by Leigh Goessl

Created on: December 26, 2008   Last Updated: April 26, 2010

The holiday season is when family and friends to gather together and spend quality time together. Often the holiday celebrations include elaborate meals with an assortment of food which include plentiful side dish accompaniments, breads, desserts and dishes of sweets.

After the holidays are over, if you are like many, chances are you have enough food left where you can still feed an army. Then you're faced with the quandary of what to do with all of the leftover goodies.

Fortunately there are many ways you can use leftovers without having to throw them all out. Here are a few ways you can re-use all of that good food so it doesn't go to waste:

*Freeze Leftovers

Many different kinds of leftover foods freeze wonderfully and you can avoid throwing out all of that great tasting food and save a bit of the holidays for a later date. If you freeze some of the leftovers you can eat for weeks after the holidays are over.

Frozen leftovers are particularly good for those evenings when you come home from work and are too tired to cook. You can simply come home, pull some already prepared, pre-packaged food out of the freezer, heat it up and you've got yourself an instant home cooked and wholesome meal.

*Create New Meals from Leftovers

Leftovers offer a terrific opportunity to create other culinary masterpieces. If you've made a large turkey, ham or other meat chances are you'll have a lot leftover. These meats can be used to make several kinds of other meals.

Meats made wonderful stews, soups, shepard's pie or simply reheat your main dish by simmering it with your favorite gravy. There are many recipes which call for precooked meats, and for light meals you can even make turkey, chicken or ham salads. Leftover ham also makes a wonderful breakfast complement.

Leftover snacks can also be used. Cheese and crackers make great munchies for the kids. Cheese is also good melted down and used in other recipes such as homemade macaroni and cheese or a cheese sauce to pour over vegetables. Many pasta dishes call for cheese and you can toss your leftover cheeses into these recipes also.

If you've had a vegetable platter that wasn't fully eaten you can chop the vegetables and cook them as a side dish or put them in stews or soups. There are countless ways you can use these leftover finger foods. Candies and other confections can be recreated into mouth watering desserts.

Using leftovers are a great time and money saver if you use them to create new meals. It is a shame to waste leftovers

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