micmt 120 Posted December 13, 2014 Yes I now have left overs! It kills me to throw it away. But I love the fact that there are left overs. I know some people will say just don't make as much. Well that's hard. to do when the recipe calls for making a meal for four. My wife eats, My young kids pick at it and I just taste. Then I put the rest in the fridge until I have no more room. By Friday I dump everything and we start the dance over again. No one in my family likes to eat left overs Another note: I buy a quarter beef every spring. I'm perplexed on how to use the beef now when I know a lot of it might get thrown away once it's cooked. I still have a good portion left from my last quarter so just not buying this spring does not help. I know the small problems we face after getting this surgery done. Anyone else have these difficult decisions to make lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rte837 141 Posted December 13, 2014 I have raccoons that come up to my deck all the time. I give my left overs to them. I really enjoy watching them and it appeases all guilt of wasting good food. Best fed raccoons in the state!! But it helps me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SandyS 77 Posted December 13, 2014 Depending on what my leftovers are I split them up into one portion containers and eat them over several days. I'm only eating mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, chili, and yogurt. I'm in the puréed stage. I also made tuna and chicken salad blended in a food processor. Neither of them sat well in my grouch pouch so I gave it to my dogs. They loved it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Djmohr 6,965 Posted December 13, 2014 I definitely follow the same process. What's worse is my hubby is currently trying to lose weight using Jenny Craig so I am really just cooking for me. That is really hard as I like to cook and crave homemade healthy food. His problem is, he cannot control his portion size and always over does it and he has not has WLS nor is he interested, he is a chicken! Anyway, I end up cooking too much and I either tire of it or it does not freeze well or my grouch pouch doesn't like it. I end up tossing it. SandYS, I had to laugh because that is what I call my pouch as well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kindle 8,667 Posted December 13, 2014 (edited) My dogs love that I have leftovers! But I do have a lot less now that I bought a food saver vacuum sealer. I am single, so only cooking for one. As soon as I make something, I divide it into individual portions, vacuum seal and freeze it. Makes my dogs sad ????. And here's a tip for stuff that is soft and would get squished when vacuumed....freeze it first, then vacuum seal. When I was in college my mom used to make me individual "TV dinners". She was used to cooking for a family of six, so she always had tons of leftovers once we all grew up and moved out and it was just her and my dad. She saved the little plastic trays from lean cuisines, etc and would put a plate full of food in them, freeze it, then vacuum seal it. She would stock up and I Would bring them back to school with me when I was home for a visit. It was GREAT having Mom's homemade cooking. As for the beef, I hunt and got an elk this fall. I traded some of it for a friend's venison, and I'll give a lot of it away, but I also gave the game processor instructions to make smaller bundles....1 steak per pack instead of 2-4, 1/2 pound burger packs instead of 1 pound, etc. And I've already made some of the roasts into Jerky because I eat that everyday. It's working out great for me, so I don't know if that's an option with your butcher. Edited December 13, 2014 by Kindle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
filmgal 45 Posted December 13, 2014 My husband hunts too and we took an 1800 pound bison before I had WLS. We had also had two pigs butchered. Sooooo we traded for veggies and beef with our neighbor and whenever I cook and have leftovers, either the dogs get it or the llamas or the pigs (until we sold them). Now the fun way we share. What I've done is I cook dinner and take it to our neighbors every once in awhile. We only have 3 in a close by and that way I satisfy my urge to cook for the fifth army, and I get to eat tiny amounts and visit! I don't mind leftovers and neither does our farm manager so that takes care of the rest. Husband doesn't like leftovers, but even he has taken to eating some LOL. By the way, bison is the best meat ever. Just cook it really slowly till it falls apart. We have been blessed with an abundance of farm fresh food and as long as I keep it small, share and compost the rest, life is good! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Inner Surfer Girl 12,015 Posted December 13, 2014 I have raccoons that come up to my deck all the time. I give my left overs to them. I really enjoy watching them and it appeases all guilt of wasting good food. Best fed raccoons in the state!! But it helps me! Be careful! Raccoons like it when they are fed well and don't like it so much when they aren't. We had family friends who fed raccoons and when they went on vacation the raccoons broke into their house and trashed the place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kindle 8,667 Posted December 13, 2014 My husband hunts too and we took an 1800 pound bison before I had WLS. We had also had two pigs butchered. Sooooo we traded for veggies and beef with our neighbor and whenever I cook and have leftovers, either the dogs get it or the llamas or the pigs (until we sold them). Now the fun way we share. What I've done is I cook dinner and take it to our neighbors every once in awhile. We only have 3 in a close by and that way I satisfy my urge to cook for the fifth army, and I get to eat tiny amounts and visit! I don't mind leftovers and neither does our farm manager so that takes care of the rest. Husband doesn't like leftovers, but even he has taken to eating some LOL. By the way, bison is the best meat ever. Just cook it really slowly till it falls apart. We have been blessed with an abundance of farm fresh food and as long as I keep it small, share and compost the rest, life is good! where did he get his bison? It's my second favorite meat ???? Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention the 4H pig I got this summer and the 50 pounds of grass fed angus steaks and burgers that one of the local ranchers gave to me and the vet to split. I'm loving it cause I hate grocery shopping. Thank goodness for large freezers and my vacuum sealer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
filmgal 45 Posted December 13, 2014 We have a neighbor who has a HUGE ranch and he has a herd of about 100 head. We took the senior bull as he had taken to jumping fences and wandering. He was very large. This year we will go for a younger bull. At any rate where are you... what state? This is a good time to hunt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Djmohr 6,965 Posted December 13, 2014 I have been thinking about buying a vacumn sealer and after reading this I actually went on line and researched them and finally bought one. Not just to help with leftovers but I am always shopping at costco and breaking up large packages of meat. Thanks for sealing the deal! " pardon the pun" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
filmgal 45 Posted December 13, 2014 Wow we are in Washington near Spokane, perhaps a hunt will be in the future? :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
filmgal 45 Posted December 13, 2014 Wow we are in Washington near Spokane, perhaps a hunt will be in the future? :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites