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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not understand about "leftovers"?

125 replies

user1477282676 · 27/12/2016 20:16

I keep reading threads about leftovers...people going on about how nice they are, how they love them and even arguments about what happens to them.

I never really have any from Christmas dinner! No more than from an average Sunday roast anyway....a few potatoes and some meat.

Is it because we only have myself, DH and two DC for Christmas dinner? Do people cook WAY too much?

What ARE these leftovers anyway? Is it piles of meat and a load of crusty stuffing? Dried up parsnips?

What's the deal?

OP posts:

trixymalixy · 27/12/2016 22:31

I would be gutted if there were no leftovers. The whole point is that you don't need to cook the next day.

I love a turkey stuffing and cranberry sandwich.

bonbonours · 27/12/2016 22:34

If you buy a whole turkey, unless there are loads of you and you used all the legs/wings etc as well as the breast meat, then there will be meat leftover from a turkey, but then that is the same as a chicken from a normal roast dinner for us. We keep the legs and wings and eat them as a separate meal, and pick the rest of the meat off and use in curry or similar, and make stock with the bones.

Leftover potatoes and veg would be pretty rank I would have thought. We always eat pretty much all of them anyway.

There are usually left-over puddings at ours because we have a choice and everyone is stuffed so only have a tiny bit. But they get eaten as pudding for the next couple of days.

So, I'm not really sure what all the 'leftovers' are that people go on about either. Meat and puddings. It's hardly a larder-full is it?

FreshHorizons · 27/12/2016 22:38

I deliberately cook too much on Christmas Day because cold turkey and left overs is my favourite Boxing Day meal. I made a turkey and ham pie today and then the bones are boiled up for stock and there will be turkey and vegetable soup tomorrow.

bonbonours · 27/12/2016 22:40

Guess it's what you're used to but I've never eaten leftover turkey on boxing day, it would be frozen and used much later on. My mum always cooks something completely different for boxing day, usually steak/venison/roast beef etc. But DH always talks about having cold turkey with mash and pickles on boxing day when he was a kid. I would be bored having turkey two days in a row.

100milesanhour · 27/12/2016 22:41

I made broth with my left over turkey Caracas and then made delicious soup with it, we had bubble and squeak for breakfast today, left over turkey went into a curry for tea, lots and lots of things to do with leftovers. I purposely buy more than I need at Xmas because I can make loads of different things with the left overs

confusednortherner · 27/12/2016 22:58

We fed 6 for Christmas Day lunch, pil took enough home for sandwiches later and we had some cold with nibbles for late tea.
Boxing Day we had sandwiches etc for tea then today we had friends for lunch more cold cuts then finished up veg and meat for tea. Gutted it's all gone!!

SomewhatIdiosyncratic · 27/12/2016 23:28

2 adults and 2 young children for Christmas dinner, so we had a duck. The extras of stuffing, pigs in blankets and more choice of veg meant we had some leftovers which worked well for Boxing Day evening as we'd had a good, late lunch while visiting earlier in the day.

The remains of the duck were reheated.The potatoes and veg were whacked in the food processor with some egg and fried to make a fusion of spanish omlette/ bubble and squeek. There were then extras like coleslaw, naice ham and olives to bulk it out.

A lot of our Christmas week involves visiting and erratic and often large lunches, so I tend to stock up on light picky foods rather than meals, and any leftovers complement that. I don't intentionally over cater, and just serve a roast as that's filling enough without starters and deserts which would be too much bother for just two adults and two indifferent children!

2rebecca · 27/12/2016 23:48

We rarely have leftover veg but do plate it up. If you put stuff in bowls people often don't want to eat the last whatever or by the time they realise no-one else wants it it is cold and then they don't want it.
I don't regard puddings and cheese that last more than 1 meal as leftovers.
We have some leftover meat but not a lot.

pklme · 28/12/2016 06:52

I cook a lot of veg because we like veg. Also there were eight of us and several are fussy eaters so you don't know which ones they will and won't eat.
I had left over a big pile of sprouts, leeks, a dollop of sweet potato mash and a lot of cauliflower cheese. And turkey and ham.

For lunch yesterday we had the leeks, with the ham, and cheese. For tea we had ham and turkey and the cauliflower cheese all in under a puff pastry pie lid.

Sprouts and sweet potato mash left to go now. Hmmm...

FreshHorizons · 28/12/2016 07:33

When we have been out for Christmas dinner I have cooked a turkey beforehand so that we can have it cold on Boxing Day- it is my favourite meal and I have hated it when we have had to have something different.

LightastheBreeze · 28/12/2016 07:41

OP, your Christmas dinner sounds similar to ours, there is just me, DH and adult DS and we have chicken as we don't like turkey, so hardly any veg left over and chicken gets eaten as we buy a medium one which serves 3-4 people. We were out on Boxing day and DS went home yesterday, I really don't want a fridge full of leftovers to finish, DH is back at work today also so will have his usual lunch.

allegretto · 28/12/2016 07:47

We had a 2kg turkey. The next day we had enough leftovers for one meal - but that was enough. I don't want to be eating it for a week.

judybloomno5 · 28/12/2016 13:06

Warmed up roasties. I love them.

Riderontheswarm · 28/12/2016 13:14

We had enough of everything to have the in laws of Christmas dinner on boxing day.
After that wehD lots of left over turkey and ham. I've used those for sandwiches and 2 dinners. Have mountains of cheese, crackers and chocolates for nibbles for the next week. I think I'll get another couple of days out of the cranberry sauce and the Apple sauce. Christmas dinner goes far.

BewtySkoolDropowt · 28/12/2016 13:25

I deliberately cook extras - but it's not (like the op has suggested) 'waste'. Leftovers if used is time and energy efficient. And I bloody love having a lazy Boxing Day because Xmas Day is always busy - so if cooking involves reheating leftovers for a second Christmas lunch I'm all for it!

I reheat the meat in gravy, steamed veg in the microwave, roast veg and sausages and stuffing in the oven. It takes not a lot of time and effort and very little gets wasted.

TinselTwins · 28/12/2016 13:32

you don't have to eat the "same meal" all week

with a sunday roast we get a bigger bird but only eat the white meat on roast day, the legs are kept aside and taste TOTALLY different and are nice cold for taking to work with salad,

We also have a freezer, so left over white meat doesn't have to be eaten the same day

The roast veg doesn't have to be re-eaten as reheated roast veg: it can be made into soup with the stock from the carcas

Its not 5x microwaved roast dinners, it's salads, curries, stirfries and soup. Completely different meals

liz70 · 28/12/2016 13:41

We're veggie so had the Linda McCartney roast (nut free as DD1 is allergic), and very nice it was too. Our roast veg are done in olive oil, seasoning and herbs. We cooked two of the roasts but only needed one on the day. We ate the meal on Boxing Day as I had an upset stomach on Christmas Day itself. We've had the second reheated over the past couple of days. I had a couple of slices last night with the leftover onion gravy reheated, served with steamer veg and buttered oatcakes. Lovely. And I've chopped up the leftover spuds and sprouts, mixed with some stuffing and beaten egg, and fried up as bubble-and-squeak for breakfast. Bit of extra pepper ground in and it's scrummy. All leftovers scoffed now. Nothing wasted.

zukiecat · 28/12/2016 14:57

Our Christmas dinner is the same as a roast

Nothing sad about it, just the way it is

zukiecat · 28/12/2016 15:00

Should have said we have chicken breasts so there's no waste or leftovers

I can only buy enough for us for the one meal

OhTheRoses · 28/12/2016 15:02

zukiecat oh how lovely to see you. I hope you are ok. Thought you weren't here anymore. How are the cats?

zukiecat · 28/12/2016 16:13

Hi OhTheRoses

I wasn't here for a long time, serious illness and having nothing to get onto Mumsnet with (only a very old phone) made it very difficult to post anything, but here I am again and it's great to be back!

zukiecat · 28/12/2016 16:15

Sorry, the cats are fine thanks!

Still as mischevious and cute as ever

OhTheRoses · 28/12/2016 18:42

Well, welcome back

zukiecat · 28/12/2016 20:01

Thank you, the welcome I've had has been tremendous and means a lot

CharleyDavidson · 28/12/2016 20:27

We had Christmas dinner at Mum's this year, so no leftovers.

So we are cooking our own version tomorrow. Just a turkey crown, but there will be trimmings, a range of veg and potatoes/parsnips. There will be leftovers. I love the Christmas dinner sandwich (inc warmed through bread sauce) but also love the fact that you can just plate up a whole second dinner the second day and just heat it through.

Leftover roast veg is magnificent heated up in the air frier. It goes all crispy and tastes like it's fresh out of the oven.

I can't be doing with making curry or soup out of the leftovers, they are nice enough just heated and eaten.

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