How To Entertain on a Budget and How To Handle Leftovers

Uninformed acquaintance: "So how did you get interested in cooking?" 
Me: "In a smackdown fit of necessity."
Uninformed acquaintance: "What do you mean?"
Me:

Here's what I mean. 

In college, I was the popular non-fraternity geek.  I loved studying, I loved teaching, I loved being with people.  Frankly, I loved (and still do) being loved. 

The class clown.

Even for classes I didn't take. 

True story: I took the test for a junior-level mechanical engineering class having never ever stepped into the building, let alone that class.  (As a reminder to those who don't remember, I was an English Major.  I can deconstruct Chaucer, but never got past high school trigonometry.)  It was the first test of the semester, a few weeks before midterms.  In a class of 45 people, I had the perfect balance of geek and nervous apprehension to blend right in.  As all around me settled into their seats and pulled out their mechanical pencils, exchanging furtive glances and whispers of "how do you think you'll do?"  I didn't want to be discovered before completing my mission.  Only my #2 wooden pencil with a conventional, if pristine eraser on top ("has he never made a mistake?!?" I imagine them to have asked) looking out of place.  As class began, the professor handed out the test booklet and everyone settled into their work.  I could answer part of the first question: "How is the force of a falling object determined?  What is the mass of [something something] when [something happens] and [gobbledy gook]?"  Easy.  F=MA.  It went down hill from there.  I ended up drawing pictures in the spaces provided and used blanks in the questions as a Mad Libs exercise.  I proudly signed my nom de plume at the top of the page--Simon Mathews--and was the first to hand in his test. 

When the tests were graded and handed back I heard reports that the professor was very concerned for Simon.  The professor drew a graph on the chalk board with the x-axis representing scores and the y-axis representing numbers of students.  He used a bar graph to represent a near perfect bell curve.  Looking like the skyline of downtown Denver, I understand my bar stood so far on the outside of the metropolis to suggest more of an outhouse in the woods than even suburbs. "Mr. Mathews doesn't seem to have been in class yet this semester and I worry that his self study lacks focus."  Lacks focus? My score single handedly busted the bell curve and pushed all other grades 10 points closer to getting an A!

What I'm trying to say is that I got a lot of love from people whom I never met.  That pleased me.  So I'd regularly look for opportunities to create joy in others.  I also learned to use food and drink to charm those around me.  There was one great hurdle to overcome in college, however.  Poverty.  The challenge was that I was putting myself through school.  How to entertain on a budget and how to feed myself. 

1. Make more!  If a little is good, then a lot will be better.  I would always cook large quantities whenever possible with the anticipation of having leftovers.  Also, bulk quantities of anything tends to be cheaper. 
2. Make food that will keep through the week.  Highly perishable, means that you'll have to eat it all in one sitting.  That obviously circumvents the Leftovers. 
3. Make things that are simple.  The more simply a dish begins, the more easily it can be dressed up later on.  If you start off with a a number of complex flavors the leftovers will be hard to adapt into a new meal.  The caveat to this is the One Big Pot Rule.  If you make a meal in one big pot (Pot Roast, for instance) then all the complex flavors meld together, creating one new flavor. 
4. Make it a potluck!  Allow others to contribute to your future dinners, but be willing to share.
5. Make spices your friend.  Nothing can redress last night's dinner (or 2 or 3 nights ago) than adding more spices and herbs and building the layers of flavors. 
6. Make new combinations.  Have leftovers from multiple meals?  How can they be combined?  With a little experimentation, you'll amaze yourself!

Great example from this week:

Friday: My brother bought his house!!  He took possession of his house and he flew to Denver for a few days. I cooked Sugar and Spice Rubbed T-Bones out on the grill with mushrooms and garlic.   The steaks were huge.  We had leftovers.
Sunday: Family came over.  I made Smoked Venison in a Cream Sauce over Pasta  (I cooked too much pasta).
Wednesday: We had leftovers stacking up, and not enough time to cook a meal from scratch.  I sliced the steak into thin strips, heated the steak with the leftover mushrooms and garlic in a skillet with a little olive oil, and then added the leftover pasta.  When hot, I spruced it up with crumbled blue cheese.  Add a side salad, and you have a creative new meal within 15 minutes.

I can't promise that the creative use of leftovers will get you some love this week.  But it may keep you (or you loved ones) from throwing out your food.