by B. Taylor

Created on: December 28, 2008   Last Updated: January 05, 2009

The most important lesson that I learned while growing up was: Never Waste Food! As the abundance of the holidays comes to a close, and the leftovers take up too much space in the refrigerator, it is quite a challenge to live up to this standard. For the creative cook and entertainer, however, there are ways to use everything if you act in time.

One way to prevent leftover build-up is to avoid having too many leftovers to begin with. When hosting a large gathering for a festive meal, make sure to have a supply of zip-loc baggies or inexpensive food containers. Feel free to offer guests the opportunity to bring home lunch for tomorrow, and anything else that suits their fancy.

After the guests are well-fed and on their way home complete with care packages, there is still much leftover food for the hostess to contend with. While it is helpful to have a freezer for food storage, packing things into the freezer and forgetting about them is no more helpful than packing them into the refrigerator until... But creative cooks find different and interesting ways to use everything in the kitchen.

Start by removing any remaining meat from a roasted bird's bones. Chopped up, this meat can be combined with mayonnaise, chopped up celery, and salt and pepper for a wonderful chicken or turkey salad. Feel free to get creative and add other things, such as such as a dash of relish or mustard.

The carcass of the bird need not be wasted. Throw it in the biggest pot available. Add any leftover cooked vegetables from the feast, and make sure to include an onion. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and then let simmer for at least a couple of hours or as much as the better part of a day, adding a little water now and then. This is the best tasting stock that anybody can hope for. Strain thoroughly and either use within three days, or freeze in ice cube trays and store the cubes in a zip-loc baggie. Use this stock as the water to make rice, soup, or anything else that requires chicken stock.

Leftover mashed potatoes can also be frozen in small amounts for future use. Mashed potato can actually be used in place of small amounts of flour in recipes. It can be added to soups, creating a creamy feel without the fat of real cream.

While desserts don't often linger as long as savory foods, there can be an overwhelming amount at Holiday time. A little foresight and creativity go a long way. For example, any red candies such as Hershey's kisses wrapped in red, can be packed away (in a sealed container or the freezer) and brought back out for Valentine's Day. The green ones can be saved until St. Patrick's Day.

And remember, be happy for the abundance.

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