Plan ahead to make delicious meals with any leftovers.

As I was brought up by war children I hate waste, and find throwing away left overs too painful, especially in this time of excess.

So here are some tips and links, so you can plan ahead. How to use up, or transform, some of your beautifully cooked, but left over food, in to delicious meals. Please note that you can make a quick video of yourself making a meal with leftovers and add it to your KIS (Keep it Simple) video cookery channel here. And perhaps win a prize, or become the next famous chef!

Sandwiches
Real bread, blog here, with Turkey, bread sauce, stuffing, lettuce, red currant jelly and mayonnaise in a sandwich must be one of the tastiest combinations, and worth ordering a larger turkey than you need!

Turkey sandwich

Stock & Soup
Throwing the turkey carcass away before making stock is crazy. The stock can be the base of a great soup or sauce for a curry or pie. Simply add the leftover veg, gravy, some pepper, lentils and herbs, blend (optional) and hey presto a delicious and nutritious soup for after Christmas detox.

Bubble & squeak
This has to be one of the best and delicious ways to use up left over potatoes and cooked vegetables. Simply add a little oil to a frying pan and add all the chopped up left overs. To add a bit of extra flavour add a little chilli, herbs or chorizo sausage and serve with ketchup.

Hearty soup

Curry
If you have lots of meat left over make a curry. You can fry and onion and use curry mixes, sauces or paste (buy here) then add the meat and veg at the end to heat through. Serve with nan bread, home made raita (chopped cucumber in plain yoghurt) and mango chutney.

Pie
Like the curry idea make a sauce/stock/gravy, add the meat and veg allow to cool then put in a dish with puff pastry over the top. Heat in the oven when ready for another great meal

Leftover rolls
Gather all your leftovers in a bowl and mix up. Add some pepper and salt and perhaps a raw egg if the mixture is a bit dry. Then roll out some pastry and make ‘sausage type’ rolls. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. video here

For more complete recipes and ideas try the BBC Good Food website or for more ideas on waste try the Love Food Hate Waste website omelette.