Safely Storing and Using Your Leftover Food

In my house LEFTOVER FOOD IS NOT CALLED LEFTOVERS! Cooked food that is ready to be re-purposed is a gift to our hungry tummies and our overstuffed schedule. Even when we don’t have turkey for days thanks to a holiday, our extra food is planned for, warmly welcomed, and used wisely. There are some rules to be followed to make sure that second suppers happen safely.

Safely Managing Your Leftover Food:

Meat, chicken, fish, eggs:

• Must be properly cooked in the first place
• Stored in the fridge as quickly as possible after dinner and in under two hours
• Kept cold until ready to eat or reheated thoroughly (cold chicken sandwich is good; half-heated microwaved chicken sandwich is not so good)
• Can be kept in the fridge for up to three days max (fully cooked eggs five days)

Soups and stews:

• Allow to cool on the counter until it stops steaming and then put directly into the fridge away from other perishables
• Must be reheated completely to steaming
• Shallow, rectangular containers work best; they cool quickly and fit in the fridge or freezer better
• Nothing should ever be re-heated more than once

Now that we have that out of the way, the possibilities for your leftovers are endless!