Making the Best Out of Leftovers

Some people love to cook; they like to dream up new recipes, cook 3 course meals every night, and consider themselves culinary geniuses even if they have been stuck in an entry level position at an accounting firm for the last 3 years! Not all of us have this same cooking desire or the time. For those who want to make delicious food and make it easily and quickly then you are going to love making food that you cook once and eat twice!

Cook once and eat twice? You mean leftovers? Well, yes and no. Three different main entrees that come to mind that can be used to create an entirely different entree are Roast Chicken, Broiled Pork Loin, and Grilled Flank Steak. You can cook these main courses and then use what is left to make entirely different entrees the next day, or a couple of days later. Most of these meats will stay fresh in the refrigerator at least a couple of days if packaged properly.

The first main dish that you can cook once but eat twice is Roasted Chicken. HaveRoasted Chickenfor dinner and have pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches for lunch the next day. In case you don't know how to properly roast a chicken, read below for a quick and easy roasted chicken recipe.

1. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 350.

2. Place the chicken in the roaster pan and place in oven for 20 minutes for each pound the chicken weighs. Once you equate the amount of time it will take for the chicken to cook, add an additional 15 minutes to your figure.

3. Baste the chicken with the juices from the chicken as it cooks. You can use a baster if you have one; otherwise just use a large spoon or ladle to pour the drippings back over the chicken.

4. After the appropriate cooking time has passed, stick a meat thermometer into the thigh of the chicken (don't hit the bone). Once the temperature has reach 165 then the chicken is finished cooking in the oven.

5. Remove the chicken from the oven and place two layers of aluminum foil over the chicken. This will allow the chicken to steam within the confines of the aluminum foil and make for a juicier chicken.

To use the chicken that wasn't eaten for the meal, cut up the remaining chicken, add BBQ sauce of your choosing and stir. This will make for a greatBBQ Chicken Sandwich for lunch!

Additional meat from a broiled pork loin can also be used for another meal. Simply chop up the remaining portions of the broiled pork loin and add them into a salad. You can also slice up a pear and add walnuts to the broiled pork loin saladas well. These cook once and eat twice meals should be giving you the idea that maybe buying and cooking larger than necessary cuts of meat can benefit you in the long run. Since you are going to be cooking anyway, you may as well make a large enough portion to ensure leftovers that you can enjoy as another meal later on.

My favorite meal to cook one but eat twice is Grilled Flank Steak. Grilling flank steak is quick enough as is, but to know that the pieces of flank steak left over can be used for another meal just sweetens the pot. Whatever leftover meat you have from the grilled flank steak, you can use later when making fajitas.

Yes you are using leftovers, but this is more than just eat and then reheat later. This is cooking once and eating twice but you are using the cuts of meat or poultry in a completely different manner and either having an amazing lunch for the next day or if there are enough leftover cuts of meat, you can cut your cooking time for the next night's dinner in half, if not more!