Sunday, April 8, 2012

WEEKLY MENU

What does your refrigerator look like after a special weekend or holiday? Does it look like mine? Filled to the brim with leftovers? A little of this and a lot of that? An unorganized  frig full of leftovers is enough to give me heartburn!

I am not really a leftover kind of gal... especially eating them several nights in a row. Here are a couple easy tips to use up those leftovers and keep your refrigerator free from the remains of a holiday meal...

*Share the culinary wealth! When you have a big multi-family holiday meal, divided up all the leftovers and put them into zip-type bags and disposable containers. Display all the food on the counter, give out one brown grocery bag per family, then.... pick and choose what you  want to take home! Everyone wins!

*Freeze everything! Put leftovers in freezer bags, label them and make a list of what you are putting in the freezer. Believe me... make a list. I can tell you a story of an Easter ham hiding out in the back of my freezer till Thanksgiving! Not a happy ending!!!!

* Plan ahead for leftovers. If you know you will have extra ham or turkey or eggs find some yummy recipes before a holiday or big family meal that will remake the leftovers completely. I usually wait a week or so to remake them. My poor Bobby has nightmares about eating ham every night for 2 weeks after Easter when he was a child. To this day a big ham in our house is limited to only a few times a year... but ham croquettes, ham and cauliflower a gratin, ham fritata, chicken eugene (made with ham), ham steaks on the grill or broccoli and ham strata are all enthusiastically welcomed to the table!

*Make soup! You can make soup out of almost any leftover... including mashed potatoes!  Turkey carcasses, ham bones and other meats make a great base for soups.

Getting your leftovers out of the frig and into someone else's or putting them in your freezer (with a plan) will make you feel more organized.  And if you are like me it is just one less thing to clean up after a big holiday!

If you need a great way to use all those Easter eggs up see Tuesday's menu!


Now here's what's ON THE MENU...


MONDAY
Mussels In Artichoke Cups
Baguette Crostini



TUESDAY
Do you have a lot of leftover hard boiled eggs from Easter? Here is a delicious recipe for egg salad using cream cheese and spring herbs. I have been making this since college~ it is a winner!
Open Face Egg Salad BLT
Butter Crunch Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette




WEDNESDAY
Eggplant Towers
Whole Wheat Spaghetti


THURSDAY
White Chicken Chili
Mexican Explosion Salad


FRIDAY~ SOUP'S ON
Roasted Corn And Bacon Chowder
Homemade Beer Bread








SATURDAY
Grilled Planked Salmon
Polenta Toasts With Brie And Sauteed Mushrooms
Roasted Green Beans And Cashews

SUNDAY~ LEFTOVER MAKEOVER
White Chicken Chili Stuffed Potatoes
Broccoli Salad


PRINTABLE RECIPES
Mussels In Artichoke Cups
Anchovy Vinaigrette

StoneGable Culinary Tutorials
StoneGable Egg Salad With Cream Cheese And Herbs
same post for Open Face Eggs Salad BLT
Roasted Corn And Bacon Chowder


NOW WHAT'S ON YOUR MENU...




Thanks, for joining us and sharing!

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* Please link back to ON THE MENU MONDAY in the body of your post
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23 comments:

  1. Great leftover tips Yvonne! I see your corn soup... they had fresh corn on the cob at Walmart on Friday, grabbed a couple ears for lunch, it was pretty good! Enjoy the soup:@)

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  2. Yummy menu, Yvonne! I look forward to your tutorials later in the week!

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  3. Hi Yvonne,
    Your Menu Plan for the week and that Corn Chowder looks awesome. Hope you have a wonderful week and thank you so much for hosting!
    Miz Helen

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  4. I love eggplant,your recipe sound like a winner. Corn chowder I have never made and I think I will try it. Have a great week and keep up the good work.

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  5. I love the leftover tips and you menu is, as always, first rate.I hope you had a great holiday and can look forward to a wonderful week ahead. Blessings...Mary

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  6. Oh my goodness dear Ivonne, your menu sounds fabulous, wow! I'm loving the bread! I like the left over tips too. Hope you had a wonderful and blessed EASTER HOLIDAY. Have a lovely week. Thank you for hosting and having me. Hugs,
    FABBY

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  7. I love your menu for this week - and appreciated the freezer tips. I am currently afraid to excavate my deep freeze! I believe there *might* be a Shepherd`s pie lurking somewhere that was made sometime around 1998. (Don`t tell anyone;)

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  8. I do believe my chef hubby has met his match

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  9. Hope you had a blessed Easter Yvonne. Thanks for the left-over suggestions. My SIL always fixes a bag for us to take home and we really enjoy left-over turkey and ham. Your weekly menu, as always, sounds delicious. For many years I had to plan a week in advance and do all of my shopping one day a week. Now I plan only a few days in advance. I can't imagine going to the store without a list.

    Thank you for hosting On the Menu Monday. I've brought a Dutch Baby with Lemon Sugar to the party today. It's perfect for a special breakfast or even as a easy dessert.
    Sam

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  10. The menu this week sounds fantastic...going back to print those recipes!...Who needs a cookbook when I have you!

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  11. I will definitely be putting our leftovers to good use! I can't wait to make navy bean or split pea soup with the ham bone. I brought some leftover Easter treats today ;)

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  12. love the leftover tips. I am going to get a tad bit more organized and make this happen. We have a big family meal every
    Sunday.

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  13. Mmmm that chowder looks SO good!!! :)

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  14. I just need a cook to stay in my house 24/7 :) Love your blog, love all your pictures. Thanks for hosting!!

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  15. The mussels look amazing! I have been finding the most wonderful, huge artichokes at our dollar store lately, so I will have to try this recipe. Have a great week, Yvonne!
    xo, Andrea

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  16. Thanks for sharing how you make your egg salad, Yvonne! I just did up a batch, using your recipe & I'm not sure I can wait for it to chill. I'm hungry for it NOW!

    Sorry I don't have anything to contribute to MM this week but thanks for hosting so I can visit all the others.
    Hugs,
    Rett

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  17. Wonderful ideas for leftovers...especially the soup! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  18. THanks for hosting this fun party! I linked up a recipe from my new blog. Your blog is gorgeous! I'm a new follower :)

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  19. Your menu plan this week looks fantastic! I think I am going to have to try the beer bread, and that chowder! Yum! This is my first time linking up, but I have been a follower of your amazing blog for a while now! So happy that you are back. Hope you had a wonderful Easter!
    xo-Lisa

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  20. Another wonderful list of recipes, Yvonne. Your roasted corn and bacon chowder is one of my favorite soup recipes. I have big plans for the bone from our Easter ham. I hope you and your family enjoyed a very Happy Easter.

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  21. Your potato recipe reminded me I want to do a baked potato bar soon ... Your food always looks so lovely! Thanks again for hosting the linkup.

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  23. Delicious recipes! We had a beer bread from a mix once and it was fantastic! Thank you for hosting!
    Sherry

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