Laura wrote a post about matching her plastic lids with their bowls and mentioned leftovers which made me ask “What’s a leftover?” which in turn made me go over, open my refrigerator and see if I had anything that could be considered a leftover which is defined in the Random House dictionary ‘something remaining unused from a meal’.

Opening the refrigerator facing me was a gallon of water which I sip on all day and a gallon of mixed powdered milk from which I make a Weight Watchers milkshake every evening. There are 3 jars of salsa that I will use as flavoring for fish, meat and chicken, occasionally having salsa and chips.

There are 2 jars of instant decaffeinated coffee—many years ago I was told that if you put your coffee in the fridge for storage the flavor will last longer. There is a package of hearts of Romaine which I use one every night in a salad for dinner. In front of that is a plastic bag of peeled onions that I use a chopped slice of for the salad.

On the bottom shelf is a back-up of a gallon of orange juice of which I have an 8 ounce glass every morning—well when I wake up. Next to that is an 8 ounce portion of chicken which is for my dinner—more about that in a moment. Okay let’s not talk about that tin of chocolate—it is my Thursday treat and, no, none is leftover as the whole tin is eaten that day. In the back is a package of bread because that is where you keep bread in South Florida.

In the bin on the left side are onions waiting to be peeled and on the left side are apples of which I eat one a day, sliced and shredded nonfat cheese which I will use for a sandwich and on various dishes of protein.

On the inside of the fridge door on the bottom is the opened gallon of orange juice I am currently using, a liter of no caffeine, no calorie, no sodium diet cola I drink in the evening (oh yes, and no taste!) and a jar I keep excess grease from cooking in instead of throwing down the sink or toilet. Above that are various condiments including hot sauces, Katsu sauce—are you ready?—Fat Bastard Critical Mass Port and Chocolate steak sauce, Dijon mustard, light mayonnaise, no salt ketchup, light ranch dressing, minced garlic, grated parmesan cheese, grated topping cheese and a jar of Ciboulette. There are also 4 rice cakes as I have 2 with peanut butter for lunch in the afternoon.

In the freezer, on the top shelf, is a loaf of backup bread, a pound of ground sirloin, a pound of ground pork, a container of 24 small meatballs to be divided into 4 meals, a 12 pound uncooked turkey, 7 ‘emergency’ frozen dinners and packages of filet of flounder and tilapia for weekend dinners.

On the bottom shelf are two trays of ice cubes, cold patches for bruises (yes, I get a lot of those—getting old doesn’t help!) and next to that is a plastic box of chicken strips that I cook 12 pounds of in a crockpot, in different condiments, sauces and spices, the beginning of the month to use in 6 ounce amounts for dinners during the month. (See about the portion ready to be used on the bottom shelf of the fridge.)

I think that covers everything and I really don’t think any item could be considered a ‘leftover’ unless you think I have to eat the whole loaf of bread when I open the package!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnVmJn-lLkI