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First Posted: 1/5/2015

Is your New Year’s Resolution spending less money on food? Would you like to better utilize leftovers safely? Here is a simple method for creating your own family favorite casserole from foods that you have on hand. If you live alone, this can be a way to dress up the continual leftovers which never seem to end.

Before you use any leftovers as a casserole, it is very important that the leftover dish is safe to eat. Ask yourself, “How long has this been in the refrigerator?” If you can’t remember, throw it out and start using a marker and tape. Date the foods when refrigerating and discard if they are over the storage time. Cooked meats such as ground beef and chicken can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

It’s important to refrigerate foods quickly. Any food which has been left at room temperature for longer than two hours needs to be discarded.

Be creative when making a casserole. First select one cooked starch – whole grain pasta, whole grain rice, or potato. Next, select one cooked protein a meat, fish, beans, eggs or cheese. Third, select one vegetable, fresh or thawed frozen. Fourth, select the sauce that you would like either a red sauce such as tomato or white sauce that you make yourself. The recipe for the white sauce is below. It’s best to make it yourself; it’s cheaper and has less sodium.

Last but not least, select the seasonings. Use salt free seasonings such as basil, pepper, parsley, oregano and or garlic.

Combine all foods and place in a non-fat sprayed casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until reaches 165 degrees.

Casseroles don’t need to be boring or expensive. Use this easy method of creating your own from left overs and save money.

Easy White Sauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup nonfat milk

Optional low sodium beef or chicken bouillon, crushed

Use this easy white sauce whenever a recipe calls for a can of creamy soup, such as mushroom.

In a saucepan, heat the oil. Add the flour. Add the milk gradually. For more flavors add crushed low sodium chicken or beef bouillon to the mixture.

Heat to boiling and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly.

Remove from heat.

Yield 8 Servings, serving size 1 ounce

1 Serving: Calories 40, Fat 3g, Carbohydrate 3g, Protein 1g, Sodium 10 mg Fiber 0 Calcium 3%