Leftovers

When I first was married, food and shelter were of the highest priority and I had to quickly learn to stretch a dollar. Shelter was fairly easy because our apartment rent was very low. By taking simple steps like turning off lights and putting on a sweater in the winter, I was able to keep the utilities in check. These were all habits I had brought with me from home.

Food was a different story. Mom had provided meals at home and in college I participated in their meal plan. Presto! Food appeared in front of me and I ate it. Now, however, I became the magician in charge of meals. At first, I made meals similar to my usual fare. Meat (protein), potatoes (starch) and two vegetables (green and yellow) were the basics with salad, rolls, etc. added here and there. This was fine but what to do with the leftovers? Plus, the budget was not going to sustain a full meal like that every day.

In short order, I learned the value of leftovers. No more than a strip of green pepper, an onion ring, a teaspoon of ham (maybe a tablespoon), a sprinkle of cheese and an egg or two and you had an omelet. Lettuce, green pepper, onion, carrot and tomato (all from the garden) could be combined with leftover meat, cheese and a boiled egg and you had a chef’s salad. Of course, meat, vegetables, potatoes and gravy (all leftovers) could be tossed into a pot to become stew or thinned to become soup. Pasta, meat, vegetables (leftovers again) with a little broth and bread crumbs on top turned into a casserole. The options were endless. I even found myself more excited about the leftovers than the initial meal.

As time went by and lifestyles changed, I found myself doing less cooking from scratch and reverted to plopping down food in front of everyone. Then I retired and became an empty nester. Most of my meals were then eaten with family members with the food magically appearing and me eating it. Sometimes, however, the cook was too busy to make a full meal and I was instructed to “fix something for myself from the leftovers.” At first, I would just reheat a previous meal but recently I started to remember the meals I produced with my leftovers. These meals are beginning to become my go-to lunches.

As the price of food is steadily increasing, I am glad I can fall back on my old penny pinching habits. Shelter is still the lesser problem because I own my home and I can always wear a sweater. Knowing how to lower my food bill while still eating healthy is a big plus.