13 Ways I Shall Not Waste

I host Easter. Every year. I really enjoy it... for a number of reasons. But that's not what this is all about. This is about the veritable feast of leftovers I am left with every year. Sure, my sisters-in-law each take a few bites of this and that but, no doubt, the bulk of it is left to be crammed in my refrigerator. And if you think anyone learns from year-to-year that we're all making too. much. food. .... well, you'd be mistaken. And so, this plethora of leftovers is my blessing and my burden.

Here are thirteen ways we're using up the bounty... because part of being frugal is knowing how to avoid waste! But part of being me is, well, not much liking leftovers...

1. I refuse to thaw out any bread. We have two kinds of leftover rolls and they will fill the void until they're gone. My children enjoyed peanut and jelly on theirs for lunch on Monday.
2. I am using up "cheese tray" cheese for anything that requires cheese. Even though the little bits and pieces are sometimes a tad annoying.
3. I am topping scrambled eggs with broccoli with cheese sauce. Alongside toasted rolls. ;)
4. When I made the crepes for our Seafood Crepes (is anyone interested in that recipe, by the way?) on Monday night, I made extra to be filled with diced ham, broccoli, and cheese for a quick lunch.
5. Even though I'd rather have something else, I'm chopping up deviled eggs to make some quickie egg salad.
6. The baby carrots from the crudite tray were chopped and tossed in a beef stew.
7. I'm subbing cracker crumbs (again, from that cheese tray) for bread crumbs in my meatballs this upcoming weekend. And melting leftover mozzarella over them.
   
8. I often serve pumpkin muffins and scrambled eggs for breakfast. This week? Pumpkin roll and hard-boiled eggs. A little odd, yes... but it will get the job done.
9. I have soda coming out of my ears. Hubby and I rarely have it in the house anymore and, thus, rarely drink it. But he's happy to substitute the cold caffeine for his usual caffeinated coffee-- one less thing for me to brew (since I brew my decaf separately!) and handy since we just ran out of the regular stuff.
10. Diced ham packs are already in my freezer. We all really, truly like ham... and we'll be delighted to have it later on. But who wants to eat ham every single day for a week or two???
11. The few spoonfuls of strawberry shortcake topping left after the shortcakes were gone found their way onto my kids' plain oatmeal. Fun!
12. I won't lie... I'm hoarding jelly beans. Bizarre as it is, the only time I like them is when I'm pregnant.
13. And the REAL leftovers? The broccoli stalks, carrot ends, ham bone, etc? They're all set to get put to work making a delicious stock...

Maybe the reason I wind up with all the leftovers really comes down to what my mother-in-law told me as she pushed more food into my arms...

"Because I know you won't waste it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more Thursday {Thirteen}, be sure to visit Happy To Be At Home!