Works For Me: Easy and Fast Slimming Dinners

A little bit of this
and a little bit of that,
eating all the leftovers
can make a momma
F_A_T!

I cannot tell you how many times I eat a spoonful or two (or more) of SOMETHING left in the pan because I don't want to waste food, and it is too small to make another meal out of. I also cannot tell you how many POUNDS I have put on as a result of trying not to waste food! It is not only unhealthy, but also unsightly (those flabby thighs do nothing for my figure!).

So what's a girl to do? I could learn to cook ONLY what my family would eat and nothing more, but their appetites vary from meal to meal and from day to day. And more than not, I would end up with hungry little children who whine and complain (and wake up EARLY in the morning because of a hungry tummy).

I remember reading in an Amish cookbook about a woman who kept a clear Tupperware like container in her freezer where she dumped all the leftovers (including the one or two spoonfuls) and at the end of the week, made a soup/stew.

The idea of that sounded DISGUSTING to me at first. Mexican food from Monday night mixed with Indian food from Wednesday night mixed with Italian from Thursday?!?! NO THANK YOU!

However, when my husband heard the idea HE LOVED IT. A few days after Christmas, when we were sick of turkey and had tons of leftovers, he stuck EVERYTHING (and I do mean everything: stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes EVEN THE CRANBERRY SAUCE) in the crockpot, added some chicken broth and set it to go. I will admit, that was some of the BEST eatin' I have ever had!

So I started trying it. Whenever a meal is finished, I take the leftovers and put them in a container in the fridge. Monday through Thursday I do this. I have found the secret to making ANYTHING taste REALLY GOOD together (and I do mean lip smacking can't believe I didn't do this earlier GOOD) is to add chicken broth and sautéed onions. So Friday morning, after breakfast, I sauté some onions (I like to make them a little brown). I scrape them into the crockpot, add my container of leftovers, my chicken broth and set to go. Dinner time everyone comes running!

If you do not have a crockpot, you can STILL do this and make a casserole! Add some breadcrumbs on top to help soak up some of the broth, sprinkle cheese on top shortly before serving and once brown,... YUMMO! Dinner is served.

A quick and easy meal that will help you slim down because you are not eating all those leftovers by yourself. Try it. I am sure you will like it. You just have to get over your fear of mixing foods (like I did). Last Friday literally was Spaghetti and sauce, corn, (Italian) a little bit of left over curried vegetables (Indian), Mexican vegetables (like vegetarian taco meat), refried beans, black beans, and hot sauce (Mexican). This was SO GOOD! We served it on top of corn chips with salsa and shredded cheese with lettuce. My daughter said it was so yummy I needed to write down the recipe so we could have it again. LOL!

Works For Me Wednesday is a creation of Rocks in My Dryer.