The Day After

Most fridges across America are still stuffed to the gills with yesterday's party food. It's always wonderful to have tables groaning with food and drink. It shows that we're good hosts who care for our guests. However what happens when those tables are still groaning afterwards when the party has ended. What do we do?

Luckily some dishes like chicken wings and ribs can be reheated and recycled with some potato salad for the next day's dinner. Ditto the cold cuts and extra rolls plus they can also be made into tasty lunches too. Any sour cream based dip will last for a few days as long as it's covered and stored in the fridge. You can even have it again with veggies as a fun alternative to a regular meal. Extra veggies themselves can be cut down and made into soup or salad ingredients

You can also get creative with some of the other leftovers. Take pretzel, tortilla or potato chips and crush them finely for a different kind of bread crumb. Using them makes for much more interesting fried chicken and tempura. Cold cuts can be sliced up for a nice Cobb salad. Guacamole can be used as a spread in sandwiches or even used for taco or tortilla filling (note : guacamole's shelf life is only a day or two, try to use it within this time frame). Leftover pita bread can be baked into chips or used as a base for homemade pizzas.

Party leftovers needn't be so scary. You can use them recycle them in a variety of ways that your family will still enjoy. Just be creative and you'll have an empty fridge!