Quickest Hearty Fall & Winter Family Meals for Pennies-per-Person

If you need extremely quick, healthy and hearty family meals for fall through winter, read on! Turn leftovers into one-dish family meals for pennies-per-person.

Individual Hawaiian Pizzas

Open up and split into halves on a baking sheet, one package of 6 to 8 whole wheat or bran English muffins, making 12 to 16 individual pizza crusts. Then add 1 tablespoon leftover spaghetti sauce smeared over each half-muffin crust.

Over the spaghetti sauce add leftover bits of any meat (roast, hamburger, chicken or Spam) plus 1 teaspoon crushed pineapple on each. Cover with grated mozzarella cheese and broil on high (or microwave) just until cheese is melted, or for a couple of minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Loaded Quesadillas

Place a whole wheat flour tortilla on a round pizza pan and cover with a thin layer of grated Mexican cheeses. Sprinkle bits of leftover meats and vegetables over the cheese, sprinkling with another layer of cheese and adding another flour tortilla on top.

Broil (or microwave) for a couple of minutes and use a pizza cutter to cut into wedges. Serve with several individual bowls of mild and/or hot red and green chili salsas, guacamole and sour cream to pile-on or load inside.

Double Baked Potatoes

Bake one brown, red or gold potato per person in a microwave for 20 minutes, piercing skin lightly with fork once or twice prior to cooking. Allow to cool, cut each in half, and fluff potatoes with a fork.

Onto each fluffed potato half add leftover meats, veggies and cover with grated cheese. Broil or microwave just until cheese is melted. Cool before serving.

Sweet & Sour Fried Rice

Leftover brown rice can be turned into sweet and sour fried rice. Simply fry rice in olive oil, crack-in one or two eggs, mix and fry until the eggs are cooked completely. Add frozen peas, leftover vegetables, crushed pineapple (with juice) and soy sauce (lower salt variety) to taste. Continue cooking just until frozen peas have warmed and then serve.

Tostadas

Place several corn tortillas onto a baking sheet and onto each one add refried or black beans and leftover meat. Top each one with grated Monterey Jack cheese and broil just until the cheese is melted.

After cooling pile on shredded lettuce, tomatoes and avocado slices. Drizzle salsa, lemon juice or vinaigrette and olive oil over the top of the salad. Add an optional dollop of sour cream and pitted black olive on top.

Turkey Stroganoff

Made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey pieces and gravy, heated together in a large frying pan to thicken. Boil egg noodles in a large boiling pot along with fresh chopped broccoli, cubed eggplant or zucchini, according to package directions.

Drain noodles and vegetables adding them directly to the thickened turkey gravy. Serve immediately after mixing cooked veggies and noodles into the gravy.

Making quick healthy hearty family dinners doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming. Try these one-dish family meals created from leftovers, with kids in mind for just pennies-per-person!