Tricks of the Trade: Restaurant Worthy Leftover Meals

In this season of over indulgence and buying way more food than we need, a little creativity in the kitchen goes a long way. Keep it lively in the kitchen with these gourmet additions to simple ingredients and last night's leftovers. Don't let food go to waste. Instead, spice it up with a few effortless tricks.

Keep reading to learn 4 Gourmet Food Makeovers.

1. Turn produce into a gourmet granita.

It is a travesty to watch large amounts of produce spoil in the refrigerator's dehydrator but you can absolutely prevent it by dumping all your over ripe fruits, vegetables, and drooping herbs into a granita. Take for example Emeril's Herbed Cucumber Granita. The simple and fabulously refreshing recipe is a great way to put dying cucumbers, lemons, limes, and cilantro to good use just by adding some sugar and water. You can make any combination of seasonal granitas including pomegranate granitas or pear granitas.

2. Turn leftover greens into a fresh homemade pasta.

Full of nutrients and straight from the garden, how better to indulge in some yummy pasta? All of those greens that are ready to spoil can be made into a fresh pasta. Although this recipe is for spinach pasta you can truly make it with any greens that you have including dandelion greens, arugula, and mixed greens. Making your own pasta is just so many miles tastier than buying the dried stuff and it doesn't take a lot of ingredients. What's more, it's an easy way to enjoy greens and add tons of nutrients to your pasta without sacrificing flavor.

3. Turn day old bread into a French toast casserole.

This would also make a fantastic Sunday brunch meal to have with the family. According to Kelly Rossiter, it takes literally five minutes to make the night before. You can let it cook while you are pouring the champagne and orange juice. It will fill your house with the most incredible aroma of bread, eggs, and cinnamon.

4. Turn leftover roast into a beef stroganoff.

Roast is expensive and it should never go to waste. Especially when you buy the grass fed variety. Roast is easy to turn into beef stroganoff with a few simple ingredients. The better the quality of meat the better the dish will turn out.

Beef Stroganoff

1 tbsp organic olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 cups leftover roast beef, sliced into 1/8 inch thickness

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp ketchup

Salt and pepper to taste

Serve over cooked noodles

Method

1. Saut

2. Add onion and cook for a few minutes. Add mushrooms.

3. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Add in beef just to heat through, do not cook the beef again as it is already cooked.

4. In a separate pan heat the sour cream and flour. Top the meat with the mixture.

5. Add in Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve over noodles.