Cooked noodles [General]

2011 May 6
So I mistakenly cooked twice as much pasts as I need for a recipe. I have the extra cooling in a bowl with some olive oil mixed in to prevent sticking but I don't know what to do with it. My meal plan (and groceries that I don't want to keep much longer) will only 'allow' me to use them for a meal on Monday. Since it is now Friday, what is the best way to store them?

Or does somebody want a pound of cooked elbow macaroni?

2011 May 6
You could always freeze it for later use. Or make mac 'n cheese.

2011 May 6
I'm already making mac n cheese with the part I was supposed to cook! But plain pasta can be frozen and used again?

2011 May 6
Yes I've done it. I would recommend steaming them when reheating though - the moisture from the steam seems to rehydrate the noodles nicely. They won't taste as good as freshly boiled but they come a pretty close second. If I am heating up just the noodles I usually use my vegetable steamer basket like the one on the right. (Edit: I live alone so I only need to heat up one serving at a time so if you are heating up a larger quantity this suggestion might not be practical...)

2011 May 6
If I am heating up the noodles and the sauce I use my rice steamer since I can heat up a whole bunch of stuff in it and only have the one appliance to clean up.

2011 May 6
Awesome thanks!

2011 May 6
You can also use one of those nifty pasta steamer baskets like the one on the right but if you don't have one you can probably improvise with a colander.

2011 May 6
Another thought: you could use the leftover noodles in another dish that incorporates macaroni, you could make a macaroni salad, or toss in soup.

2011 May 8
A friend used to put the extra pasta in a ziploc bag in the fridge for later use. Not sure about 3 days though..