If you cringe at the thought of throwing out leftovers, there\’s plenty of tips online for using up leftover fruit, veg and bread around the web – here\’s some tips for using up other items.
Cornflakes that have started to go stale make an excellent filler for burger patties – mush them into your meat or vegetable mix using your hands, in place of flour or breadcrumbs. If you\’ve got leftover muesli that\’s starting to go dry and tasteless, use it as a base for cookies or even as a pie crust by adding some milk. Bonus: it\’s all gluten free.
Leftover cooked rice can be reinvigorated by adding it to a curry or a stir fry – just add a little extra liquid to the pan to help it become soft and fluffy again.
If you have leftover mince after taco or burrito night – or any kind of Mexican inspired filling – cut open a capsicum, pop the filling inside, add some cheese on top, and freeze for a quick and easy dinner on another night.
Odds and ends from an antipasto platter – cheese, olives etc – can be chopped up fine and used in a quiche or savory muffins.
If you have wine lying around that you don\’t want to drink (whether you\’re cutting down or it\’s been in the fridge for too long), white wine and coconut cream can be used as the base for an amazing vegan pasta sauce; it\’s also a great pairing for any kind of white meat that\’s going in a pan or on the grill, giving it a fruity, tangy edge. Red wine is perfect in a meat and tomato based pasta sauce, or a stew.
Leftover beer can be used to make beer bread – just add three cups of self raising flour and a tablespoon of sugar for each can of beer. Otherwise, use the liquid to glaze meat and vegetables before barbecuing.
Odds and ends of pasta dishes can be used in a soup – whether it\’s noodles or spirals, sauced or plain, it will make your dish heartier and add some extra flavour.