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Premeditated Leftovers™

Prep-Ahead Meals, Cooking Tips, and Frugal Living


Herb Roasted New Potatoes

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After digging up potatoes and onions this afternoon, I decided I could not wait until the weekend to roast the new potatoes.  If you grow your own herbs this recipe can be made almost entirely from the garden. I don’t grow my own olives, so I used store bought olive oil. I intended to serveRead More

Marshmallow Mixed Berry Pie

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This Marshmallow Mixed Berry Pie recipe takes a little bit of time to create, but the effort will be greatly appreciated by your Little Bear! My youngest son formerly spent a large portion of each day pretending to be Little Bear. For many months he even called me Mother Bear instead of mommy. He oftenRead More

Menu Plan – Week of August 2nd

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This week I am trying three new recipes: Double Bean Stuffed Bell Peppers, Paella with Tomatoes , and Summer Pesto Pizza . Each of theses recipes calls for ingredients that I have growing in abundance in my garden right now. So these recipes are win – win. I get to experiment while saving money on groceries. Monday –Read More

Using Leftover Taco Meat to Make Enchiladas

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Last week I had a mixture of seasoned hamburger and black beans leftover from Taco Salad that I used as a base to make enchiladas. If you are starting from scratch, I would suggest browning 1/2 pound of hamburger, then add 1 cup of cooked beans and 1 tablespoon of your favorite taco seasoning. MakingRead More

Cowgirl Caviar

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Black-eyed peas are usually associated with Hoppin’ John, which is a traditional New Year’s Day meal in the South. On the first day of the year, you eat “poor”, so that you may eat “well” the rest of the year. However, black-eyed peas are so delicious and nutritious that I don’t think they should beRead More

Dinner Menu Plan – Week of July 26th

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We survived eating salads every night last week. The lettuce plants are still producing, but at a much slower rate, so salads will show up a little less frequently on our menu. Many other vegetables are reaching maturity and are making their way into our meals providing us with much desired diversity! In the pastRead More

Taco Salad

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This salad, even with all of my alterations, reminds me of my childhood. My grandmother knew it was one of my favorites and made it whenever I visited her. My grandmother’s recipe is always a hit. The only thing I don’t like about it is that any uneaten salad will wilt. I don’t like toRead More

Earthquake Cake

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I am not a huge fan of cake mixes, but I do occasionally enjoy doctoring cake mixes. This doctored cake mix recipe was passed on to me by a friend. I can’t remember why, but she showed at my house with this cake (perhaps because I frequently tell my friends not to visit unless theyRead More

Summer Squash Recipes

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The summer squash and zucchini are just starting to come in from my garden. It won’t be long before I am overwhelmed. I only planted two zucchini plants this year, so although I have a lot of zucchini, it is still manageable. However, this year I went wild and planted 3 crook neck squash andRead More

Menu Plan – Week of July 12th

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Last week I did not create a menu plan. That oversight, coupled with a busy week, meant that I ended up sending my teens to get take out TWICE last week. We go whole months with out eating out, so twice in one week is pretty shocking for our household. I am determined not toRead More

Frugal Meatless Meals for Economic Vegetarians

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Fifteen years ago my husband made a career change. When negotiating his salary he did not take into consideration the increase in living expenses of the new location. And while on paper it looked like he got a raise, in actuality he barely made enough for us to scrape by. Now I am not goingRead More

Powdered Cocoa Substitute

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I wonder how many of my posts are inspired by my need to compensate for a silly cooking mistake? This evening after I started making a Cola Cake, I realized that I did not have enough cocoa powder to frost the cake. You can’t just slap any frosting on a cola cake! Cola cake demandsRead More

Being Flexible to Minimize Food Waste

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Each week I participate in Food Waste Friday hosted by The Frugal Girl. Monitoring my food waste, and documenting it with a picture, keeps me accountable and motivates me to remain vigilant in my goal to minimize, if not eliminate, food waste in my household. This week I had planned to serve asparagus on Sunday,Read More

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

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The chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies are one of my childhood favorites! I usually enjoy baking for my family, but today it was 101 degrees and I did not feel like turning on the oven. Even on hot days, my children require a bit of sugar to keep them sweet, so I made these easyRead More

Food Stamp Challenge Week 4 and Menu Plan

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  For the month of June, I am participating in the Food Stamp Challenge hosted by Katy at The Non-Consumer Advocate. Our challenge is to try to spend less on groceries than what our family would receive if we were to receive food stamps. The average family receives $101 per person. I also have aRead More

Preventing Mold on Berries

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While researching a way to minimize mold on berries, I came across an article by Harold McGee which suggested doing something completely counterintuitive: Rinsing them in hot water for 30 seconds. He did research and found that swishing strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries in 125 degree water for 30 seconds significantly reduced the development of moldRead More

Food Stamp Challenge – Week 3 and Menu Plan

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For the month of June, I am participating in the Food Stamp Challenge hosted by Katy at The Non-Consumer Advocate. Our challenge is to try to spend less on groceries than what our family would receive if we were to receive food stamps. The average family receives $101 per person. I also have a 3Read 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.