Making do with leftovers

The idea of "recycling" leftovers may not sound appealing, but as the holidays tend to overwhelm everyone with leftover ham, chicken, or lechon, the option of making meals out of leftovers proves to be more practical than simply throwing them out.

From crafting cuisine masterworks to simply creating "quick-meal specials", below are some recipe ideas which can be easily made with leftovers.

Note: Given that we are talking about leftovers as primary ingredients for recipes, the measurements of the ingredients for the recipes below are not "fixed", in the same sense that different households have different leftover volumes.

The recipes are simply "bases "on which you can add your own flair, adding your own preferred spices and your own choice of vegetables, garnish options, etc.

Vegetable Soup w/ Ham

Ingredients

Slices of Leftover Ham (thinly sliced)

Green leafy vegetables

Diced Carrots

Sliced Petchay Stalks

Diced onion and garlic cloves

Canola Oil (or any available cooking oil)

Salt

Pepper

Preparation

Refry the leftover ham slices with canola oil using a soup pot. Add diced onion and garlic cloves into the pot, mixing them with the ham slices.

Add green leafy vegetables and pechay stalks into the pot and cover it for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the diced carrots into the pot, mixing it with the green leafy vegetables, sliced petchay stalks and sliced ham. Cover it once again for 3 to 5 minutes or until the diced carrots are soft enough for you.

Add water into the pot, and season the soup with salt and pepper.

Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients

Slices of Leftover Ham (diced)

Diced Carrots

Diced onion and garlic cloves

Egg(s)

Rice (cooked)

Cooking Oil

Salt

Pepper

Preparation

Refry the diced leftover ham in a frying pan that is large enough to fit your cooked rice. Add diced onion and garlic cloves, mixing them with the diced ham. Add diced carrots into the pan; mix well.

Stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes (or until the ham browns), then add the rice. Stir-fry the mix for a couple of minutes, then push the rice to the sides of the frying pan, making a small space at the center.

Add the egg(s) to the center, allowing it to cook. Once the egg(s) has set, stir fry once again, then season with salt and pepper.

Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients

Shredded leftover chicken

Salad Dressing/mayonnaise/mayonnaise-based sandwich spread

Diced onions

Lettuce

Salt and Pepper

Sliced Bread

Preparation

Mix the shredded chicken in a salad bowl with the salad dressing (or dressing of your choice). Add diced onions into the bowl, thoroughly mixing it.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread two slices of sliced bread (you can optionally toast the bread using a skillet, then add some butter) then add lettuce on each slice. Add an ample serving of the chicken salad mixture from the bowl to each slice, and cover with either bread slice. (FREEMAN)