Leftovers for Lazy Nights

Since we are all friends here, I feel like I can be completely honest with you. I mean, we are friends, right? I thought so. Anyway, since we are friends, I feel ok with expressing to you just how tired I am. For those that don’t know, I am a mom of three. I have a sports obsessed teenager, a gaming-enthusiast pre-teen and an extremely active toddler, so yeah, that’s why I am tired. I get woken up at the crack of dawn by my toddler who wants to play and then promptly have to drive my teen to her volleyball practices, argue with my son about playing too much video games all the while trying to work. Oh, the joys of summer. The point is though, that I am exhausted. By the end of the day, the last thing that I want to do is work over a stove cooking dinner. I also though, like for my kids to eat healthy, so fast food isn’t an option. That’s why I like to serve Leftovers for Lazy Nights. That’s right, lazy night leftovers for this super busy mama of three. I know I’m not the only one who needs a break sometimes.

When I do lazy night leftovers, I almost always use the Superstone Bread Dome because of all of its abilities. Check it out:

“the "incredible" superstone® bread dome is an amazing product for baking breads and chicken, vegetable or meat dishes. the stoneware material replicates a professional brick-lined oven to create a dry, even heat and spectacular bread. the domed shape allows air to evenly-circulate around the baker for a uniformly browned crust on your bread while the unglazed lid helps create the perfect environment for baking crackly breads and juicy chickens and roasts.you may be familiar with making “no-knead bread” as popularized by jim lahey of sullivan street bakery. if you’re not familiar, you’ll find a recipe for “no-knead bread” below. if you are familiar, you’ll know that the shape of our superstone® bread dome is perfect to accommodate dough through it’s slow rise. best of all, you can use it for all of your baking needs!the glazed bottom won't absorb juices from foods so the bread dome maybe used for both breads, as well as, other dishes. the added hole in the lid allows the superstone® bread dome to release steam to prevent soggy breads. you'll love this product! bottom is dishwasher-safe. scrub lid with hot water and air dry.”

This bread dome is like the superhero of kitchen tools. I’m not even kidding.

So when it comes to leftovers, I usually serve one of a few things:

• Soup. When we have leftover chicken or meat, I like to toss in some veggies and maybe some potatoes or pasta and make a soup out of it. The bread dome is actually really great for heating up some leftover soup.
• Goulash. I know we all hated it as kids, but goulash really is so yummy and what better way to get rid of your leftover ground beef? Goulash can also easily be cooked in the bread dome. If you aren’t familiar with goulash, check out this easy recipe.
• Casseroles. Casseroles are great as their own dish, but you can make some pretty amazing casseroles by adding pasta to your available leftovers. I have done this with leftover chicken and ground beef both. Check out this tasty leftover casserole recipe.
• Sandwiches. Another thing I do with leftover meat is to create homemade sandwiches, made from delicious homemade bread, of course. This really works well for any kind of meat. Turkey sandwiches are a family favorite around here, but I have also used leftover ground beef to make sloppy joes, which is always a huge hit with my boys.

Don’t get me wrong, I genuinely enjoy cooking for my family, but sometimes I am just tired and leftovers are where it’s at. We all know that I like baking bread too, so even if I am not using the bread dome to heat up my leftovers, I have probably already used it that week to prepare some homemade bread that serves well with the leftover meals.

Sometimes lazy night leftovers are our family’s favorite nights. The less time spent on preparing dinner, means more time together as a family.

Did you see that our animal stools have arrived, by the way? If you have not yet checked them out, please do! They are freaking adorable and they make great accent pieces for bedrooms, living rooms, apartments and more! I am thinking they would be such a great accent piece for a family room or playroom. We like to use them for seating for the kids. They are also a really great conversation starter when guests see them for the first time.