Potluck Paradise: Let the Potluck Begin--with Super Leftovers!

The Super Party is Over. The Ravens won and the 49ers put up a good second half. The commercials had some winners and losers, too. The half-hour long game (and commercial) delay caused by the power outage may have caused guests to empty Super Party buffet tables more than usual, still, we're betting that there some leftovers tucked into cabinets and fridges.

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters the month-long celebration of our very own "National Potluck Month" is just beginning. . . and beginning with the best makings for great "potlucks" in the first meaning of the word -- the luck of the pot.

There are loads of opportunities for savvy and clever cooks to use the Super leftovers to make more meals and snacks. Of course in the name of food safety, any food--other than those which are temperature-stable such as chips, raw fruits and vegetables, or cheese--that has been sitting out for more than an hour or so should be discarded. But for many of us, that still leaves a lot of possible, creative and money-saving possibilities.

Here are seven ways of thinking about some of the most familiar Super Party leftovers.

1. Here in the northern Midwest, we know there is no better topping for a casserole or "hot dish" than crushed potato or corn chips. Gather up all those crumbs and tuck them away. No need to make buttered crumbs when you have these tasty morsels at hand.

2. When is a dip not a dip? When you convert it into a sauce! Even the smallest drib or drab of creamy dip can be mixed with cooked vegetables and a bit of milk to make a quick creamed vegetable. Sour cream and onion dip mixed with cooked frozen spinach or boiled new potatoes, yum! Add leftover salsa to cooked carrots, green beans, or corn, more yum! You don't need a lot, even the last two tablespoons make a tasty difference.

3. As the French say, "The sauce is everything!" With leftover cheese, bits of ham or turkey, and even partial bottles of wine, you have the sauce makings for pasta, macaroni, vegetables, potatoes, or to pour over a toasted English muffin for a quick dinner.

4. Slightly wilted vegetables from the veggie tray slip right into soup stock.

5. Combine slighted fruits such as strawberries, apples or pineapple cubes with sugar and cook into sauces or ice cream toppings

6. The Avocado!! Unopened ripe avocados will hold for a few days in the refrigerator. You can deploy ripe ones into mashed potatoes. Chop and mix the avocado with a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice to stop it from turning brown, then add to the potatoes and mash away!

7. Chicken Wings!!!! Reports surfaced over the weekend that more than one billion chicken wings were slated for Super Party platters. The truly frugal among us would have gathered all those bones, combined them with water and some of the veggie tray leavings to simmer into a stock. I'm not that thriftily willing to take something that has been in someone's mouth and make it into soup. However, I would happily cook up any unconsumed wings after rinsing off the salt-containing sauce.