Dinners that make good lunches the next day

[Yawningalldaylong]

I need to simplify my cooking. What meals are good as a light lunch the next day. I often have good intentions but I just don't fancy left-overs so need some options for adapting the meal or it being something really delicious and healthy.

Quiches and puff pastry tarts. This chicken and pesto tart and this tomato and halloumi one are my current favourites.

Chicken goujons make great wraps. Ditto chicken fajita filling.

Pesto pasta makes a good cold lunch. I just add some chopped cherry tomatoes and some mozzarella pearls.

Also this orzo and feta dish is still nice cold.

Frittata with chorizo & salad or whatever on the side makes a good dinner and cold and sliced from the fridge Is a brilliant lunch.

Great ideas. It would be my daughter who has it for dinner (we currently have a gousto box and eat later). She often has a chicken wrap with her packed lunch, I could make my own goujons and use them over a few days. She doesn't like pesto but I'm thinking o could probably use the red pesto for the tart without her realising.

That's probably something I could make whilst cooking the kids tea and save for the next day. It's all about being by efficient!

Pasta salad, pasta, meat, sweetcorn, mayo, cheese. Basically add what you like or need using up

I like doing vegetables as a side dish for meat/fish in the evening, and they can easily be repurposed into a pasta sauce for the day after. A few examples: sauted courgettes with basil, any leftovers you mix with ricotta and use as a pasta sauce the following day; ratatouille you can mix with cous cous or bulgur wheat the next day; stir fried mushrooms can be mixed with cream and used as a sauce for tagliatelle. You definitely don't get the feeling you're eating the same thing twice in a row, but it's a minimum amount of extra cooking. This assuming you have access to a microwave for lunch though

Roasting peppers, tomatoes and onions together are really nice the next day cold with some good bread. They go like the expensive vegetables you can get from deli's etc.

Chicken souvlaki/lamb kofta with Greek salad
Chicken Arabiatta
Paella/jambalaya
Fajitas (I just have the chicken/peppers cold in a wrap next day)

I pretty much like most things cold - DH thinks I’m mad! Often things taste better the next day. Pizza, curries, lasagne, roast veg, roast meat ……

Roasted veg & Cous Cous (with or without chicken). Lots of pasta dishes are delicious cold too.

I eat cold veg curries with cold rice all the time.
Meat curries are a bit icky cold because the animal fat solidifies.

Do you eat it cold? I'm always worried about leftover rice but I'm sure that's not an issue really anymore.

I think as long as it fully cooked (not still a bit hard) and you refrigerate it within an hour from when you take it off the hob, it will be safe to eat hot or cold.

Agree with roast vegetables in bulgar wheat, couscous etc or even with rice or chopped up leftover roast potatoes. I also love cold chopped up roasties with tuna, mayo and sweetcorn, or chopped up blue cheese and a bit of creamy dressing. Not at all healthy though! Any leftover root veg or squash is nice with a couple of cubes of feta and/ or salad leaves and a basic vinaigrette.