“Here! Over here! Pick me! Its been a while…I’m the one for you,” I inaudibly scream. My nerves have gotten the best of me and my anxiety is peaking. It’s day three, I’m cold to the core, but yet full of life. Can hope be found in this dark, lonely box of leftovers? I can only pray.
These are the things your leftovers would say if they could speak.
On Sunday night, I was crafted with passion, creativity and produce from the farmers market. My bold flavors and dreamy aromas were so enticing everyone in the apartment cooed, “YUM. Can I get a bite of that?”
I stole the night, outshining the microwaved ramen and frozen pizza – I even gave the sushi a run for its money. I was the only dish that mattered; I was the lasagna.
#SpoonTip: There are less involved lasagna recipes, but I liked the Tasty video and the amount of cheese that accompanied this recipe.
I’m not an overly complicated dinner to make. I require onion, some garlic, ground beef, ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, tomato paste, lasagna noodles and salt and pepper.
That day, my chef went to the market and picked out the freshest basil, the creamiest ricotta and the freshest onions. She made her pasta sauce from scratch and added layer after layer of soft mozzarella cheese and al dente noodles.
She danced around the kitchen tossing salt and shredded cheese like beads off a Mardi Gras parade float and yelled to “Alexa” to play this song and that one; I was going to be delicious.
The preheated oven was ready and so was I. She garnished me with basil and parmesan and labeled me her “most delicious masterpiece.”
I baked for 45 minutes and cooled for 10. Then she ever so carefully cut a square from my upper right-hand corner and took a bite. My chef was clearly satisfied.
She offered bites and servings to her friends, and then the clean up began. I wasn’t worried about the next phase of my life, as I was confident in my taste and flavor. I would not become an uneaten leftover. I couldn’t.
My chef gently cut the remaining content into perfect squares and placed me in this elegant glass tupperwear. That was the tell tail sign I would be reheated and eaten later that week.
She tucked me in, closed the door and the light went off. “Ah,” I thought, “My job is done.”
The next day, as dinner time rolled around, I got excited. It’s finally my time to feed and nourish my sweet chef. The refrigerator door opens, and I see her hand fumbling around me. I scoot to the left, she grabs my cold container, but she quickly pushes me aside.
I try again, this time sliding from the right. But to my horror, she grabs the frozen pizza. A twinge of pain strikes my heart, “There’s always tomorrow,” I think to myself.
Tomorrow comes and I was right: she picked me! It’s mid-day, and I’m ready to defrost and make my chef happy. Instead, I get a fork to my cold, slightly homogenized top layer – then back on the shelf I go. I fear this might be my demise.
The rest of the week creeps by, and I have become crusty and unappetizing. The once beautiful layers of cheese are now plastered to the sides of my container, my ground beef is dried up, and my basil topping is wilted. All the while, the condensation inside my glass box made my noodles pulpous.
I’ve been pushed to the back of the fridge, and all hope has been lost. On Sunday, my chef digs through the shelves and flushes me down the garbage disposal, the most tragic way to die.
#SpoonTips To Avoid Wasting Leftovers
Instead of dumping those cold noodles down the disposal, try a slow cooker leftover lasagna recipe. Lasagna soup is another twist to put on your leftover pasta dish. The last creative leftover idea is lasagna bread. Although this sounds funky, it tastes heavenly. Imagine garlic bread stuffed with cheesy lasagna. (You’re welcome!)