New Word, Old Idea

One of the members of a forum I belong to recently posted that she was deciding what to cook for tomorrow's supper (which would include enough to have plan-overs for the next night). I had never heard of the phrase, but according to A Way with Words, it means "an excess of food cooked so as to have leftovers for future meals".

Something I do all the time. I bet you do, too.

Most recipes make four servings, and there are only two of us in the house. Hubby Tony prepares dinner on Sunday. He always makes enough so I can reheat it on Monday, giving me a second night off. Then if I plan well I only have to start from scratch on Tuesday (with leftovers on Wednesday) and Thursday (repeats on Friday). Saturday night is "go out date night", then the week starts over.

Even if the leftover plan doesn't execute perfectly I can still leverage the plan-over system to my advantage by using my freezer. It always has a selection of cooked beans and containers of brown rice ready to go, and sometimes servings of soup or stew, too. I bake two dozen muffins and two pounds of tofu at a time, because I have one or both of them for lunch most days. Add in a couple of bags of frozen vegetables and plan-overs are a breeze!