6 ways to Revamp Memorial Day Leftovers

I don’t know about you, but I really can’t stand leftovers. Eating the same food back to back is not appealing but after every family get together, there is a ton of food that needs to be ate. Not only do I cook a lot of food, but my family brings a lot of food. So what can we do to not bore our taste buds or let food go to waste? Revamp it. I know it sounds nice to not cook and simply throw food in the microwave, but let’s face it, that only leaves our food hot and soggy. Most of these revamps take 20 minutes or less.

Fried Chicken to Chicken and Biscuits - I’m not the most productive person in the mornings so biscuits seemed a little far fetched until I found frozen biscuits that take about 20 minutes in the oven. So, after 10 minutes of the biscuits baking, add the chicken in the oven as well. This will help to re-crisp the skin. When out of the oven, split the biscuits in half, pull the chicken apart and add a few pieces onto the biscuit with a little honey.

Hamburger to ground meat and pasta - this one is real simple. Boil some elbow noodles. Mince up the hamburger. Add one can of diced tomatoes with the juice. Combine all ingredients and salt liberally. This is a dish my granny used to make and it's so simple! If you aren’t a fan of this, simply add your hamburger to a package of Hamburger Helper.

We like to grill our corn on the cob which gives a great smoky flavor. To revamp, cut the corn off the cob and add it to a homemade salsa. If you don’t already have a salsa recipe, this one is real simple: 1 large can diced tomato plus one can tomato with chilies, 1 minced, de-seeded jalapeno, 4 cloves minced garlic, ½ onion diced, ¼ cup cilantro, salt, pepper, juice from ½ lime. Place all ingredients in a deep pan and simmer on high for 30 minutes to incorporate the flavors. Best to chill before serving. Or you can

Deviled eggs are only good the first time around. After that the egg whites tend to get rubbery. So, you have to remoisturize the egg. Empty the yellowy goodness from the egg and into a bowl. Dice the egg and place in the bowl. Next add 1 diced avocado and a heaping tablespoon of mayo. Incorporate all ingredients and now you have a delicious egg and avocado sandwich spread. I like to add a little smoked paprika as well.

Coleslaw is not a favorite of mine; in fact, I actively avoid it. It’s also super tricky to revamp because the ingredients are so different in various regions. The only advice I can give you is to add it as a topping to a hamburger or hotdog, or as much as I don’t like being wasteful, throw it away.

Another not favorite of mine that ends up at every cookout: baked beans. I do like bean burgers though. This revamp takes a bit of work, but turns out delicious. Mash the baked beans in a pot. Add sauteed onion and garlic, shredded carrot, salt, pepper, corn (could be the grilled corn from earlier). Add breadcrumbs for a binder and being to shape into patties. Sorry, I didn’t measure this out well, but how much you need also depends on how juicy your baked beans started. You could also add an egg to help keep things together a bit.