Using leftovers can sometimes be a challenge. I’ve included three meal ideas reusing three different proteins that are completely different from the original meal. Let me know what you think below!

BBQ Pork Chops

We barbecued over the weekend and made center cut pork chops. They were delicious. We had two leftover, so I decided that a nice stir fry would be a good way to use them up. My daughter is a toddler, and very picky with her vegetables and meat selections right now, so I made her pasta instead of rice. I stir fried some red pepper, red onion and mushrooms until they were almost done and then added the strips of pork. I sautéed them until they were heated through, and then removed a scoops worth of the meat and vegetables and placed them in the food processor with some tomato sauce. I puréed the vegetables and meat in with the sauce, and served it over noodles for my daughter who was none the wiser.

For my husband and I, I added some soy sauce, a bit of garlic and some brown sugar and sautéed the remaining vegetables and meat for another few minutes. I served ours over rice. Delicious!

Taco Meat

We decided to make tacos for dinner the other night, and I had quite a bit of taco meat left over. I turned it into soft shell tacos for my toddler daycare children as a lunch, and then a delicious taco salad for me.

The kids really enjoyed their little “burrito style” taco. They’re super picky when it comes to anything remotely healthy looking, so I kept the toppings on the side in the form of a salad. The burrito itself has cheese, taco meat (ground beef, onion and peppers) and sour cream.

Honey Garlic Sausages

I wanted to make something that wasn’t the typical stir fry or pasta dish so we decided to try and make a sausage fried rice. It turned out pretty well! Click here for the recipe. Usually I use chicken or bacon as my fried rice protein, but the sausage actually made for a really tasty alternative!

These recipes are all super simple, and can be completed within half an hour which makes for the perfect weeknight dinner! Let me know if you try any below.