Welcome back to the grocery budget series I am in the middle of writing.  In this series, I will share the top 20 ways that I can think of that our large family uses to keep the grocery budget from getting out of line.  To learn more, visit our introduction.  Here is tip 15:

Make use of leftovers: It seems silly, but, that one chicken finger left over, the bit of fries that isn’t enough to feed us all again but is enough for a meal for one, the burrito filling that will fill another two burritos…  Store all of that for a “this and that” meal.  Everyone can have a bit of “this and that” from the past few days – no new food is prepared and leftover food does not go to waste.  Some of these leftovers could probably be frozen also, for a time when you have enough leftovers to feed your whole family a meal, if leftovers from a couple of days won’t be enough.

If there are enough or barely enough leftovers for another meal, consider ways that you can make a new meal using your leftovers.  Maybe instead of eating leftover roast the next day, you can turn the roast into a shredded meat sandwich or a  burrito, or cut it up and make a quick “beef bits and gravy.”  Cut up leftover meatloaf into slices and make a yummy sandwich.  Leftover turkey can go into a casserole or soup.  Leftover corned venison can be made into a breakfast hash.  There are so many things you can do with leftovers.