Dinner/Leftovers?

[tinatark]

Does anyone else make "just enough" dinner for their family? I usually make enough (just the meat/main course, we do sometimes have sides left over, but we very seldom save those for later) for our family with no leftovers, but people I know just think that's weird - I wonder if anyone else out there cooks like I do?!

 

[C.Ann]

Both my late DH and I (we both cooked) had a very, very hard time adjusting the amount of food we cooked for just the two of us once all of the kids had left home.. We finally got it down to a science, but there are some things we liked better as leftovers than when they were freshly cooked, so in those instances we purposely made extra..

For most of the year I live alone now (live with DD's family part-time) and have gone back to cooking more than I need so that I can make my own version of "tv dinners" for those nights when I want something quick..

When the crew is up here on the weekends and I cook for them, I always make too much, but one way or another, it never goes to waste..

 

[PollyannaMom]

It really depends on what I'm making. There are only 3 of us, so for instance if I'm making a whole chicken, there are always leftovers, but if I'm making something like hamburgers, I make just as many as we'll eat.

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

I just started making "just enough" I actually went to buying those small mini casserole dishes to bake single servings in. And cook everything now, so we have just enough for one meal.

We were wasing SO MUCH FOOD. Or EATING too much b/c we didn't want to waste it.
This way, we are healthier, saving money..b/c ingrediants last ALOT longer and we aren't as wasteful.


ETA: we aren't good at eating leftover's. Unless it's leftover pizza. lol

 

[Master Mason]

I almost always have left overs. I would rather have a little extra that someone can eat as a lunch then to not have enough for everyone at dinner.

 

[87Heel]

It's very rare that I make just the right amount because no one in this family is consistent in the amount they eat!! Sometimes DH comes home starving because he's had a granola bar and a diet coke all day, and sometimes he's had a work lunch. My tiny DD10 can eat 2 burgers and a hot dog some nights; sometimes just a hot dog. This afternoon I made 2 pans of lasagna (if you're going to the trouble of lasagna, you may as well make 2 pans).
Good thing everyone willingly eats leftovers!!

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I usually make just enough, with a little left over that I can take to work for lunch the following day.

 

[Trish Bessette]

I ususally just make what we need that evening. I'm not a left over type of person.

Now, if its a lasagna or something like that then there would be.

 

[wilderness01]

I always make enough for leftovers.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

We are not leftover people either...except for pizza, some pastas and stuff like that.

I try to make just enough. If there are leftovers, I will eat them for lunch but not served again for dinner.

 

[powellrj]

I always make plenty because I never know how many people are eating. Some nights I will have 6 and other nights I will have 2.

 

[breezy1077]

I plan for leftovers when I cook. I find it prevents us from grabbing fast food when we just don't feel like cooking.

 

[mamacatnv]

I like to have enough to take for lunch the next day.

DS just moved out and went to college - he is a huge huge eater and I am really having a hard time adjusting to cooking for 3 instead of the 6 or so I planned on when he was home.

 

[Northstar]

I always make plenty because I never know how many people are eating. Some nights I will have 6 and other nights I will have 2.

Me too.

When I was a kid, any friends of ours who were still around at suppertime were invited to pull up a chair and eat. My Mom would have been so humiliated not to have enough food to put on the table... it was a point of pride and hospitality. Leftovers were often used to stretch the meal to accommodate extra guests.

So that's what I do. But thank goodness for microwaves.... it makes it way easier to heat up a little dab of this and a little dab of that!

 

[NMAmy]

Nope, I can't cook "just enough." I plan on leftovers so it's okay. We use them for lunches and also for dinner on nights when I work late.

Plus, I grew up with my dad who was a fantastic cook. He was always of the opinion that if you do not have leftovers, you did not serve enough because someone may have wanted more to eat but it wasn't available. My dad loved to feed people and always worried that they wouldn't get enough to eat. I'm the same way. Luckily, I come from a family of skinny people although you wouldn't know it to watch us all eat.

 

[sha_lyn]

I plan for leftovers when I cook. I find it prevents us from grabbing fast food when we just don't feel like cooking.

 

[sha_lyn]

I like to have enough to take for lunch the next day.

DS just moved out and went to college - he is a huge huge eater and I am really having a hard time adjusting to cooking for 3 instead of the 6 or so I planned on when he was home.

LOL...ITA
DS has been out of the house just over a yr, and it took forever to adjust to cooking for a family of 3. DS was usually eating more than DH & I combined, and he was bring home hungry friends.
They wouldn't just demolish dinner, but in one evening would put away a weeks worth of snack/junk food.

 

[Todd&Copper]

Since it is just 2 of us, I absolutely try to make enough for 2 nights of dinners at least. Leftovers make my dinner prep so much easier. Sometimes, if I have the time, I'll prepare food over the weekend for us to just heat & eat all week.
The only thing I don't do this with is pasta & sauce, b/c that is super easy and fast to make.

 

[mamacatnv]

LOL...ITA
DS has been out of the house just over a yr, and it took forever to adjust to cooking for a family of 3. DS was usually eating more than DH & I combined, and he was bring home hungry friends.
They wouldn't just demolish dinner, but in one evening would put away a weeks worth of snack/junk food.

He knew if he wanted to eat his fill he had better let me know he was bringing a guest, otherwise the 3 extra portions were me just planning for him.

He is 6'4" 260#'s and an athlete. The boy is always hungry and we never ever throw anything away. He doesn't eat junk food except cereal, he likes "real" food.