Great Meals Made from Leftovers: From Potato Pancakes to Meatloaf Sandwiches

Sunday night at my house meant making a meal from what was left over in the fridge from the week's meals. We often had to employ a little creativity and imagination to come up with a new meal idea using only the leftovers in the fridge and whatever else we could find around the kitchen. Believe it or not, there are some great meals that you can make with the leftovers from dinners that most enjoy through the week and food items that most have around.

Meal Idea Made from Leftovers: Macaroni and Cheese and then some
There were two ways in which we might eat up some leftover macaroni and cheese, by adding meat or by added salsa. If we had leftover hamburgers then we would simply chop them up into tiny pieces and mix it in with the leftover macaroni and cheese. Then we would heat the whole dish in the microwave and enjoy this delicious meal idea.

If we didn't have leftover hamburgers, but salsa instead, then we would mix some salsa into our leftover macaroni and cheese to make a delicious spicy meal idea that everyone enjoyed.

Meal Idea Made from Leftovers: Meatloaf Sandwich
It may sound simple, a couple thin slices of meatloaf between two slices of bread, but a meal idea doesn't have to be complicated to be enjoyable. Whether we added ketchup or Miracle Whip to our leftover meatloaf sandwiches, we thoroughly enjoyed them.

Meal Idea Made from Leftovers: Potato Pancakes
My parents were huge fans of mashed potatoes when I was growing up, so come Sunday, we always had a Tupperware contain with some leftover mash potatoes in it. My parents were also really big fans of potato pancakes. So, there were always potato pancakes being made, from leftover mashed potatoes, on Sunday nights.

Take your leftover mashed potatoes, mix in an egg, add 1/4 tsp. baking powder, and some salt and pepper. Then you can just cook your leftover mashed potato pancakes in a frying pan. This meal idea is sure to be a crowd pleaser, just like most potatoe dishes.

Meal Idea Made from Leftovers: Chicken Breast Pasta
Chicken breasts make a great meal during the week since they can be paired with any sides and are quick and easy to cook, they also make a great meal idea when they are leftover.

Dicing up a leftover chicken breast and mixing it in with a pasta and a sauce (i.e. spaghetti, alfredo, etc.) is one leftovers meal idea that is both simple and delicious.

You don't need to purchase meals for seven nights at the beginning of each week if you get creative on Sunday night. There are many ways that you can turn the meals that you have enjoyed throughout the week into some amazing meal ideas by simply adding some ingredients that most already have in their kitchen.