"We have all been there. That moment at the end of the week, where the kitchen is bare, and you need to make magic out of nothing," says TV chef, cookbook author and maestro of easy home cooking Donal Skehan.
If you're nodding along in agreement, look no further. Here's a round-up of clever recipes, from Skehan and other great cooks, that give you delicious ways to use up bits and pieces from the fridge and pantry. The end of the week meal has never looked so good!
Donal Skehan's "seriously good" mac and cheese recipe is ideal for using up whatever's in the fridge. Swap the cauliflower for broccoli if you like, or add in any little bits of leftover veg, and use whatever bits and pieces of cheese you have.
Cauliflower mac and cheese with chorizo breadcrumbs. Credit: Donal's Real Time Recipes
"Roast chook never goes to waste in my house as there are countless ways to produce new dishes from leftovers, like this yummy salad with soba noodles and a fragrant ginger dressing. I use snow peas and spring onions in my recipe but change it up depending on what you love and have on hand," says Justine Schofield of this easy meal.
Credit: Plum Books / Jeremy Simons
This recipe from Silvia Colloca is a great way to use up leftover pasta (in any kind of sauce). All you need is eggs, milk, cheese and olive oil. Cooked on the stove-top, it's ready in 15 minutes.
Credit: Jono Fleming
Just as the name suggests, this curry (or soup!) recipe from Alexx Stuart is a great way to use up what you have on hand. "Don’t be bound by my ingredients list – make this curry your own by using any limp veg. For a yummy soup, add another cup of stock, remove the cinnamon stick at the end, and blend on high for a few seconds," she says.
Credit: From keeping chickens to making this curry, it all adds up. (Murdoch Books / Rob Palmer)
Fried rice is such a good way to use up leftover rice. "I love fried rice and you can really pump it up with healthy vegetables when you make it at home. I've used leftover cooked ham in this version, but you can really add whatever you like to it, says Skehan of this easy and filling bowl.
Credit: Donal's Kitchen Hero
"In my mind, soup is the final destination for anything you've got hanging out in your fridge. I can pretty much guarantee you that whoever's eating a nice hot bowl of this soup isn't going feel like they're eating this week's leftovers," says Mary Berg. This soup is a great way to use up leftover chicken and/or cooked sausage, cooked vegetables and any small amounts of herbs.
Leftover chicken and sausage soup. Credit: Mary Makes It Easy / Geoff George
Who wouldn't love sitting down to this at the end of the week? This nourishing, comforting soup from Donal Skehan uses many pantry ingredients, along with plenty of vegetables, and the pasta cooks in the pot along with everything else. Serve with garlic toasts for a fantastic, filling and easy family meal.
Tomato and chickpea pasta soup. Credit: Donal's Real Time Recipes
Ready in just 15 minutes, this satisfying pasta dish brings together pantry staples including dried pasta, tinned tomatoes, stock powder and evaporated milk.
Credit: Jiwon Kim
If you have yoghurt and self-raising flour on hand, you can make the easy pizza bases in this recipe and top it with whatever you like. The meat topping shown, inspired by Turkish pide, is delicious but the possibilities are endless, and it's a great way to use up what you have in fridge and pantry: Leftover roast veg; cold cuts or other leftover meat; various kinds of cheese; the last few sprigs of a bunch of herbs...
Mini Turkish Pide Pizza Credit: Melissa Darr
Adam Liaw's method for clearing piled-up bread: a savoury bread pudding complete with ham, cheese and spinach. He suggests making it for breakfast, but it also works brilliantly as a an end-of-week supper if you plan ahead (it needs to soak for at least 2 hours).
Put your leftover bread to work and make a bread and butter pudding - sweet or savoury like this ham, cheese and spinach meal. Credit: Danielle Abou Karam
This Italian family recipe embraces the spirit of pizza in a cheesy, tomato-y bake. Add some salad or cooked green veg to round out the meal. You could also add leftover veg to the bake.
Credit: VICELAND / The Pizza Show / Farideh Sadeghin
If you've got lentils in the cupboard, dahl is a great way to create a meal out of almost nothing. Make it with red lentils, canned tomato and coconut milk or add in whatever veg you have in the fridge using this recipe.
Credit: Clare Winfield
