Resolve to use more of those leftovers
There are a few more packages to wrap: New Year’s leftovers can become flavor boosters and star staples for future menus.
We had a crowd at our house for the holidays consuming plenty of turkey, ham and roast beef. With some creative packaging, remaining sweets and uneaten treats are wrapped for a variety of uses and tucked in the pantry or freezer for everything from sandwiches, casseroles, dessert garnishes, ice cream, pies, soups and stews.
Two whole Schwab’s hams rounded out our Christmas turkey and New Year’s feast with some great leftovers stored in the freezer. Great flavor right down to the bone already has given us a ham and bean feast and super sandwiches. The rest of the ham has been sliced into sandwich-size portions, little chunks for soups and larger pieces for adding to casseroles and other dishes, such as seasoning for cooking green beans.
For sandwiches, on a sheet of plastic wrap arrange the ham or other meats in a single layer to fit sliced bread or buns. Wrapped in these singlesandwich portions, the meat can be placed frozen right into the bread with all the trimmings. By lunchtime, this single frozen layer has kept things cold while thawing, and it is ready to eat. It’s great to have this holiday ham sandwich at hand. I keep a dozen or so inside a larger zipper-close bag to use as needed.
For turkey and roast beef or steak, assemble the slices the same way for sandwiches, but also prepare stew-size chunks that are handy for quick stews. Irregular pieces of turkey fit nicely into tortilla soup or a potpie. Pepper steak or fajitas can be fashioned using leftover slices of steak roasted with peppers and onions. Freeze the slices on a baking sheet and drop them into a larger bag when frozen. Add the slices of onion and sweet peppers, and you have a stir-fry frozen and ready for finishing in a wok.
Nuts, sweets, breads
With a holiday bulge at hand, you may want to lock away any peanut brittle or peppermint. Bagged in small portions, these hard candies can be crushed to garnish pies, ice cream or other desserts. How about a peanut butter pie with some peanut brittle crunch on the top? Finish a simple dish of chocolate ice cream with some peppermint sprinkles. Go ahead and crush it and tuck it in small plastic bags inside a tin in the pantry. Wrapped in this airtight package, the peppermint will keep until next year.
My biggest weakness is nuts, particularly pecans and almonds. I’m transferring them from my favorite handy top drawer location. Bagged in snack and recipe portions and sealed inside larger heavy-duty freezer bags, it is not as convenient to grab a handful. I’ve put them in the basement freezer for safekeeping and more thoughtful snacking.
Remaining holiday rolls are packaged and frozen for empty-nest dinners. Other bits and pieces of bread are dropped into a bag for Fat Tuesday bread pudding.
Call it thrifty or just kitchen smart, these creative packages are a plus. It sure is nice to start 2012 with all these little cook’s helpers from this special time of year tucked away and ready to use.