Asian Chicken Salad is a perfect recipe for planned leftovers which reduce prep time and cut waste. The homemade dressing is full of rich flavors, but a prepared Asian dressing could be used to save even more time.
Vegetable Tortellini Alfredo
Cheese tortellini in a creamy Alfredo sauce is a quick and easy dinner when you use quick start ingredients. Easily adapted to your preferences, you can use fresh or frozen tortellini along with your choice of frozen vegetables. If you are short on time, a jar of prepared Alfredo sauce is a quick substitute, or use our homemade Alfredo sauce with just butter, cream, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg. If fresh vegetables are in season, this is a good way to use them – just steam and add to the pasta instead of frozen vegetables.
Sesame Chicken
This recipe makes enough chicken to plan leftovers for a later meal. Any Asian-inspired recipe that calls for cooked chicken would be a good follow up meal using the leftovers.
Sloppy Joe Pizza
Sloppy Joe Pizza is a tasty way to use up leftover Sloppy Joe meat sauce. Serve with a salad for a complete meal.
Easy Homemade Sloppy Joes
Although it is easy to buy Sloppy Joe sauce in a can, this homemade version is tastier and easy to make. If you are implementing planned leftovers, try using the leftovers on Sloppy Joe Pizza. Add Salt & Serve is a big advocate of bulk-cooking meat for the freezer to make dinnertime prep easier. Instead of cooking one pound of ground beef each time you need it, try buying five pounds at a time and browning it all at once.
Italian Flank Steak
Not only is prep quick and easy for this marinated roast, but it is a good way to plan leftovers and use the remaining meat in a dish like Beef with Broccoli.
Easy Beef and Broccoli using Leftover Steak
This quick stir fry with homemade ginger-soy sauce is a perfect meal to make with leftover London broil, flank steak, skirt steak, or other firm cut of beef. Planned leftovers are a great way to cut your prep time while reducing food waste.
Swedish Meatballs
This quick and easy stovetop meal uses few ingredients and goes from prep to table in 20 minutes. You can buy frozen meatballs from the grocery store, or if you prefer to make your own, we have a bulk meatball recipe that is perfect for cooking ahead.
Stuffed Shells
These hearty homemade stuffed shells are filled with a tasty ricotta and Parmesan cheese mixture. They are filling enough to be served with a simple side or just a salad for a complete meal.
Taco Bar
Tacos are a quick and easy meal that can be made traditional style with ground beef, or can be updated with chicken, shrimp, or even beans based on your preferences and what you have on hand. Cook and season the meat, then serve with all of the condiments taco bar style so that each person can make their own.
