I’m right behind you at 78 and do likewise. I practically live on left-overs. Doncha hate it when they run out? Not fun when there’s nothing to eat....just ingredients.
Then there's goulash, stew, pot roast, chicken soup, chili. All homemade with love.
For the stew and pot roast...I boil a few potatoes and had my frozen carton. I also use chicken or beef bullion and double the carton amount.
Then there's my Progresso Soups...I add frozen Broccoli to the Broccoli and Cheese...and add a can of clams to the Chowder. Watch my protein carefully.
“I practically live on left-overs. Doncha hate it when they run out? Not fun when there’s nothing to eat....just ingredients.”
The head chef in our home is my 62 year bride. She tries to have a main meal or two and lunch for a couple of days and another dinner QSed with some other ingredients. Leftovers are an important part of our weekly eating.
Her best efforts are with the $5 Costco Chicken. We get the 2 hour delivery and one chicken with each order about once a month. We have the wings and maybe thigh/drumstick for the first lunch. Next, she prepares polenta and a slice or two of chicken for a lunch or dinner. Then, she makes a stew with some of the left over chicken and often QSes her stew with a can of good Progresso soup. I will add my share of tbe salad to my stew/soup in a bowl.
A pound of ground beef becomes hamburgers and left overs are used with Tacos or spaghetti . She does something similar with Jimmy Dean sausage.
We are both depression and WWII kids, and our mothers in spite of the rationing and other limits kept us fed and growing with their creativity in their kitchens. My wife inherited those skills.
She scans the weekly ads of our small local chain store and often has me buy the good priced items for present and future meals like the Jimmy Dean Sausage and one or two good frozen piazza’s. 1/3 to half of my weekly grocery shopping bill is fresh produce.
She is a firm believer in the Mediterranean way of what to buy, how to prepare and enjoy. Our family doc is amazed at how good our lab values are for 80 year old+ patients.