Leftovers are your friend. Cooking one day and eating the same meal for lunch (or dinner) the next day is great for saving time and money. Sometimes, though, you wanna change things up. Here are several ways I make leftovers into an entirely differently meal! It’s one of my many hidden talents, if I’m being honest 
Stuff in a Quesadilla
You can stuff your leftovers into a quesadillas. I admit. This is my go-to, particularly when there isn’t enough to go around. In other words, if there is just enough chicken for only 1 or 2 sandwiches, I can dice everything up and throw into a quesadilla with veggies and cheese with enough to feed 5 or more. And, don’t just think Tex-Mex flavors. I’ve stuck leftover pork roast and apricot preserves in there with great success.
Top a Baked Potato
While leftover broccoli and some cheese may seem like an obvious (and tasty) potato topper, you have so many more options. Chili cheese is my personal favorite.
I know none of you are fans of sweet potatoes but — if you ever change your mind — leftovers BBQ pork or chicken with some black beans is an excellent way to top a sweet potato!
Top a Plate of Nachos
If potatoes aren’t your jam (I’m looking at you, S), then throw your leftovers on top of a plate of tortilla chips with some cheese. I do this a lot with leftover pot roast. I add black beans and pickled jalapenos and call them “Cowboy Nachos.”
Add to a Hash
Anything can be a hash as long as there is potatoes and leftover meat. Just dice up leftover potatoes, some onions, green peppers, and leftover meat. While corned beef is my personal fav, we don’t generally have leftovers for obvious reasons. However, you can use pot roast, pork roast, even steak (although steak paste is a better option – see sandwich spreads, below). The key to a good hash, however, is to leave it alone! Let it sit in the pan and get crispy on one side. You’ll be tempted to stir things around, but just let it sit in some butter and get all nice and crispy.
Whip Up a Gravy
The key to a good gravy is equal parts fat + flour. I explain it in detail here, but understand that this goes far beyond just chicken or turkey a la king. You can dice up a leftover hamburger and make hamburger gravy to serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Add some frozen peas and carrots, if you want. Leftover sausage patties makes for a mean sausage gravy over biscuits. Leftover lunchmeat can even be added to a gravy for a decent meal. My mom used to buy corned beef lunchmeat and add it and frozen peas to a gravy that she served over sliced toast points.
Most lunchmeat (salami and pepperoni being the exceptions) only lasts 7 days after opening, regardless of the date on the package. Listeria and all. This is a great way to eat it up before then.
Make Some Soup
I’ve explained that my potato soup is just leftover mashed potatoes, but you can throw leftover chicken or beef into a pot with some veggies and broth and call it soup easily. In fact, my chili almost always has leftover bits of sloppy joe or taco meat in it.
Put on a Salad
One of my favorite salads is Big Mac salad. A diced up leftover hamburger, diced pickles, diced red onions, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and a mayo-ketchup-mustard-1000-Island sauce on a bed of lettuce. Sesame seeds or Everything Bagel seasonings, if you’ve got it. This concept works with anything, though – fajitas, turkey burgers, BBQ chicken.
Blitz Into a Sauce
Sometimes you go overboard making wonderful sheet pan veggies and have way more leftovers than you can eat. Throw them all in a blender with a little parm, some balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, and juuuuussssttt enough liquid to get the blender to go — chicken broth, beef broth, wine, even water. Warm the blended mix up on the stove and pour it over your favorite pasta!
Add It to Pasta Salad
Conversely, you can extend your leftovers by making it into a pasta salad. One lonely chicken breast can be diced and mixed with a combo of celery, grapes, pecans, and mayo and then mixed with some cooked & cooled pasta. Transforming that ‘serves-one’ chicken breast into a completely different meal for everyone. You could also do beans, corn, and Pico de Gallo. Heck – our favorite Southwest Pasta salad is traditionally made with leftover chicken in it (I just prefer it plain).
Throw on a Pizza
I always seem to have a frozen 4-cheese or a pepperoni in my freezer for ‘I-am-too-tired-to-cook’ emergencies. Sure. Ready-made pizza dough would be better to stash, but I don’t always have that option living up north. Anyway … you can jazz up a boring frozen pizza with any — and I mean ANY — leftover. Meatloaf? Throw it on! Sausage and peppers? Throw it on! Grilled Greek chicken and some olives? Throw it on! Heck – throw the chickpeas on there, too! Everything works on a pizza.
Create a Bagel Sandwich
Toast your favorite bagel (or the one you have on hand). Add butter and cream cheese, flavored, if you’ve got it. Use up leftover meat and veggies by cramming it in there and making a sandwich. We do this often with fajitas chicken and some leftovers veggies or taco-flavored chicken, like we make for chicken and cheddars. Really, though. Like all the options above, anything will work.
Turn It Into a Sandwich Spread
Obviously, you can make chicken salad, turkey salad, or even diced ham salad and serve it over lettuce or in a sandwich, but our fav is what you girls dubbed “steak paste.” While not a very flattering name, it is an accurate description. If you have leftover steak, dice it small and add diced pickles, hard boiled egg, mayo and seasoning to taste. This can be served on toast, but its particularly good with crackers.
Make Fried Rice
Leftover rice? Saute some veggies. Scramble an egg. Add some seasonings. Boom! Fried rice!
The key here is do not be discouraged when you have leftovers but aren’t in the mood to eat them. If you think about it, you can probably turn them into an even better meal on Day 2.
Love you!