reheating food & left overs

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Is it just me, but I find it a bit convoluted.
We don't usually have left overs. But last night's chicken chilli spiced meal, plus steamed cauliflower met with approval for "same again tonight".

I find the gentlest way is to put it in a low oven, and bring it up to piping hot over 30mins.

If I put the chicken in a pot, I find second time around it breaks too much.

Coupled with needing to add more veg to the plain steamed cauli, as there's not quite enough. I'll cook some small potatoes and make it a vegetable curry side dish, using turmeric mustard seeds and onions.

Anyone else find leftovers hard work?
How do you approach the task.

[Binky Profile]

We have a lot of leftovers. Deliberately. We sometimes cook enough for 6 people, knowing that we will have tasty meals either in the freezer or in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch or dinner.

We keep the food in the fridge, in pyrex and covered in clingfilm. When it's required, we heat it up either in the microwave or stove-top, depending on what it is.

(OH has an enormous appetite, so we usually cook enough for food for 4 people on an ordinary day. He will eat loads and then get out the peanuts or cheese and biscuits later in the evening. And he's skinny as a rail. 'Snot fair)

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

ha ha ha. He's doing something right then.
I quite like cooking for people who eat a lot. I make huge portions for my family when I visit, and they go though food like a plague of locusts.

Cooking for leftovers isn't normal for me.
Unless I make a chilli, which we'll have 2 days later. Otherwise my OH cannot face the same stuff again.
Things like chilli are easy, as they keep their form when reheated in the pot.

Or I make a fish pie, one for the freezer type of thing. But that's an uncooked dish to go into the oven for cooking.

I do find it difficult to reheat prepared food that won't keep it's shape. It's probably just lack of habit, Binky.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Cooking for one person life is often a series of rolling leftovers, usually planned. My fridge is often full of Tupperware and little Pyrex dishes (mine mostly have lids).

The trick with leftovers to me is to keep them in “as new” condition, nobody wants a leftover that has been sitting round and has dried out. So into a container and covered ASAP then into the fridge quickly, nicer and safer. And I often take it a stage further and cook a full batch of something like goulash so there are extra portions to freeze, but that’s a bit different

If just reheating rather than remaking I would never use the oven except for pastry or other baked items, the microwave is often much better because it heats all the way through whereas in an oven Will heat/cook food from the outside in, so you tend to get dried up crusty edges however careful you are. It’s also nice and quick of course!

At the moment I have some cooked new potatoes waiting to be made into salad or probably a frittata and that’s all, but l had a dinner last night of leftover Chinese food I made on Sunday, I made a small portion of soba noodles with broccoli (leftover steamed broccoli) arranged everything nicely in a pasta bowl, covered it and heated it in the microwave. It tasted great and even looked quite elegant.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Everything that Stokey said, particularly that bit about "everything is a leftover".

The microwave is central, the freezer plays its part.

The key is to freeze or refrigerate when it's cold, but occasionally I forget, which is a pain. The worst is when I leave something to cool in the oven, and forget it's there, and the next day turn the oven on to heat up for something else.

Occasionally that cockup will also involve utensils I've left in there - the other day there was a baking tray with a pair of scissors on it when I went to heat up the oven. No more scissors, the handles completely melted...

A couple of examples of forward planning...

It's only very recently that I've trusted the freezer with bread, now I regularly buy my favourite Sainsbury's baguettes, and chop them into 5 bread roll sized pieces, straight in the freezer, no wrapping. To reconstitute takes 4.25 minutes. Defrost in the microwave (40% in my 900w microwave) for 1 minute 10 seconds, 2 minutes in a 200 degree oven upside down, then 1 minute the right way up. Sometimes it ends up even crspier and tastier than when I bought it, as it is sometimes sold slightly underdone.

Keema Mutter, my favourite curry, I make 4 portions, the three leftovers go straight in the freezer. To defrost, it's 5 minutes in the microwave at 40% while I'm preparing the rice, then stirred and left, and then 2.5 minutes at full power just before the rice is ready (covered loosely, or else the inside of the microwave is covered in exploded chickpea).

If the rice is leftover too, the defrosted curry goes into a glass bowl for a couple of minutes microwaving, then the rice is put on top for another 1.5 minutes microwaving, then turned out onto a plate.

[jeral Profile]

If cooking for leftovers, I take some veg out of the water or roasting tray before being fully cooked such that it will be once reheated; similarly rice whilst still underdone initially.

I don't find that reheating fully cooked veg works at all for me, unless a pot dish like ratatouille where veg isn't meant to be fresh and crisp, so I use up any cooked veg in potato mash patties or crumbed as burgers.

Reheating roast chicken is better done if sliced into gravy I reckon, although I prefer to segment the bird for different uses to avoid "more of the same". Crowning it for roasting is a good halfway house.

I object to putting the oven on for 45 mins (incl preheat) to reheat any dish which only took that time to cook in the first place, so microwave or stovetop for me.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I don’t reheat sliced meat - ever. The end result is never as good imo as the original, reminiscent of school dinners. I also don’t much like gravy. Cold meat with pickles or salad is far nicer to my taste.

Generally I regard leftover cooked meat as an ingredient, so if I cook a chicken or a small joint the next thing is curry, fricasse, shepherds pie, Chinese twice cooked pork with green peppers, noodles etc

I agree that plain cooked veg don’t really reheat, but I love some of them in salads - I’ve been cooking large portions of lovely local French beans and eating some in salads

[Amyw Profile]

Agree with you Sue on both accounts , with cooked veg and cooked meat . I find cooked veg reheated , goes all limp and stringy , unless it’s a gratin style dish . Good old bubble and squeak is useful for leftover over sides .

Cooked leftover meat I usually use in salads if it’s pouktry . I don’t really like the texture of already cooked chicken , cooked again in a curry . On the other hand , I’m not overkeen on cold pork or lamb , so will cook those up into something else .

Pretty much always use the microwave for heating up leftovers , as I find it has little to no impact on the taste and texture of the cooked dish and evenly cook through . It never really bothers me , eating the same dish two days in a row and I like the inventiveness of using up leftovers . Also I hate food waste , so would rather cook up a big pot of something one day , freeze a portion , eat a portion another day as saved prepping , cooking and having the oven on for days in a row . Plus is nice to have homemade ready meals on those days you just can’t be bothered

[Joanbunting Profile]

I quite often have intentional left-overs too. For example the chicken I cooked on Sunday was turned into a curried chicken salad with fresh peaches on Monday and chicken and mushroom bouchees last night. The stock from the carcass is now in the freezer. So things rarely get reheated as such

I rarely have left-over veg and if I do have a few, or some rice or pasta the hens get it and give us eggs in return. In fact I sometimes cook a bit extra for them !

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Microwave for reheating here too. Meat, particularly chicken or pork, might get added to a stir fry, but leftover roast beef (after sandwiches) becomes cottage pie and lamb makes shepherd's pie. As with Amy, bubble and squeak is a staple here and contains all manner of veg, not just spuds and greens. Cooked bean salads are nice, I've tried to copy the St John runner bean and anchovy one, but not entirely to my satisfaction. We have a fair bit of potato salad at this time of year too.


Leftover puds tend to get eaten for breakfast. I started today with raspberry trifle.

[dennispc Profile]

Stews, fish pie and so on we cook for left overs and generally freeze. With only two and gradually eating less we don’t have a lot of left overs. Occasionally, roast potatoes which I freeze and revive in the oven.

If buying whole chicken then it’s planned, but haven’t been successful in freezing as cold meat.

As I type I’ve got a tomato mix bubbling away which will be frozen in portions for pastas and fish dishes.

For health reasons we avoid same dish two days running, but happy to freeze as required.

Bubble and squeak - yes please.

Back in the day, Chinese takeaways were always re-heated the next day including rice dishes.

BM - sounds good to me, but we would leave for our dessert course in the evening.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Thanks everyone.
I don't really use my microwave as a microwave so much. It's not my default appliance.

[dennispc Profile]

Just had a light bulb moment, inspired by this thread.

Haven’t been eating much potato this weather, the last few in the bucket are sprouting like mad and getting soft. Next time I’ve got the oven on I’ll roast and freeze. Thanks Gill.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

There´s always something to re-heat over here.
Microwave is good for some ( sauces, veggie stews, lentils) but not others.
I dislike the microwaved texture of pastry, eggs,bread and potatoes - so they always go in the oven. Just a while, till they´re warmed through.
Since I rarely eat meat, that´s not a problem.
I never microwave salads, mind you.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

he he he.
I do use my microwave every day for one thing. I heat our 2 x dinner plates for 1min. Ping!

Glad to have cleared the cobwebs, Petronius.

[Binky Profile]

Gill, that's what my husband does too. He dislikes a cold plate.

[Suffs Profile]

We don’t have a microwave ... I have had one in the past and also had a combination oven, but I’m convinced that we just wouldn’t get the use out of one nowadays to give up the worktop space. Leftovers are turned into another dish entirely eg Shepherds pie, fish cakes, or a quasi Nasi goreng sort of thing, or turned into a soup or broth rather than just reheated.

Plates are warmed in the top oven if I’m using the bottom one, or vice versa, or placed over the saucepan with the potatoes or veg in, or failing that we heat a little water in the kettle, pour that onto our plates and leave for a minute or so and wipe dry with a tea towel.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

When reheating in a microwave I put the container on top of a dinner plate. This catches any boil over, but also gets nicely warmed up.
Obviously if I’m reheating in the bowl I’ll eat from, that’s well warmed - to the point where I usually put it on a cold plate for safety

[Renee Profile]

I do that too, Sue especially with packets of Tilda rice.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Great minds, Binky.

Anyway, I chose my usual way - into the microwave on oven setting. Covered with foil.
Worked a treat.

(I added cream to the chicken which needed cooking out gently really, so I didn't use the microwave setting this time)..