Steven and I really love leftovers. So much that we usually make 6-8 servings* at each meal, so that we have leftovers for the next few days. Then we can use them for lunch, dinner, or a quick bite…
There is a small problem though. As the leftovers diminish, and one person is at home, alone with them, who gets the last bite? What happens if one person has been craving them all day the gets home and they are GONE?
Yes, this has happened.
So we came up with the Leftovers Rule – if you’re gonna finish off something, you have to text the other person and let them know. Ideally, the other person would acknowledge and respond to the text… but right now, it seems to be more of a warning – “this item may or may not exist when you get home.”
Somehow, the rule has been transferred over to store bought items too – I got a text during my Monday night run with Anne that Steven was eating the last of a bag of chips.
There has been some debate about whether the rule need apply to store bought items. I am of the opinion it need not, as we can simply buy and replenish those items, whereas leftovers are not as easily replaced. Steven said to this, “So if I ate the last of a chocolate bar of yours, you wouldn’t want any warning, and wouldn’t be upset?” Of course, this started a discussion about how a man should never touch a woman’s chocolate, and how that question didn’t even make sense, so we didn’t get very far in our discussion.
Either way, I think I have the good end of the deal since Steven does the majority of the cooking anyway!
Does anyone else care about leftovers as much as we do? Or are you in the “Eww! Leftovers are gross!” camp?
*I realize this does not help me lose weight.
I try to make enough for leftovers, too. We don’t have a rule about who gets what, mainly because I would probably selfishly claim everything. 🙂
That is what I try to do 🙂 I’m like “I run… so I need to eat more!” (I really don’t)
haha I’m loving the text-the-other-person rule. That’s so thoughtful! My family loves leftovers, too. It makes it easier for the week and everyone involved!
I am SO bad with leftovers. unless it’s something i really really love I always forget about it and then realize a week later it’s bad.
I’m not a leftovers girl (usually) but Rich will pretty much stretch anything to it’s last day. It’s another way we’re opposite. We DO acknowledge the eating of the last piece of chocolate in the house, because we both have a sweet tooth. 🙂
I’m kind of “meh” about leftovers, unless it’s restaurant leftovers (something like Thai food). We usually plan two nights a week to eat the leftovers from two meals we cooked, and it works out pretty well because it means less cooking. I think if Steven were my home-cook though, I’d be fighting over leftovers too!
Aww, thanks for your compliment to Steven 🙂
That is a good rule about the leftovers!!! I love leftovers- for some reason, most everything seems to taste better after everything has melded together overnight! You are lucky like I am, I am not needed in the kitchen much (haha)!!
=^..^=
P.S. Data cracks me up!!!
OMG. You are sooooo right. We have a Thai dish that we make that tastes better the longer it is in the fridge. Chili too! 🙂 Can’t wait to have a meal with you! Hopefully early next year?!
I always make a lot of leftovers and bring them for lunch during the week. It makes my life so much easier and saves me money. Luckily, my boyfriend doesn’t like leftovers so usually they’re all mine!
You guys are too funny. We have a basic understanding that any left overs in the fridge are fair game. If I know that I want the left overs and don’t intend to eat them the very next day, I’ll still take them to work and eat them the day after that knowing if I left them home they would probably get eaten. But that wouldn’t always work if you work from home more frequently than me.
HAHA! Love this! (And the texting the other person rule!) We’re generally pretty big fans of leftovers (me especially) though depending on the type of meal we may or may not have any. My “favorite” is when one of us (usually Matt) will say (in advance) “oh you can go ahead and have xyz for lunch, etc” and then comes back after the fact and says “hey, where’s xyz?” “oh i ate it…” hahaha!
Jason and I usually have this conversation before one of us leaves for the day. “Can I have the xyz?” we’ll ask one another. Basically, though, Jason tends to forget we even have leftovers so they’re all mine!
This would never happen at our house unless it was candy (which I rarely have here). Darcy doesn’t like leftovers so that means I GET THEM ALL. (insert evil laugh) I swear that man lives on granola bars, Trader Joe’s mac & cheese with hot dogs, pistachios, and iced tea.
I’m not sure why, but I got a good laugh reading this post today. I think it’s probably because I used to HATE HATE HATE leftovers and have only recently been converted to the convenience of them (as in, you don’t have to cook every freaking meal). Unlike you, though, we usually only make enough for 1-2 lunches after the meal itself. And if I make a big batch of something (say, like chili), then we freeze dinner portions of it.
I am happy it made you laugh! I was trying to be goofy 🙂
Why did you hate them before?
When I actually do cook, I try to make extra so we have some leftovers. When I forget though, I usually regret it. Since my husband gets home about 2 hours earlier than I do, I know any leftovers from the night before will usually be gone by the time I get home. If I want leftovers, I have to bring it into the office and keep it in the fridge here. My husband won’t eat any leftovers more than a day old so they go quick in our house.
Nothing is worse than craving something and finding it gone when you go to eat it!
Tom and I are the same way. However, I can’t eat reheated chicken and he likes it, so I’ll often bargain with him and “let” him have all the chicken leftovers and I get all the pasta/soup leftovers. I’m crafty like that.
Damn. Greg doesn’t even know where the pots and pans are kept. He eats the last of stuff without a second thought. Sometimes it ticks me off. So I do the same.
I live alone so I get to eat all the leftovers. This is great except for when something is just mediocre and I have to eat it 5 more times. I do make extras so I have plenty to eat for lunch and other dinners and sometimes enough to freeze for later!
I think this is a pretty smart rule, if you both actually want leftovers. With only a few exceptions, I’m usually the only one eating leftovers. And I LOVE them! I always make a lot of food, usually so I don’t have to think about packing lunches for work. And cooking just for two kind of seems like a waste at times, so if I’m going to the trouble, I may as well get a few meals out of it.
I am not a fan of leftovers, I send all of my leftovers home with my friend when she comes to visit.
IF only we had this problem in my house. Brian will not eat leftovers for more than two meals after the dinner, so that is a total of 3 meals that he will eat the same thing. He just hates eating the same thing and it really bothers me! I love leftovers. Last week I made soup on Sunday and had it for four lunches! which made making my lunch all week super easy. I did kind of get tired of it by Thursday BUT if brian had helped me eat the leftovers I would have not had to eat it 4 times! anyway! mini rant!lol
oh my gosh this is hilarious!! I love making things in big batches too and this is actually a great idea…david never used to eat what i made so I didn’t worry about it. now he’s on a health kick to and he eats about 2x’s what i do so I keep finding things gone when I go to eat. I am going to bring this up!
I love leftovers and everyone in my family has long ago learned to not touch my food! But now when I make too much of something I’m stuck eating it all by myself even if I give everyone the green light to eat it!