Thursday, January 7, 2010

Homemade TV Dinners aka Leftover Lunch Buffet


Ever have just a little bit of leftover but really don't want to throw it away?  What about having several bits of leftovers sitting in your fridge and you are just not sure what to do with it? Are you wondering how to make meals stretch through the month during the eat out of the pantry challenge?  What about doing homemade TV dinners?  I do them on a regular basis for my hubby's lunches and at least once a week for the kids and me.

I have heard of people taking those bits of leftovers and putting them in the freezer until they get a bunch of little bits and then either making a soup or casserole out of all the little bits.  Well since my family isn't big on soups or casseroles, I don't save much in the way of little bits in the freezer because I know that they would get lost in the bottom of the freezer! Instead of freezing the little bits I keep them in the fridge and make homemade TV dinners for the kids(and me) at least once a week for lunch time.

Lunch time seems to be the best time for the homemade TV dinners because then if they are bit on the light side it is okay because I know that my dinner meal will be a hearty meal.

I usually don't end up with leftover veggies so when I do the homemade TV dinners I let the kids chose either apple slices or raw carrots or both to have with their meal.  I also let them have a slice of buttered bread(if they are not eating a sandwich already). I also let them have a sweet treat like a mini candy bar or a cookie, if there is any baked.

When it is time for lunch, I take the time to go through the fridge and find all the containers of little bits that are available and need to be eaten before their fridge time has expired.  I fix up the plates with the different combinations on them, put a piece of plastic over the plate and heat it up in the microwave.  I leave the plastic on the plate to keep the food warm while I heat the other plates up.

I love to hear my kids come up to the counter and exclaim "homemade TV dinners"!!  Yum!

Homemade TV dinners are easy, nutritious, money-saving and 100% kid friendly!

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8 comments:

Jennifer said...

We are having leftovers tonight and I can't wait to get my fridge cleaned out. So much clutter!

Judy said...

What a great idea!

Amy said...

this is a great way to use all of the food you have and not let it go to waste. Thanks for linking up today. I am glad you came on by... Have a great weekend.

Amy Lynne said...

I've started freezing our leftovers too. We would never eat them if I left them in the refrigerator. Great post!

Diane said...

terrific idea!

Diane Schmidt said...

sounds like a great hot lunch!

Christy said...

By calling it a TV dinner instead of leftovers it makes it so much more appealing!

Lori said...

I've actually started make Monday evening our CORN night(Clean Out Refrigerator Night). Same idea. We have a crazy schedule on Monday and this makes it easy for everyone to eat when they have a minute, before they head to the next thing...