Sunday, September 6, 2009

~Leftovers...a lesson from Dad~

When I was a kid, my mom did most of the cooking. Although, I do remember my dad cooking breakfast on the weekends.

When my dad did cook dinners, it usually involved a jar of gravy and leftovers. Leftover hamburgers would be served the next day, reheated in gravy, served with buttered egg noodles and either a canned or frozen vegetable. Same with leftover turkey or chicken. At the time, I thought it was boring. Now, I realize it was frugal.

On Friday, I prepared a whole chicken in the crockpot. We had about 1/2 of the chicken leftover. So, tonight, I made a meal that reminded me of one of dad's dinners. Using items that I almost always have in my pantry.

I boiled some egg noodles, diced up the leftover chicken and added to 2 cans of chicken gravy. I also added about a tablespoon of the saved chicken drippings to add a little extra flavor to the gravy. (It could have used a little more.) So, we had the chicken and gravy over the buttered egg noodles and served with biscuits and a can of peas.

Each of us (my husband and I) had nice, big portions. My husband had seconds. We even treated the dog with a little over her kibble. (Yes. She's spoiled.) And we have another single serving left to put in the fridge for either lunch for one of us or for dinner if one of us isn't hungry.

I think the only difference between my meal and the way my dad used to make it was that I used the thicker, heartier egg noodles.

I have a few more ideas for using leftover chicken and I'll be posting them as I try them.

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