If the last few months of cooking big meals for your family has created a refrigerator full of leftovers, you are not alone. Figuring out how to reintroduce the same old dishes to your family in new and interesting ways is a challenge. You don't want to bore your family by serving them the same plate over and over again, but you don't want to waste food either.

Being creative when serving leftovers is tricky. You have to think about the ingredients that went into the dish in the first place, and think about what other dishes incorporate those same food items.

1) Classic Potato Soup

When you have leftover mashed potatoes, you have the makings for a wonderfully creamy potato soup. Start with a big soup pot. Throw in 3 or 4 slices of bacon, diced, and cook until the pieces are crispy, then remove from pot. In the same pot, cook up some diced celery and carrots. Then add some diced onion and cook until soft. Then put in about 1 Tablespoon of oil, 1 Tablespoon of flour, and 1 1/2 cups of milk, and thicken. Stir in your potatoes and bacon and simmer very slowly. This is a very satisfying creamy potato soup.

2) Turkey And Gravy Sloppy Joe's

Break up some leftover turkey either with a fork or dice with a knife. You can use both white and dark meat. Take out a big skillet and cook a couple slices of bacon, diced up. In the same pan, add diced onion and garlic. Add the turkey pieces and put leftover gravy over until the turkey is covered. Add a little of your favorite barbeque sauce or grilling flavor, but just enough to give the gravy its barbeque flavor. Simmer slowly and serve over buns or a leftover dinner roll.

3) Creamy Cauliflower Curry Soup

In your food processor, pulse leftover cooked cauliflower until nice and smooth, adding a bit of milk as you go. Add about two teaspoons of curry, more or less to taste. In a soup pot, saute some diced carrots and onion in a bit of oil. Then pour the smooth cauliflower in soup pot. Cut up leftover turkey and add to pot. Let soup simmer until nice and cooked through and hot.

4) Green Bean Tomato Cheese Soup

If you have leftover green bean casserole, you're in luck. It makes the perfect start for a cheese soup. Adding some diced tomatoes gives this soup a fresh flavor. Get out your big soup pot and saute up some bite size pieces of celery until just soft. Add several big chunks of onion, cooking until transparent, and then add a little minced garlic. Pour in a can of diced tomatoes. You may want a little extra seasoning, like a grill seasoning or dry rub. Put in your green bean casserole, slowly mixing in all the ingredients. If it seems a little thick, add a bit of chicken broth. Now just heat, stirring often, until the soup is all creamy and hot.

5) Egg And Stuffing Breakfast

Prepare a muffin tin by spraying with non-stick spray or rubbing each muffin cup with butter or oil. Spoon stuffing into muffin cups and push up the sides to form little stuffing cups. Break one egg into each cup. Then top with shredded cheese, either cheddar or Parmesan. Cook in a 350 degree oven for around 15 to 20 minutes, just until the cheese is melted and golden brown and the egg is cooked. Be sure to let the muffin tin cool a little after you take it out of the oven before you remove the egg dish.

Using up leftovers is always a challenge. No one wants to look at the same dishes being served time and time again. If you give some thought to the ingredients that went in to creating the dish in the first place, you'll no doubt be able to add complimentary food items to build a whole new dish out of the old one.