Never let leftovers go to waste.

It’s not just a loss of perfectly good food. It is a waste of money. And since Thanksgiving has passed and refrigerators everywhere (including mine) are bogged down with forgotten side dishes and cast off turkey, its an opportune time to use up leftovers and save a couple of bucks.

One dish that never gets eaten is mashed potatoes–there’s always too much cooked–so it’s an ideal leftover. Not only does it meld easily with other flavors, but having them pre-cooked is a time-saver because potatoes take a long time to cook.

Mashed potatoes are delicious, so there really is no need to integrate them into a brand new dish. All I do is add a splash of milk to them (they can get dry sitting in the refrigerator), grate some cheddar cheese on top and melt the cheese potatoes in the microwave for a couple of minutes. This makes a great snack and is easy enough to make before school, make it a great, although unorthodox, lunch.

Another leftover is turkey. I typically turn leftover turkey into a new dish because turkey is bland, so it needs other flavors, especially after sitting in the fridge for a few days. For lunch, I whip up a turkey sandwich because it takes five minutes. Sometimes, I cut up turkey on whole wheat bread with mustard, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes is healthy, easy and yummy.

A quesadilla is another easy way to use leftover turkey. Take two flour tortillas and toast them in a pan with a little bit of canola oil until they’re lightly brown. Then, take them out of the pan and add enough cut up turkey to cover one tortilla. Top with grated cheese and place the other tortilla on top, pushing down on it to hold the tortillas together. Put it back in the pan and continue cooking it until the cheese melts.

These ideas are super easy and delicious, so try them out. You should feel free to experiment with your leftovers–you may just find your pocket a little fuller and your refrigerator a little emptier.

Click here to read last week’s edition of The Student Foodie.