Ask Lemmy

Any stew type thing is generally easy to scale up and usually follows the "better the next day" character. Goulash, curries, thick soups (beef barley is my favorite), and chillis.

There's no change in texture from reheating, which I think is key to good leftovers. Anything baked is going to dry out yet not be crisp, and anything fried is going to be soft and sad. Applying these principles to other things, and you come across things like lasagna as well.

For stuff that is baked, grilled, or pan fried, if it's something you can cook a bunch of, but pull most of it when it's 80% done, you can sometimes reheat that ok. We'll make 4 burgers out of a pound of meat, and either cook up 2 and just leave the other 2 for tomorrow, or say, pull 2 off when they're pretty rare, and cook the ones we're eating to medium. Then the next day, by the time the patties are heated through, they're to the right doneness.

Lasagna

Curry always tastes better the next day.

Bolognese and chilli are awesome. They usually taste better the next day since the sauce had time to soak in all the flavours from the spices we use.

Soups are also really good and full of flavour. Our current favourite is a coconut milk rice noodle soup with lemongrass and curry paste in it. Tastes really fresh, a little spicy, and the rice noodles add a nice consistency to the meal. Top it off with some fried, marinated tofu and you're golden

Chili. Almost any stew, really. They only get better when they sit longer.

Baked beans.

Super easy to make, not hard to make delicious, taste just as good the next day, freeze really well.

Rice and beans yumm

Chili, as everyone is saying.

Gumbo, and also oxtail stew, I won't even serve them the first day, they are so much better after a rest in the fridge.

Not cooking but any time we get pizza hut pizza I get a pan pizza to reheat - all that extra fat in the crust crisps up, it is so good reheated and not good the first day.

Any big hunk of meat is good because the first day it can be meat, rice, and beans, then tacos, then nachos or soup/chili or enchiladas.

Also if you don't like cooking (I do but have competing priorities) a big Tupperware of salad made in the weekend can help throughout the week.

Chilli con carne + rice
Spaghetti bolognese
Lasagna
Spinach & ricotta canneloni
Slow cooked braised beef & penne
Thai green curry + rice
Slow cooked butter chicken + rice
Slow cooked lamb korma + rice
Soups (pumpkin, potato & leek, pea & ham, etc)

Also we tend to freeze batches of leftovers without pasta/rice as it saves a lot of space in the freezer and throwing some fresh rice or pasta is little effort while the frozen meal container defrosts (fresh rice & pasta is much better, but frozen does work for a true reheat-only meal)

Anything rice-based reheats well

I don't like leftovers. I prefer when it gets made into something else.

Roast chicken becomes soup, tacos, or enchiladas.

Grilled steak or chicken gets chopped up and put in the freezer to make quesadillas.

Chili becomes chili dogs or chili con carne on cheese enchiladas.

My mom used to cook a couple pounds of ground beef and then season bits as needed for tacos, sloppy joes, or spaghetti.

I love doing Pulled Pork for lunches and dinner. Great for a meal and then it's great to put in other dishes. Nachos and quesadillas for lazy days and then great in soup

If I want to prep for multiple days and eat good after the prep, I'm making freezer friendly burritos.

Refried beans, rotisserie chicken, diced raw onion, and cheese. Heat up the couple I'm eating then, and throw the rest in freezer bags. Reheats well in the microwave, and I just toss it on some shredded iceberg along with a hefty bit of Cholula on top. Fake chicken and without cheese works good too if you're vegan.

The only other thing I do in batches is Chili like so many others suggested. I'd do more if it weren't for a shared kitchen that's a staircase away from my fridge.

Roast chicken.

Cook a bird on Sunday afternoon and pick on the remains all week.

I was raised on a parade of chili and soups packed and frozen in poor-man's tupperware (reused margarine and yogurt containers).

Vermicelli rice. Next day I make it into fried rice or mix it with minced meat, egg and fried onions making some meat balls.

Nice of you to call it: Cottage Pie.

That's a big pet peeve of mine.

Two of my favorites are one-pot chicken riggies and baked ziti

Chili (I modified the "Joy of Cooking's" McCleod chili recipe with fresh chilis and roasted red peppers)

Julia Child La Beouf Bourguignon (This actually gets better the longer it sits in the fridge).

Baked Ziti (Cooks Illustrated)

Chicken Tinga (Bon Appetite recipe)

Dirty rice with andouille sausage, shepherds pie, pizza, tacos (assuming all the parts are refrigerated separately; putting an assembled taco in the fridge doesn't really make good left overs IMO), soups, fried chicken... Nothing with pasta. Cold pasta is gross and reheating it never comes out good.

Pasta for us.

I also like to do pita wraps/donairs sometimes that last us a couple days. Just cut up all the ingredients on the first day and then it's just an easy warm up the pita and stuff it with the chicken and veg the next day. Works well for taco mix too like ground beef, just swap the pita bread for tortilla.

I was going to post a link to Once A Month Meals (or is it Cooking?) but it looks like they charge a subscription now. A lot of sites have freezable recipes now.

Anyhow, it's different than leftovers. Cooking lasagne? Make 4 trays. Burritos? Make 25. The key to freezer meals is to cool them completely before freezing and wrap it tightly or else you'll get frost. For pasta, get those tin trays and use press&seal to store. For burritos, wrap in parchment paper, then foil as foil can stick to the tortilla.

Enchiladas:

Cook up some spicy meat and bean (Pinto or black) mix, with plenty of chile sauce (at least 4 cups sauce, dealer’s choice). lightly oil some corn tortillas and layer them with the spicy meat and beans and sauce + cheddar (or similarly bitter) cheese and white onion in a casserole dish (like a lasagna) bake at 350 (f) for ~until it bubbles at the sides~ Rest 10 minutes on stove top Serve and enjoy. Save left overs for later.

Best if you use NM Chile but any spicy chile really would work, just make a sauce using it however you want. fresh onion and garlic and can get some Mexican oregano to add to the overall seasoning. It’s just a layered corn tortilla casserole with spicy filling and ample cheese at the end of the day so do whatever you want with it.

edit: for any NM expats reading; if you’re making red chile sauce from powder, I have recently discovered adding a bit of honey really elevates the flavor—I assume powder loses a lot of the sugar content in pods and other more freshly made sauces so the honey reintroduces a bit of earthy sweetness.

sous vide turkey is so good that it's worth making outside of Thanksgiving

Pancit bihon is the most amazing leftover I have ever eaten. Only mine, though. I add more soy sauce and garlic than is the norm.

The majority of soups are also much better after they have rested in the fridge overnight. Especially chowders. But also pho.

Do you make your cottage pies with minced beef?

For some reason I find the beef fat takes on an unpleasant flavor/texture when chilled and reheated. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Pizza is one of my favorite ledtovers, though. Cheese is good warm or cold.