Three ways to use leftovers...

I'm sure a lot of you are like me and cook chicken, meat or seafood and then have leftovers that you don't know what to do with. I thought I would share with you today some of my favorite ways to spice up your leftovers. Using up leftovers is not only a good way to get the best value for your dollar, but it's also a great way to make a quick and delicious weeknight dinner.

1) Tacos-

Chipotle Shrimp Tacos- Recipe & Picture courtesy of: Heather Christo

Making tacos is a great way to use up anything and everything in your refrigerator. You simply heat up a flour or corn tortilla, add some guacamole, cabbage, cheese or whatever else you have lying around to your leftover  vegetables, poultry, meat or seafood and garnish with a little cilantro and you got yourself a delicious gourmet taco. To get a little fancier you could also make a fruit salsa by combining some cut up mango or pineapple, chopped onion and lime juice and then garnishing with a little cilantro. To get some more inspiration check out The Effortless Chic's "The Best Of Tacos" blog post

 2)Rice Bowls-

I took this picture: brown rice, leftover pulled pork, black bean and mango salsa

As I mentioned in my previous quinoa blog post, I'm a huge fan of rice bowls, which happen to a great way to use leftovers. To create a delicious rice bowl you cook rice/or quinoa or heat up any leftover rice or quinoa you have in your refrigerator. Then you top with any leftover vegetables, poultry, meat or seafood. You can also get creative and add guacamole and/or salsa.  I had some leftover pulled pork after making my version of Earl's Taco and my pulled pork nachos  so I put some brown rice and the leftover pulled pork into a tupperware container and brought to work for lunch. I put the black bean and mango salsa in a smaller separate container since I didn't want to microwave the salsa. When I was ready for lunch I microwaved the rice and pulled pork and then when it was done I added the mango and black bean salsa on top.

Click Here for some more rice bowl ideas

3)Salads/ Lettuce Wraps

Picture & Recipe courtesy of: Pinch of Yum

Making salads or lettuce wraps is another great way to use up leftovers. You can use leftover meat, poultry or seafood to create an asian influenced salad with a sesame vinaigrette or peanut dressing  or a Mexican influenced salad with a cilantro lime dressing and some tortilla chips.

Click Here for some more salad recipes

Similar to salads, lettuce wraps are another option for using leftovers. Lettuce wraps are a great option for anyone who is trying stick to a low-carb diet. Lettuce wraps are commonly associated with asian restaurants and ground turkey or chicken, but shrimp or any assortment of veggies work just as well as a filling for lettuce wraps.

Click Here for some delicious lettuce wrap recipes.

Almond & Basil Chicken Lettuce Wraps- Recipe &  Photo courtesy of: Cookin' Canuck

I hope you enjoy these ideas and will start using your leftovers in new and creative ways.