Leftovers

DD, SiL and GS1 &2 got over their tonsillitis enough to come for lunch on Easter Sunday. Assorted cheeses and cold meat and enough left over for our lunch on Monday!

I tend to over-cater with the express view to living off the remnants for the next few days. At present, we still have half a ham, a large homemade sausage roll - enough for 8 and half a trifle. Oh and half a sminel cake and some potato salad and green salad and lots of cheeses. I haven't had a proper dinner since Saturday as we saved ourselves for a massive tea on Sunday and have just had the leftovers since. This suits my lazy side .

I am always a bit disgruntled on those occasions when we cater and others really get stuck in and then there is not enough left for the week to follow! Notably, I always make a chocolate and port trifle for Christmas Day, but don't expect it to be started until Boxing Day. I was horrified a couple of years ago when I had 2 brothers and niece come for Christmas Day and they stuck into it with gusto.

Worst of all - eldest child's eighth birthday party. For years we had not had to think of making a meal for ourselves after the biorthday parties ... we just munched on the leftover goodies (pink wafer biscuits and skips, sigh...) Then came the time when the children fell upon every scrap of food like locusts and cleared every plate, including refills. There was nothing left for us - trauma!!!!!!!

I cooked a large leg of lamb (serves 10-11 ) plus another half leg 'just in case'. There were 9 of us (3 children) and the whole of the large one went on Sunday and the other was used last night for 4 of us with bubble and squeak.
There was pudding(s) and cake left thank goodness!

When it's gone, it's gone as they say (and if there is some left then goodoh)

As an alternative to currying cold lamb, it can easily be turned into a delicious moussaka - I'm not keen on aubergines however, so I use thinly sliced par cooked potatoes instead - (though personally, I must admit that making moussaka with fresh minced lamb is probably tastier - but that's just me!)

We eat lots of unlikely food combinations made out of leftovers. They are usually yummy.

Recently I discovered that EasiYo lemon yogurt is a very good cold custard substitute on cold fruit crumble.

I find roast lamb put in the oven again for half an hour tastes just as good as it did first time round so the remains of our leg of lamb is in the freezer to make the basis of a roast lunch next Sunday. The remains will be frozen to be incorporated into a Lamb biryani at some time..

I freeze leftovers then there is no pressure to eat unlikely combinations of foods.

Largest leg of lamb I could see fed four adults one serving each with just enough left for sarnies today and the chocolate fudge cake was shared between the three of them.
We're obviously a greedy bunch

Tonight we're having yesterday's left over leg of lamb. I've cubed some of it and put it in dish with the left over gravy. The left over mash and turnip has been stirred together as a topping. Not sure there's enough topping so as it's almost ready, crisping on top, I've added 4 slices of home made garlic bread. A very lazy tin of peas to add some greenery to the plate

The remaining lamb may be a lamb/cheese/chilli paninni for everyone tomorrow.

I always cut leftover lamb into chunk, fry an onion, add the lamb,cook, make a gravy in the pan (use any leftovers) and serve with mash and any leftover veg. Love it!

Charleygirl I second that! With 3 dogs there's no problems with leftovers

I envy all of you who had roast lamb for easter sunday,we never have it as DH hates lamb he says he remembers when he was a child his mother would serve it cold the next day with white sauce and it put him off for life.

I love cold lamb, yum and a sandwich, even yummier.

I work on the basis that if there is nothing left over people could obviously eaten more and feel as though I've under catered. Luckily we love cold meat, bubble and squeak and pickles or dh will reheat a plate of leftovers covered in gravy for lunch the next day. I force myself to eat any left over puds!

We too hate cold lamb - DH in particular because he has bad memories of his mum's cold lamb sandwiches for school lunch on many a Monday .

Our leftover lamb (there is a lot) is being turned into a couple of shepherd's pies - one for this evening and one for the freezer. I saved the lovely rich gravy from yesterday's meal and that will be added too.

I nearly always do too many vegetables, but these days I simply whiz them up and freeze them in portions for baby GD.

My mother always sent us home with a 'Red Cross parcel', and I now do the same. I would rather not have too much tempting food left in the house after visitors, but never under-cater.

My OH is always saying to my DCs that no-one will ever go hungry if I'm catering Everyone always leaves with bags full of 'next-weeks-lunch', plus there's still enough for us! Cold meat and bubble and squeak with pickle today - yum!

I've sent both sets of visitors off with a large packet of cold gammon, beef and turkey and there is still plenty left for us and everyone ate well so I probably did buy too much still we all have something cold for today so no-one has too cook. Big hole made in the wine though!

cold lamb & pickles, luvly

We both hate cold lamb so was quite grateful that the full leg I had cooked yesterday was vigorously attacked for second helpings by GS and SiL so there wasn't a lot left over. Any other roast meat I'm happy to eat cold. I am trying to get out of the habit of keeping small portions of leftover things to put on the freezer. They are almost always totally ignored thereafter and just take up space.

I love leftovers, even if only 1 portion for the freezer. When entertaining I am like Nigella- never knowingly undercatered.

I too have a plate of cold Dorset lamb in the fridge ... today however we are having roast chicken as other DD coming for lunch and she dos not eat red meat. Will probably turn lamb into shepherds pie or kofta.

I always unintentionally over cater and am now left with several tinfoil parcels in the fridge. I usually press lots of uneaten food on the visitors to take home with them but I think they have got wise to my tactics and they seem to make a run for it!

Leftovers are great. Cold meat & pickles, shepherds pie, bubble & squeak, cold custard