Eating your leftovers instead of throwing them away is a good use of your budget, but you don’t always want to have spaghetti two nights in a row! Use up your remaining noodles and sauce by adding just a few more ingredients for Spaghetti Pepperoni Pizza Bake.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb to 1 lb spaghetti (whatever you have leftover)*
24-30 oz leftover spaghetti sauce
1 lb ground beef (omit if already added to your sauce)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 package sliced pepperoni (or enough to cover the top of the baking dish)
Directions:
Spread spaghetti on the bottom of a 13×9 pan or 2 qt. baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
Pour spaghetti sauce and optional ground beef over top of noodles and stir to cover the noodles (this will keep them from getting dried out).
Sprinkle garlic salt, Italian seasoning, Parmesan and mozzarella over the noodle and sauce mixture. Top with sliced pepperoni.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-20 minutes more or until golden brown. Serves 6 (or so!).
*You can use any kind of noodles, including penne or spiral pasta. You also have the option of stirring one whisked egg and one cup milk into the pasta before mixing in the sauce.
Other Ways to Use Leftovers
I try to make good use of leftovers, whether that involves sending them to work with my husband or making something new with the main ingredient. Becky has a good article on turning one roast into four meals! You could try making a leftover pork loin roast and rice meal into pork fried rice, adding some eggs, peas and corn and sauteeing all the ingredients together in a pan. Sliced leftover ham is perfect for egg mcmuffins or ham and potato soup.
One of my family’s favorites is to mix up taco meat with black beans and use it for tacos one night and enchiladas the next (using homemade tortillas!). Meat and vegetable leftovers can be combined into soup that can simmer in the crock pot for a simple weekend meal.
How Long to Keep Leftovers
Leftovers can safely be kept in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can freeze your leftovers for a longer period of time if you have the space. All leftovers should be thoroughly reheated for safety purposes.
For more ideas for using leftovers, check out the new cookbook, “The Thrifty Cookbook: 476 Ways to Eat Well With Leftovers”.
