If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend you find a recipe that your family loves and that also happens to give you lots of leftovers. This is ironic coming from The Girl Who Hates to Eat Leftovers. But I have to admit there are some dishes that are as good, if not better, the second or third day as they were the first. Soup, in my mind, is one such dish.
The beauty of finding the “dish that keeps on giving” as I like to call it, is that it is usually a one dish meal (think casserole, soup, stew, etc.) and can be served from at lunch, on a planned “leftovers night,” or on one of those nights that you intend to cook something fresh and fabulous, but alas, the day has gotten away from you. Generally speaking, these dishes are just as much work if you make four servings or twelve. Make it on Sunday afternoon, eat it for dinner that night, and then partake as needed during the week. (Again, if you’re very oriented toward planning, which I am not, freeze some portions and then pull it out in a month when everyone has forgotten about it!)
Some of my family’s favorite soups (which provide lots of leftovers) include the following:
Homemade Chicken Noodle
Turkey Chipotle Chile
Lentil Soup
Cream of Asparagus
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder
And last but not least, Orangette’s “Fretwell (Italian Vegetable) Soup,” which I made recently with Baby J (literally) underfoot. I am always surprised that my kids (specifically my son) will eat this soup which has about 7 or 8 types of vegetables in plain view. Oh, and it happens to be the most delicious version of minestrone I have ever tasted. Be sure to serve it over the slices of day-old bread and with plenty of good olive oil drizzled over the top.
What are your favorite “dishes that keep on giving”?
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
mine is black beans and rice. the beans have red peppers & cumin, a little brown sugar. and the rice i doll-up with some lime juice and cilantro. we eat it by itself one night & then as a side dish, with fish or chicken later in the week.
Mmm. Thanks to you and Orangette for the soup recipes! I’m at that point where I’m flirting with spring-ie food but not ready to give up a warm bowl of soup.
Thanks as always for the inspiration! I’m hoping to post about kids art stations over the next weeks and can’t wait to pass along some of your amazing finds–like Yudu!
What a beautiful blog! I’m so happy I stumbled upon it, and am looking forward to spending more time reading it. I found a link to it from you SIL’s blog. :)
My leftover soup is minestrone, but I know my family is getting sick of it. Thanks for these new recipes!
And what cuties you have!
mmmm I love soup. It’s so easy to make, and like you mentioned the leftovers are great.
Bookmarking these to try:
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder
My favorite dish that keeps on giving is actually one from a great cookbook that I discovered last year. Theresa Albert-Ratchford’s, “Cook Once a Week and Eat Well Every Day.”
Her spaghetti sauce has become a staple in our house, as has her brilliant use of it in creative ways (pizza sauce, hearty nachos and burritos). Here’s the link to her website and the recipe:
http://www.thymeforsupper.com/spaghettisauce.htm
I LOVE Jora! So much! She is a perfect mama for here! She inspires and delights me daily. I would love to meet her someday!
Hi Designmom! Gwen Bell told me to check out your website – and I think it is absolutely delicious! She said the wonderful things about you!
Thanks for these great recipes – I am under the weather – like everyone else I seem to meet, that seems to have caught some horrible virus… and these recipes just warmed my soul.
Do you take all these pictures yourself? I think they are incredible! I am a fashion designer of my own clothing line – Sama Baby Organics – you can ask Gwen – and I think you are such an artistic photographer!
aww – those pictures of the kids are awesome, and I can vouch for the Fretwell and Cream of Asparagus soups! I still have some of mine in the freezer! ;-)
where did you get that adorable table and chair? love your posts..