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Premeditated Leftovers™

Prep-Ahead Meals, Cooking Tips, and Frugal Living


Memorial Day at the Hearth and Soul Hop

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Welcome to another Hearth and Soul Hop, the food carnival for and about food that not only nourishes our bodies, but our souls! I hope you have been able to enjoy time with family this Memorial Day Weekend! This week I am featuring recipes that would make delicious side dishes or desserts at a weekendRead More

Enjoy a Free Day at The Discovery Museum 5/29

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Your family is invited to visit the Discovery Museum on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, “529 Day”, to celebrate education and the future of our children. Enjoy free admission to The Discovery for children* age 17 and under and a day of special events. You can find the details and a list of special events here. TerryRead More

Enjoy a Staycation in Your City on a Budget

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Yesterday, I shared how my family enjoys our staycations in Northern Nevada on a budget on my local blog Saving in Nevada. I have teamed up with over 90 other blogger to bring you staycation ideas for cities across the country. Each blogger is sharing their tips for enjoying their city or region on aRead More

Staycation: Enjoy Your City on a Budget

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Yesterday, I shared how my family enjoys our staycations in Northern Nevada on a budget.  Today, I am sharing links to staycation ideas from my blogging friends for cities across the country. If you are going on a vacation this year, I encourage you to check out the post written by a native of thatRead More

Staycation: Enjoying Reno and Tahoe on a Budget

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If you aren’t able to get away for a vacation this year, then take advantage of all of our local attractions and enjoy a staycation! A staycation can be just as much fun, and a lot less work than a vacation. Those of us who live in Northern Nevada truly are blessed with an abundanceRead More

Brunch Recipes

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I love brunch. Since it is served later, I feel more relaxed when preparing the food. We have brunch for every major holiday at our house. Here are some Brunch recipes to inspire you for your next holiday.   Brunch Recipes: Bread Recipes My family could happily make a meal of rolls, muffins, and bread!Read More

Menu Plan – The Salad Edition

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My garden is doing extremely well, maybe a little too well. I have declared a salad week, so we can make a dent in all of the greens. Depending on the weather and time available I will either Batch Grill or Batch Broil Chicken on Monday and then combine the chicken with ingredients from theRead More

Homemade Vanilla Pudding

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The ingredient list on vanilla puddings are quite similar, so why am I sharing my recipe? Because the directions are so involved on most recipes, they would leave you thinking that pudding is hard to make. Most recipes also leave you with the impression that lumps are inevitable. Both are false. Pudding is easy toRead More

Tips for Dealing with Motion Sickness

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Do you have someone in your family who suffers from motion sickness? Not only do they suffer, but it can complicate your travel plans! My husband is a pilot and my kids have inherited his cast-iron stomach, but I sometimes suffer from travel sickness. I have created a list of tips that help me reduceRead More

Summer Reading Programs For Kids (Updated List)

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Do you want to encourage your kids to read this summer? Tracie of Penny Pinchin’ Mom has created a list of summer reading programs for kids and is sharing it with us today. Scholastic’s Summer Challenge: Kids can keep track of their reading minutes by logging in.  In return, they can enter to win variousRead More

Frozen Dessert Round Up

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My husband received an ice-cream maker for Father’s Day in 2000. Why? Because the kids were sure that my husband wanted an ice-cream maker. A red one. And it turned out that they were right; my husband loves making ice-cream. He often insists on bringing it to our friends parties so everyone can eat realRead More

Cookie Recipes from the Hearth and Soul Hop

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Welcome to another Hearth and Soul Hop, the food carnival for and about food that not only nourishes our bodies, but our souls! There were so many delicious contributions to last week’s Hearth and Soul Hop! This week I am highlighting the delicious cookie recipes that were submitted: Oatmeal Cookies Campfire S’more Cookies Chocolate ChipRead More

How to Kill Ants

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I try to use natural methods to kill ants, especially they are in location near my children and pets. My first line of defense is soapy water using Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Castile Soap. I put it in a spray bottle and squirt any ants I see. This temporarily disables the ants making them easier toRead More

Menu Plan Week of May 13

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I blew it last week when I made my menu. I completely forgot that today was Mother’s Day. My husband told me earlier this week that he would barbecue steaks for Mother’s Day, so yesterday I made ribs in place of steaks. This morning before I woke up (and could pull steaks out of theRead More

Homemade Sunscreen Recipes

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I try to be very careful about what I put on my kid’s skin. I prefer to use clothing and hats to provide protection from the sun, but that is not always enough. With ever-changing guidelines about what sunscreen ingredients are safe, it just seems easier to me to make homemade sunscreen rather than tryingRead More

Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.