Leftovers...

"Including leftovers in your meal plan is a great way to not only save, but give yourself a night off in the kitchen. Leftovers are any part of a meal not eaten the day it was made. From sauces, to veggies, to meats saving it all will help stretch your groceries further. You work hard to earn money for your family, so why continue to work, just to throw that hard earned money in the trash? Throwing wasted food into the trash is doing exactly that. You are throwing away perfectly edible food, that your family could use. Eating leftovers puts your hard earned money back into your pockets, as well as, frees up more time to spend with that family of yours. I like to think of leftovers as getting a whole meal or part of a meal for free. We all love that four letter word right? It means we got something, without paying for it. Sa-weet! Leftovers are something that could have been tossed in the trash, but you are able to find a way to reuse it again." 

Excerpt from Living a Beautiful Life on Less

XO Danielle

P.S.

I saw you can find my book on Ebay too for less than $10. I'm pretty giddy over it :)

Simple Garlic Toast...

Morning lovelies! Today we are talking about garlic toast. It is probably one of my favorite things to eat! I have been a big buyer of the garlic toast you can find in the freezer section of the grocery store for quite some time. It has got to be one of my favorite Italian side dishes. It cooks quickly on my griddle and the whole family loves them. I have always wanted to make it myself though, but you need to have a broiler setting on your oven and until recently I was convinced my oven lacked that setting. I know! I know! Big blond moment on my part. 

One day I was cleaning my oven and I noticed a button that said broiler! What the heck!? I have a broiler setting? I asked Hubby and he said "of course it has a broiler setting". How have I been cooking on this dang oven for over a year and did not notice the broil setting? Like I said before, HUGE blond moment. Once I found that setting, I knew I needed to try garlic toast at home. No longer would my leftover hot dog buns go uneaten. I would be able to use them as garlic toast. Woot! Woot! I was excited to give it a try.

My first try was an epic fail. I put them about 2 inches away from the boiler (top of my oven) and left them in there for 10 minutes. I am sure you can guess what happened? Yep, I burned them. It was like I was ten again and had burned the burritos in the microwave. Remember that one Dad? I was notorious for putting things in the microwave, hitting way too many zeros, and forget that I was cooking something. I'd come back later, only to see the kitchen filled with smoke and my Dad tossing yet another plate of burritos in the trash. Boy did that man have patience with my cooking or lack of really.

 

After a few tries ending with burnt bread, I decided to give it one last shot. I was a bit defeated, but I felt maybe this time would be the time I would get perfectly toasted garlic bread. Guess what? It worked!

Through my epic fails, I learned a few things. For my oven, I have learned that placing my oven rack in the upper middle keeps my toast from burning. I put it on the high broil setting and check it every few minutes. It usually takes 5-8 minutes to cook. These little gems are super yummy and are a great way to use up leftover buns. Using up leftovers is a great way to stretch your grocery budget further!

 

Super simple and will make a great addition to your next dinner. If you try out this recipe, tag me on Instagram. You can find me at "blissful_and_domestic". I love seeing all the yummy things you are creating. You guys rock!

Simple Garlic Toast

Leftover hot dog buns or hoagie rolls

garlic salt

butter/margarine

parsley

Place opened buns on an ungreased baking sheet. Spread generously with butter or margarine. Next sprinkle with garlic salt and parsley. Set your oven to broil (I used my high broil setting) and cook for 5-8 minutes. Check your buns often, so they don't overcook. Serve solo as a snack or as a yummy Italian side dish! Enjoy!

XO Danielle

Using Leftovers- Hawaiian Pizza, Italian Casserole, French Toast, and More!

Good morning lovelies! Last night was leftover day in our house. That meant I pulled everything out of the fridge and we had ourselves  a little feast. On the menu this week was leftover meatballs and potatoes, Italian casserole, Hawaiian pizza, French toast, salsa chicken, creamy chicken soup, and a cucumber (it needed to be used up). Each person picks a main dish. We do first come first serve. We each serve ourselves up and heat it in the microwave. Then everyone had some cucumber slices to go with. We decided to start a Harry Potter Marathon. Keagan has been reading the books, so we thought watching the movies would be a great way to have him see the difference between the books and movies. He loved every minute of it. It is also fun to have book nerd moments with your son as we chat about all things Harry Potter. It made this mamas heart very happy.

Remember that eating leftovers is a great way to save your family money. Leftovers means giving your checkbook a night off. This is food that most people throw away, but you are a smartie, so you save it. It is like eating for free! We all love that four letter word right?

How do you guys do leftovers in your house?

XO Danielle





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Rice and Broccoli Casserole: a casserole made from all leftovers - woot! woot!

Hey ladies and gents! I have a few moments to myself this morning and I so I wanted to hop onto the blog real quick. I wanted to share a homestyle, comforting recipe that the whole family loves. This one is perfect for when you have an over flow of rice and veggie leftovers in the fridge. Using up leftovers is like eating for free peeps and you stretch your groceries further by eating them! Your using up something that most people toss away. So use those leftovers people.....Seriously....your wallet will thank you :)

Here is today's recipe. It makes me smile and want to shout Yum!Yum!Yum!

 Hence the words in the picture blow  :)

Rice and Broccoli Casserole

2 cups cooked rice
1 cup cooked sausage
1/3 cup dehydrated carrots
1/4 cup dehydrated onions
1 cup cooked broccoli
3/4 cup fried onions
1 can full of milk
10 3/4 oz. cream of chicken soup
1 tsp sage, paprika, garlic powder, celery seed
2 handfuls of shredded cheese
generously season with seasoning salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, except fried onions. Put into a greased casserole dish. Cover the top with fried onions and cheese. Bake @350 for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

*This is a great recipe for using up that leftover rice.
*We use only 1/2 cup of sausage. This helps stretch our meat supply during the month.
*This is a great recipe for using up veggie leftovers too!
*I like to serve this with a scrumptious strawberry and banana fruit salad. Yum!


What are your favorite casserole dishes?

XO Danielle

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Leftovers.....

Tonight is leftover night. We are heating up some leftover potato pizza and watching a movie. This is exactly how a leftover night should be. I love leftover nights, since I feel like I am getting a meal for free. I am using up a meal that others might have thrown away. It is also a night when I don't have to cook. We heat things up in the microwave, relax in our pj's, and enjoy a family movie. Not too bad for a Saturdy Night.

P.S.
Potato Pizza is awesome. Make some mashed potatoes and place them in a 9x13 baking dish. Add your pizza toppings and bake for 25-30 minutes @350. Dinner in under 30  minutes rocks!

P.P.S
The winner of the Tea Ribbons Giveaway is Katrina Hutchins.
Email me lady and we can get you your prize:)

XO Danielle