Sometimes you’ll see Cold Plate on our menu. Admittedly, Cold Plate is a “family term” and everyone in my family knows what it means but it’s likely you’ve never heard of it.
Cold Plate is Never the Same
Cold plate is basically anything that’s in the fridge that would fit on or beside a cold salad. I use any leftover proteins I can find and add some kind of crackers or bread. It’s also a good opportunity for me to make an appetizer and serve it as dinner.
It could begin as a salad. It could begin as a tray of chopped veggies. There’s always plenty of homemade salad dressing. From there, here’s what I might put on the table for you to build your own Cold Plate:
- Meat & Cheese Board
- Fruit Tray
- Sliced Leftover Steak or Grilled Chicken
- Cottage Cheese
- Chicken Salad
- Chicken Wings (Hot or BBQ)
- Boiled Eggs or Deviled Eggs
- Deli Salads (Potato, Macaroni…)
- Pigs in a Blanket
- Spinach Dip
- Sausage Cheese Balls
- Loaded Potato Skins
- Pimento Cheese
- Chips & Salsa
- Cheese Ball & Crackers
- Pickles & Olives
On this day, we had a big salad with lettuce from the Victory Garden and I added plenty of cheese and boiled egg for protein.
I wanted leftover pigs in the blanket for lunches so I also used kielbasa and wrapped the slices in ready-made biscuit dough. As you can see, one kid doesn’t eat salad but will eat the components and another kid needed the cold plate to go.
It’s Actually a Thing
I didn’t make up the cold plate. Its formal name is the Newfoundland Cold Plate which is a traditional after Christmas dinner made of leftovers that are suitable to be eaten cold.
We enjoy Cold Plate weekly as the weather turns warm. It’s always fun and always different. It’s a healthy and unique way to use up whatever needs to go from the fridge.
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