Leftover Rescue Tips
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Sat Dec 27, 2003 10:27 pm Food.com Groupie
Leftover Rescue Tips
This tips thread will highlight the shelf life of leftovers and various recipes that use cooked foods. I will post what I can, but if you have information to add, or recipes that use up leftovers, feel free to post in this thread.
Check the temperature in your refrigerator to see if it is maintaining a temperature between 32F (0C) and 41F (5C). Constant opening and closing of the door, overloading the refrigerator with food, and placing hot items in there can cause the temperature to rise, as well as malfunctions in the refrigerator. It is best to take a little spot-check.
Likewise, you can check your freezer to see if it is maintaining a temperature of 5F (-15C) or less.
Freezing to 0F inactivates microbes such as yeast, bacteria, and mold, but it does not kill the bacteria. When you thaw the food again, the microbes start becoming active, and after about 2 hours at room temp, they will have multiplied to levels that can cause food borne illness.
Do not keep any food that has been at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
It is best to refrigerate foods promptly after the meal. Leaving foods out on the table for grazing is not a good idea.
Reheated foods should be brought to 165F (75C), or gravies brought to a rolling boil. Thorough cooking at high temperatures can destroy bacteria.
Reheat foods only once. After that, discard any unused portions.
Always label the container of frozen foods with date you put it in the freezer. It might be a good idea for the fridge also, if you have a hard time remembering how old things are.
Never taste-test food to see if it is ok. If it is questionable or past date, just throw it away. Food that has gone bad can taste perfectly fine. And you may not get sick for 5-7 days and probably won't remember what it was you ate.
A note on holiday turkey: When storing, the meat should be removed from the bone and stored separately from the bone and the stuffing.
Shelf life of leftovers:
Baked beans (frozen)...4-6 months
Chow mein (frozen)...4-6 months
Cold cuts (refrigerated)...3-4 days
Cooked beans and lentils (refrigerated)...4 days
Cooked Casseroles (refrigerated)...2-3 days
Cooked chicken or other poultry (in sauce) (refrigerated)...1-2 days
Cooked chicken or turkey (no sauce) (refrigerated)...3-4 days
Cooked meat (refrigerated)...3-4 days
Cooked meat (beef, pork, etc) (frozen)...2-4 months
Cooked vegetables (refrigerated)...2-3 days
Cookies (frozen) (baked)...6 months
Cranberry sauce (refrigerated)...2 weeks
Custard and cream pies (refrigerated)...2 days
Custard pies (frozen)...2 months
Dinner rolls (frozen) (wrapped in foil)...up to 3 months
Dip (refrigerated)...2 days
Eggs (hard-cooked in shell) (refrigerated)...1 week
Fried chicken (refrigerated)...3-4 days
Fruit Pies (room temp)...1-2 days
Fruit pies (frozen)...2 months
Gravy (refrigerated)...1-2 days
Lasagna (frozen) (wrapped in foil)...2 months
Ham, cooked, whole (refrigerated)...3-5 days
Ham (frozen) (cooked ham)...30 days
Mashed Potatoes (frozen)...2-4 weeks
Meat loaf (frozen)...1-3 months
Meatballs (frozen)...1-3 months
Pasta, cooked (refrigerated)...3-5 days
Pasta (cooked) (frozen)...2 weeks
Pudding (refrigerated)...1-2 days
Quick Breads (frozen)...1-2 months
Rice, cooked (refrigerated)...5-6 days
Rice (frozen)...2 months
Sandwiches (refrigerated)...1-2 days
Sandwiches (frozen) (cheese, ham, bologna)...3-4 weeks
Sandwiches (frozen) (all other types)...3-6 months
Soups (refrigerated)...3-4 days
Stews (refrigerated)...3-4 days
Stuffed Peppers (frozen)...4-6 months
Stuffing (refrigerated)...2 days
Stuffing (frozen)...1 month
Sweet potato Casserole (refrigerated)...4-6 days
Sweet potato casserole (frozen)...2-3 months
Turkey slices or pieces (cooked and dry) (frozen)...4 months
Turkey slices or pieces (in broth or gravy) (frozen)...6 months
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Sat Dec 27, 2003 10:43 pm Food.com Groupie
Here are a few recipes that can use various leftovers. 
Recipe using cooked ham:
Dutch Split Pea Soup recipe #34453
Recipe you can use cooked chicken, cooked pork roast, cooked shrimp, cooked ham, cooked rice, etc.
Chinese Fried Rice recipe #38748
Recipes for leftover cranberry sauce:
Cranberry Glazed Meatballs recipe #76180
Cranberry Barbecued Chicken recipe #75530
Recipe for cooked turkey:
Turkey Turnovers recipe #75535
Recipes for cooked rice:
Thai Pineapple Fried Rice - Pad Kao Saparod recipe #38083
Shrimp Fried Rice - Com Chien Tom recipe #35951
Indonesian Fried Rice - Nasi Goreng recipe #35551
Thai Chicken Fried Rice with Basil - Kao Pad Krapao recipe #32321
Thai Fried Rice - Kao Pad recipe #30271
 Dorel
Sat Dec 27, 2003 11:38 pm Food.com Groupie
Chicken Casserole recipe #62347
Turkey Pot Pie recipe #52687
Chunky Chicken Salad recipe #69404
Leftover Turkey Casserole recipe #75666
Poppy Seed Chicken recipe #16696
Easy Pot Pie recipe #48379
Chicken Pie recipe #21574
Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie recipe #61254
 1Steve
Sun Dec 28, 2003 9:55 am Food.com Groupie
Sue L wrote:
Leftover Rescue Tips
Reheated foods should be brought to 165F (75C), or gravies brought to a rolling boil. Thorough cooking at high temperatures can destroy bacteria.
Sue, thanks for the tips. Hope this isn't a stupid question. If I forget a pan of chicken out overnight for example, according to your 2 hour rule as well as everything else I've heard, I should probably throw it out. However the scientific part of me as well as my desire not to waste things and throw away money makes me wonder why I can't just use your reheating rule and bring it up to 165ºF (75C). Wouldn't that kill any bacteria and make it safe to eat again?
:(
Mon Dec 29, 2003 11:46 am Food.com Groupie
1Steve wrote:
Sue L wrote:
Leftover Rescue Tips
Reheated foods should be brought to 165F (75C), or gravies brought to a rolling boil. Thorough cooking at high temperatures can destroy bacteria.
Sue, thanks for the tips. Hope this isn't a stupid question. If I forget a pan of chicken out overnight for example, according to your 2 hour rule as well as everything else I've heard, I should probably throw it out. However the scientific part of me as well as my desire not to waste things and throw away money makes me wonder why I can't just use your reheating rule and bring it up to 165ºF (75C). Wouldn't that kill any bacteria and make it safe to eat again?
I think it all comes down to a question of heating up a food that has the potential to become hazardous (normal food) or one that has definitely become hazardous (spoiled food).
You might be able to destroy the bacteria by bringing the food up to the required temperature, but if you have improperly heated the food in any way, you would be taking a great risk to your health because the bacteria with its food borne illness would remain.
Besides, who would want to eat spoiled chicken? 
1Steve
Mon Dec 29, 2003 12:37 pm Food.com Groupie
Sue L wrote:
1Steve wrote:
Sue L wrote:
Leftover Rescue Tips
Reheated foods should be brought to 165F (75C), or gravies brought to a rolling boil. Thorough cooking at high temperatures can destroy bacteria.
Sue, thanks for the tips. Hope this isn't a stupid question. If I forget a pan of chicken out overnight for example, according to your 2 hour rule as well as everything else I've heard, I should probably throw it out. However the scientific part of me as well as my desire not to waste things and throw away money makes me wonder why I can't just use your reheating rule and bring it up to 165ºF (75C). Wouldn't that kill any bacteria and make it safe to eat again?
I think it all comes down to a question of heating up a food that has the potential to become hazardous (normal food) or one that has definitely become hazardous (spoiled food).
You might be able to destroy the bacteria by bringing the food up to the required temperature, but if you have improperly heated the food in any way, you would be taking a great risk to your health because the bacteria with its food borne illness would remain.
Besides, who would want to eat spoiled chicken?
Thanks Sue good point. Guess it can be summed up as "when in doubt throw it out" 
 Cathy17
Mon Dec 29, 2003 3:39 pm Food.com Groupie
Sue L,
Thank you so much for the recipe ideas using leftover homemade cranberry sauce! I always have leftovers of it ( I don't know why - it was always the first to go in my house growing up - actually we had a system that dad was always the last to get the cranberry sauce and we always asked if everyone got some first because if it got to dad, none would be left for anyone else! lol) and have been at a loss of what to do with the remainder. I tried a recipe from here on Dec 26 which got rave reviews, however, it didn't suit mine or dh's taste. I feel bad because I rained on the review parade and gave my first one star review ever!
Thanks again! I hope to try these recipes with roast chicken/turkey dinner leftovers!
Cathy
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Mon Dec 29, 2003 3:58 pm Food.com Groupie
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