Ever wonder what to do with your leftovers? You know, when there are three chicken wings, 1 smoked sausage, a couple shrimp and one lonely pork chop all sitting in the fridge. All hoping that one of your family will take pity on them and warm them up for lunch rather than making a grilled cheese or another ramen noodle soup. 

Leftovers feel unloved, sometimes.

They just sit there. For days. Until, finally, you either warm them up yourself and have a protein loaded lunch that sits with you the rest of the day, or they go bad and need to be thrown away.

You know what? that doesn’t happen here in the Schinkel household. It’s certainly not because my kids are the type to actually look in the fridge to find leftovers. And I’m not the type to over-protein a meal – I’m all about balance. 

Bami Goreng is my super power.

When I was a kid, my Mom would make shepherd’s pie with potatoes & leftovers, and she would make Bami with noodles & leftovers, and Nasi with rice & leftovers.  I’m not a big fan of Potatoes or Rice, but I love my pasta, so Bami comes to the rescue of our leftovers pretty often around here.

Secret is in the seasonings.

I don’t know what seasonings are actually in that little packet of goodness, but they are good. Not too spicy, just flavourful. If you like spice, you add some of this:

Basic instructions are to simply soak the seasonings in about 1 cup of boiling water. That’s it. Do that first.

 

Which Meat?

Doesn’t really matter. Whatever you have left will do. Seriously. I’ve been in a restaurant where they had sausage and shrimp. Jacqueline uses honey garlic sausage. I did chicken, smoked sausage, smoked pork chop and bacon tonight. I’ve done chuck roast.
If you don’t have actual leftovers, then just pick your favourites and cook them all up in a bit of olive oil or butter, then set aside.

Which Veggies?

That’s a little more particular. You want the ones that sauté up nice. Onions, leeks, cabbage, celery all work nicely, but I’ve been know to throw in cauliflower and broccoli if they are hanging out in the fridge. In a real pinch, just buy some of the stir fry veggies from the fresh counter. Easy is good, right? You will want them sautéd to tender crisp, not too soggy, as they will be cooked again when you are ready to serve it up.

Which Noodle?

I personally favour the long egg noodles, or Mie nests for our Bami. But you can actually use any noodle, from spaghetti to rice noodles to bowties. All good. Whatever you choose, just have them precooked and ready to mix in with the other ingredients.

So, simply heat up everything in a large wok or fry pan, and get nice and hot just before everyone gets home. Sometimes I find I need to add a bit of water or more oil if it seems too dry.

So Easy. So Delicious. No more leftovers.

You’re Welcome.