3 Ultimate Leftover Hacks
Sandwiches
For the kind of leftovers that will actually go bad in the fridge and are “not just bones which you can’t eat,” the sandwich is the most versatile weapon in a dad’s culinary arsenal. Anything works as a sandwich if you put your mind to it. Cold steak? Put it between bread and you’ve got a steak sandwich.
A hidden dad-move is the proper way to eat your leftover pizza. The rookie mistake most people make is to microwave it, but the solution is as simple as it is elegant. Re-cook the pizza on the stove. Just take a skillet, heat it up, and plop the pizza down there. You won’t get that limp soggy quality from microwaving — instead the crust will crispen up to retain that good pizza crunch.
For the kind of leftovers that will actually go bad in the fridge and are “not just bones which you can’t eat,” the sandwich is the most versatile weapon in a dad’s culinary arsenal. Anything works as a sandwich if you put your mind to it. Cold steak? Put it between bread and you’ve got a steak sandwich.
Leftover bits of chicken?
Mix that with some mayo, celery, and a dash of mustard and you got a tangy chicken salad sandwich. And nowhere is the sandwich’s dexterity more on display than the lunch after Thanksgiving. The “Pilgrim” is made by taking your leftover turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sure, green bean casserole, and jamming it between two sturdy pieces of bread. You don’t even need to reheat it. 90% of dads have prepared a post-Thanksgiving Pilgrim sandwich, and 110% of those dads have done an impression of John Wayne saying Pillll-grum while making it.
Chinese Take Out Stir Fry
Chinese takeout was invented specifically to make life easier for dads.Like clockwork, on Fridays they will give themselves a break from cooking and dealing with their kid’s complaints about the aforementioned cooking by picking up some orange chicken and shrimp fried rice. But what should you do with the eight different Chinese takeout boxes cluttering your fridge the next day?
Well that’s easy.
Get a wok (or a large flat pan if you haven’t realized how much of an investment a good wok is) heated up on the stove with some sesame oil or soy sauce and just cook up your various dishes together. Yes, toss the rice in there too. A few minutes of tossing your Chinese leftovers on medium-high heat should warm things up enough without overcooking them, leaving you with a surprisingly serviceable second dinner.
A hidden dad-move is the proper way to eat your leftover pizza. The rookie mistake most people make is to microwave it, but the solution is as simple as it is elegant. Re-cook the pizza on the stove. Just take a skillet, heat it up, and plop the pizza down there. You won’t get that limp soggy quality from microwaving — instead the crust will crispen up to retain that good pizza crunch.
And, of course, if you want to take it to the next dad-level, fire up the grill. Yes, you can grill leftover pizza, and yes it will leave those satisfying grill marks.
So next time you find yourself with a fridge full of leftovers about to go bad, don’t look at it as a burden. Look at it as a dad opportunity. A dadortunity, if you will. (Groan)