Foods you LOVE as leftovers?

[soypower]

Personally, I LOVE leftovers. But there are some things that I wake up in the middle of night to eat. I'll actually stand in front of the fridge eating it because I know that as soon as I put it away, I'm gonna want more...

Fried Chicken
Som Tum
Linguine with tomato sauce
Cold Pizza
Fried Mandoo

So what are your favorites? Or has this subject already been covered?

[tracylee]

Roast beef. I've always preferred French Dip to the original roast! Give me the leftovers anytime.

[annapurna7]

split pea or lentil soup.

[Caroline1]

At least two of you have now named soup as a favorite leftover. For me, soup is a "plan over." When I make soup, I plan on having a whole lot left, then I put it in individual serving microwave safe cups, lay a film of Saran wrap over the top of the soup, then put the "sip lid" on and stick them in the freezer. The layer of Saran wrap helps prevent ice and frost build up on top of the soup. My fave plan-over soup is mushroom!

[occula]

Caroline - I was about to mention soup, but was thinking "that's not exactly a leftover, it's just, there's more of it!" "Plan over" is exactly the term I needed. I think the flavors continue to blend and mature for the second day. mmm. I usually make a kind of 'random leftovers saved in the freezer supplemented with fresh veggies' soup; I have a couple of containers of random beans and 'roast beef juice' in the freezer right now, calling my name! (edit: so I guess the soup itself is a leftover even on the first day!) :)

[Caroline1]

Favorite leftovers that wear out my arm opening the refrigerator door are... #1 is Yorkshire pudding. Then carrot cake. For either of these I would do well removing the refrigerator door. Quiche, one tiny slice at a time so no one will notice it's disappearing. HA! Just about any kind of stew. They're delicious cold! Leftover enchiladas, especially chicken with green sauce, and the whole time I'm eating one I'm telling myself I should take the time to warm it in a frying pan... <POOF> then it's gone. And I love left over rare roast beef sliced really really thin, then layered on well buttered (the real thing, NO margarine!) gummy white bread with lots of crunchy kosher salt and freshly ground tellecherry black pepper. I'm gonna stop now. I could go on and on, but I'm making myself hungry, and I just finished a huge serving of egg fu yong I made for lunch! Maybe it's true. I am hungry fifteen minutes after eating it. < sigh >

[Bob W]

Noodle kugel and macaroni & cheese. Every reheat means a new crust.

[calicusine]

You can never have enough leftovers when you host a banquet hall event - I like all the buffet basics better the next day(s)...
Baked rigatoni
Potatoes Au Gratin
Fried Chicken
Italian Sausage and Peppers
Sheet Cake

And then of course I enjoy a midnight thanksgiving replay, especially with stuffing

Its interesting that on many occasions where people traditionally serve way too much food, the types of food served make the best leftovers

[KayceeK]

Seems like a consensus on Chinese Food! For me, there's also:

Soup
Stew
Leftover turkey and cranberry sauce in the form of a sandwich

[NellyNel]

Grandma's Lasagna
Thanksgiving dinner (stuffing to be more precise!)
Meatloaf
Moms Lentils and macaroni

[Janet from Richmond]

Meat loaf
Stews, soups, chili
Pot roast
Pizza
Lasagna

[EWSflash]

All of it. I love leftovers, period.

[Sooeygun]

When I was a kid, leftover night was my favourite dinner. There was never enough on one particular thing for everyone to have, so you got pick and choose what you ate. And didn't have to eat the stuff you didn't like.

Now, I eat leftovers almost every weekday for lunch. Even if a leftover dish isn't as good as when first made, it's way better than most of what I can buy near my office. And cheaper too.

[scubadoo97]

When I was growing up Monday was left over night. For me any day can be left over night. Just depends on what's in the fridge. I'm also good ar reinventing leftovers into a new dish.

[DonShirer]

Chili or Spaghetti often tastes better the second day. Strangely, mac&cheese seems better fresh.

[lovessushi]

I second (third?) the turkey/stuffing sandwich. Has to be my most favorite leftover ever...I can eat vast quantities of all of it and enjoy it immensely. Good that it's only once a year!!

[Jacey]

roasted veggies and ratatouille are so much better the next day.

[ChrisOC]

Meatloaf. Sliced on buttered white bread with ketchup

[c oliver]

No, no, no. Wheat bread with mayo.

[FoodChic]

With crispy romaine!

[Sooeygun]

Nope, on toast with mustard.

[NellyNel]

good Lord not with mustard!..ugh and surely not wheat bread!!!
:)

I like plain on buttered white bread.mmmm

[liamsaunt]

Leftover rice made into fried rice, leftover risotto made into arancini. Cold pizza. Fried chicken. I also think potato salad tastes better the day after it's made.

[calicusine]

some arancini di riso sounds great right now with my leftover risotto - any recipe recommendations?

[Emme]

http://www.alwaysorderdessert.com/2009/01/arancini-di-riso.html
http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2005/09/when_life_throw.html
http://www.leftoverqueen.com/2007/04/...

[occula]

Baked potatoes to use as an ingredient for later - slice them up and fry them with onions and peppers. mmm! My mom used to do this, but she fried 'em in bacon grease and I use olive oil. :)

[givemecarbs]

My mom did that too occula with potatoes, so now I do too, only difference in the way our family does it is we toss in a bit of corn too. Frozen is great but leftover fresh corn from the cob is outstanding!

[FrankD]

We used leftover cold boiled potatoes fried with peppers and onions the next morning. We called them "home fries".

[scuzzo]

Slice baked potatoes fried in bacon grease in a cast iron pan equals heaven! Haven't done it in a long time, but it was a favorite. I added some red pepper flakes too. Not too much. The heavy pan gave a thick brown crust on the slices.

[Johnresa]

Soup
Lasagna
Liver and onions
barbecue ribs

[Cherylptw]

Fried Chicken, Chili, Home baked Pot Pie, Roasted Turkey with Stuffing, Slow cooked Pinto or Navy Beans cooked with some kind of smoked pork (Neck Bones, Ham Hock, etc). Collard, Kale and or Mustard Greens, also cooked with smoked pork. There's something about greens & beans with pork that is the best left to sit a day or two in the frig...

[sueatmo]

If I had fried chicken, I would love it. Unfortunately we had to give that dish up.

I do like having leftover mashed potatoes or cooked rice around. I make little patties of the potatoes to fry in a small amount of oil. And the rice can be part of next day's lunch or to make a somewhat slimmer version of fried rice. And I like having leftover cold chicken around too for chicken sandwiches.

[c oliver]

What's wrong with fried chicken?

[shanagain]

Fried catfish, cold

That's the only unusual one, all of the others are the expected - soups, chili, lasagna, etc.

[shaogo]

I can eat either roast chicken or turkey, stuffing, and gravy (it's a plus if there're leftover mashed potatoes) for three meals in a row if there's enough left over.

Fried chicken is delightful, right from the fridge.

Anything in red sauce is always better the next day!

Leftover take-out Chinese often lends itself to making "egg foo young." Just add eggs and make an omelette. It's a plus if I have the energy to actually separate some of the sauce from the meat/veggies and put it in a saucepan with a little stock and some corn starch -- then I have sauce for the "egg foo young."

When I make a roast, whether it's a fresh ham, roast beef, veal, or lamb, I always make a much bigger roast than necessary, so there's plenty left over to make sliced cold roast meat sandwiches with mustard on good bread.

[alkapal]

"""""I can eat either roast chicken or turkey, stuffing, and gravy (it's a plus if there're leftover mashed potatoes) for three meals in a row if there's enough left over."""""
~~~~~~~
me, too -- and on a sandwich (wonder bread or pepperidge farm country white) with cranberry, mayo.

[c oliver]

Love that sandwich but toasted sourdough for me.

[LPhila]

roasted brussel sprouts, cold from the fridge!

[taboo]

I second the roasted brussel sprouts and also the roasted chicken. Yum! Hearty soup such as lentil or split pea also gets better.

[scubadoo97]

Wow, one of my favs for sure. Everyone thinks I'm nuts but they're great.

[mcf]

Stuff that gets better the next day, like homemade chili, pot roast or stew, definitely. Eggplant parmesan or lasagna, too.

[buttertart]

I like leftovers best as material for other meals:
Roast pork - good cold in sandwiches, heated for tacos, sauced with onion, turmeric, paprika and hot mango pickle for mango pickle pork, in sauerkraut with paprika, onion and caraway for Szekely gulyas (my bastardizations of these recipes, at least)
Roast rare lamb - great in a salad with green onion, garlic, chili pepper, mint, cilantro, dark soy, sesame oil over watercress
Roast rare beef - as for lamb or Thai-ish with garlic, lime juice and rind, fish sauce, cilantro and mint, really good with some slices of avocado added
Roast chicken or turkey - the possibilities are endless, my favorite: cook onions with a whiff of turmeric, add curry powder, cumin, coriander, cayenne, the meat, a can of coconut milk - simmer and add fish sauce to taste at the end - serve over linguine or similar with raw red onion, green onion, mint, cilantro, hot peeper, cucumber slices, fried sliced garlic (another bastardization, thsi time from a Burmese recipe in Linda Burum's Asian Pasta, an excellent book).

[pikiliz]

Lasagna
fried chicken
steak sliced thin
pizza
mac and cheese
turkey/mashed taters/stuffing/cranberry sauce rye or Italian

[scuzzo]

I think most pasta dishes get better the second day. I also love fried or roasted chicken the next day, even cold, maybe especially cold. Roasted red meat is better the first day though, but not bad.

[scuzzo]

I should have mentioned spaghetti pie! It's awesome! Take leftover cold spaghetti, mixed with some sauce, ideally, the night before so it soaks in good. Add just enough beaten egg to coat, add some parmesan cheese. Pack tight into a hot, well oiled heavy pan and cook on med. high until a nice crust forms on the bottom. Use a big plate to flip the pie over and brown the other side. Slice into wedges. Great hot or cold! I love slice sausage added in. This is very versatile and can work with lots of leftover pasta dishes.

[Humbucker]

Pot stickers- the skins get harder and chewier in a good way
Salad- the dressing saturates the greens and makes them limp, allowing for denser, juicier mouthfuls of food
Turkey- becomes gamier and more flavorful

[Popkin]

Fried chicken, ultra rare steak, chicken chunks and spuds from a local joint, tamales, pork roast.

I daresay the pork roast is much improved by a long nap in the fridge.

[LauraGrace]

Oh.... rare steak cold? LOVE. And pork roast gets a big thumbs up too. I think most roasted meat is better cold leftover than rubbery-from-attempted-microwaving.

[buttertart]

Roast pork with lots of salt is irresistible, and it makes a super sandwich.

[Alan N]

Cheap frozen pizza that was cooked at least a day before. Microwaved and dipped in hot sauce and ketchup.

[Emme]

this has definitely been covered before, but i'll play again :)

chinese food... when i could eat, cold lo mein, and to a lesser extent, kung pao chicken
roasted or steamed salted veggies, esp cauliflower or green beans
thanksgiving stuff like mashed potatoes and stuffing and sweet potatoes

[MandalayVA]

All Indian food (though I'll nuke it first).

[kimmieokc]

Cake.....for breakfast.

[choctastic]

Damnit, you stole my response. Chocolate fudge cake, in my case.

[Evilbanana11]

Fried Chicken
Pizza
all Chinese food
Cake
Lasagna
Egg salad (lol)

[ShakeIt]

yummm cold, leftover pizza is the best!