Leftover recipes! In my house that’s something there’s never enough of. Eric doesn’t like eating leftovers, but if I turn them into another dish, he doesn’t know they’re leftovers, and I can save tons of money in our food budget by re-purposing leftover food. I love making leftover pork chop recipes because pork chops are SO CHEAP!
I usually make spaghetti with my rich and flavorful meaty red sauce but if I don’t have any in the freezer, this is my throw it together version.
I used my buttermilk gravy pork chop recipe in this dish, pork chops are only about 80 cents to $1 each at our local store, so I cook 4 at a time even though we each eat no more than one. It’s an easy pork chop recipe and then the leftovers are perfect for stir fry, curry, or (my favorite!) spaghetti. If you’ve already got the pork chops done, this takes only 10 minutes to make! Perfect for the busy mom who needs fast and easy recipes. This is also a great way to use leftover chicken or leftover beef.
What’s your favorite way to use leftover meat?
Leftover Pork Chop Spaghetti
serves 4Ingredients
4 servings of spaghetti noodles
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 TBS Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp sugar
1-2 leftover pork chops
parmesan (optional)
fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil, garlic and red onion in medium in a saucepan.
When garlic starts to sizzle and pop, add tomato sauce and tomato paste. Mix well and stir in Italian seasoning and sugar.
Chop pork chops into bite size pieces (smaller pieces if you have only 1 chop) and stir into the sauce. Simmer on low for 8 minutes.
Add drained pasta to the sauce and stir well. Top with parmesan and fresh basil if desired.
Approximate cost/serving: If you only use one pork chop, cut it in small pieces to stretch the meat. This comes out to $3.50-$4.50 (depending on one or two pork chops). So 88 cents to $1.13 a serving.
Disguise the old and turn it into something new. That’s always the way to go. Nicely done!
I have to admit, I don’t generally morph my leftovers, but you’re convincing me I definitely should.
Hi Diana!
We had roast chicken for dinner yesterday. I’ll be using the “leftover” chicken in chicken noodle soup. I love your blog!!
Fried rice. I will make things earlier in the week to have leftover rice and meat for a Friday night fried rice. I always have the eggs, vegetables, and seasonings on hand. You can use anything that isn’t seasoned in a way that would clash with the flavors you have in fried rice, so just about any meat and vegetables. Leftover fried chicken in fried rice is really good.
We do salads, too. Grilled or roasted meats served over a salad the next day. I also like making sandwiches from leftover roast, roasted chicken, meatballs, and meatloaf.
And, my favorite leftovers – I always make extra steak, baked potato, caramelized onion, and mushrooms. Baked potatoes make the best hash browns, and steak & eggs with mushroom & onion hash browns is a fantastic breakfast or brunch.