few slices of bread, white works well, but brioche or sourdough will do just fine. Cut off the crust, and cut bread in cubes. In a pan, brown a little garlic with about 2T. olive oil, then add the bread cubes, a little salt, and cook until light brown. This will take just a few minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, cool, and sprinkle on top of the salad. In minutes you have a truly gourmet salad.

    For the rest of the dinner I just reheated the pizza (one slice each), took some frozen raviolis (from Costco) and boiled them up and added a little leftover marinara sauce from earlier in the week. What a great dinner, in no time flat, and it didn't feel like leftovers. I can't wait to make the salad again. Ron and I both loved it, but you've got to experiment with the amount of anchovies. I don't know what percent of food I throw out, but it's more than it should be. Meals like this will help me use up leftovers, rather than throwing them out.