I had a whole bag of tortillas going hard on day 3, so I brushed them with oil and microwaved them draped over the gaps in my cooling rack. They came out perfect for taco night and I didn't have to run to the store for shells. Anybody else found weird uses for stale bread or tortillas?
Last Tuesday I tossed random veggies and some old chicken into a pan, thinking I'd whip up a quick dinner. Problem was, the zucchini had been sitting in the fridge for 6 days and leaked water everywhere, making everything steam instead of fry. I ended up with a grayish pile that tasted fine but looked like something from a swamp. People always say to pat veggies dry, but when you're cooking with leftovers, you work with what you got. Anyone else embrace the ugly meals that still get the job done?
Tbh I always thought fresh tomatoes were better for chili, but my fridge only had a can of diced tomatoes left. I tossed them in with some leftover ground beef from Tuesday and a half-used onion. Honestly, the texture was way better and it saved me a trip to the store in Denver traffic. Has anyone else found canned stuff works better for slow-cooked meals?
My mom always yelled at me for peeking, but I didn't get it until I watched my aunt make rice at Thanksgiving last year. Has anyone else had a cooking habit that took way too long to break?
I've been making chili the same way for 10 years, dumping in a whole can of diced tomatoes with the juice. Last family dinner she pulled me aside and said it was basically soup and I froze for a second. Now I drain the tomatoes first and add a handful of crushed tortilla chips to thicken it up, has anyone else gotten a blunt cooking critique that actually helped?
Had a rotisserie chicken carcass sitting in the fridge for 3 days. Thought I'd throw it in a pot with some veggie scraps. Spent forever looking for my biggest pot, then realized I had no bay leaves or peppercorns. Finally just used salt and some dried parsley I found. Took way longer than the actual simmering part. Anyone else get stuck hunting for basic pantry stuff when you're just trying to use up leftovers?
My roommate's mom mentioned she fries leftover rice with an egg and a splash of soy sauce until it gets crunchy on the bottom. I tried it with some day-old jasmine rice and a random half onion in my drawer this morning and it came out way better than I expected. Anyone else got a go-to trick for using up that sad leftover rice in the fridge?