I have decided my New Year's resolution is for my husband to tend the compost, filling it with grass clippings ... not with wasted food that has been sitting in the fridge for weeks.
It's a win-win situation really. The lawns will be pristine and, with the help of Richard Till, we won't waste food or money for that matter.
Till, the promotional face of Countdown supermarkets, shows us how, with a little inspiration, leftovers can be easily transformed into brand new dishes that will have the family tucking in enthusiastically.
He also offers plenty of tips on makeovers for leftovers from special occasion meals like Christmas dinner, roast dinners or Friday night takeaways.
Although the recipes are written for specific amounts of a particular leftover, they're also written as a base recipe that can be scaled to suit different amounts.
There are sections on bread, which includes the famous Croque-Monsieur, as well as French toast, pasta, noodles and rice - try the crumbed risotto balls; potatoes, meat and desserts.
One recipe that makes a regular appearance in my house, particularly for a Sunday morning brunch, are potato croquettes. Fabulous with, of course, bacon, mushrooms and eggs!
My favourites to date, though, are curry turnovers and cake fritters.
This book is perfect for any household, especially in today's straitened economic climate ... and as my granny always said ... waste not, want not!
Leftover Gourmet
by Richard Till, HarperCollins, $39.99
Recipes
Post-Christmas Turkey Pie
The following recipe is for a wonderful hot meal that extends a little bit of leftover turkey into a fabulous new dish that will delight and impress your friends and family. It's a centrepiece dish that is perfect for post-Christmas entertaining.
120g mushrooms
Salt and pepper
1/2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup white wine (divided measure)
1/4 cup cheese, grated
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup rice
1 onion, finely chopped
about 500g cold, turkey meat, thinly sliced
Place the mushrooms in a food processor and process until they are finely chopped, but not made into a paste. Lightly salt the mushrooms and cook in the oil in a frying pan. The mushrooms will throw off a lot of water. Cook until the water is evaporated and the mushrooms are crumbly and dry.
Make a white sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and cook briefly, then add the milk. Cook until it thickens and bubbles then add half the wine and stir until combined. When it bubbles again, remove from the heat, add the cheese and stir until it melts. Season.
Bring the water and remaining wine to the boil. Add the rice and the onion.
Bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, then turn off and leave covered for a further 10 minutes.
Now assemble the dish. In a wide gratin dish, layer the turkey, rice and mushrooms. Finally smother with the white sauce. Bake in a preheated 175C oven for 30-40 minutes.
(Serves 4-6)
Croque-Monsieur
This is a wonderful sandwich. A simple cheese and, in this case, ham sandwich that's dipped in seasoned, beaten egg, which has been slackened with a little milk, then fried.
An amped-up toasted sandwich with the added goodness of an egg. Put whatever ingredients you like inside the sandwich alongside the cheese.
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
Salt and pepper
2 slices slightly stale bread
1 slice ham
sliced cheese, to cover one of the slices of bread
butter, for frying
Beat together the egg, milk and a little salt and pepper. Tip on to a shallow, flat plate, saucer or wide bowl that will hold the sandwich.
Make the sandwich, filled with ham (or whatever you decide you'd like) and cheese. Dip sandwich into egg mixture, coating both sides.
Heat a frying pan to a medium heat, add a smear of butter and fry the sandwich, turning when nicely browned. You need to cook it quite slowly so that the egg cooks, the cheese melts and it doesn't brown too fast. A little experimentation and you'll soon know the right temperature setting on your stove for your pan.
Cake Fritters
This will work with almost any cake that has gone a bit stale. It's a really great dessert for summer barbecue evenings _ a barbecued dessert. Just give the barbecue hot plate a good scrape before you start cooking the fritters. It's also a good way of cleaning out the booze cabinet. Soak the sultanas, raisins, currants (or any other bits of dried fruit) in a concoction of leftover liquor, before putting in the fritters the next day.
1/4 cup sultanas (or other dried fruit)
1/4 cup leftover liquor
4 eggs
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup cream
1/2 cup flour
3-4 slices old cake, cut into cubes
Butter, to grease the hot plate
Soak the sultanas, or whatever other dried fruit you have, in the "old booze'' overnight.
Beat together the eggs, sugar and cream. Add the flour and combine. Add the cubed cake and boozey sultanas (or other dried fruit) to the batter.
Cook spoonfuls on a greased barbecue hot plate. Cook until golden brown, turning once.
(Serves 4-6)