Learning Creative Ways to Use Leftovers

I've read over and over how all you ladies take your leftovers and make a casserole out of them. Although I like to cook, I'm so up tight about cooking, rarely do I experiment, for fear of making something that does not taste good. This concept of just taking anything and everything and throwing it together in a casserole is a concept that is hard for me to accept. lol I'm trying to loosen up, trying to fix new and different things for my family, and learn more BASICS of cooking, something I was not taught. I watch cooking shows ALL THE TIME, and have learned so much from you and them.

The main thing I have learned is cooking doesnt have to be an exact/perfect science.

I asked a couple of you for instruction on how you make these leftover casseroles. It seems like the main thing is to use a cream soup for the base on your casserole. In the cookbook I picked up (Campbell Cookbook, Cooking With Soup) at a thrift store it has these recipes in it... basically the very same thing the ladies told me on the message board. Thanks ladies!

Souper Leftovers
leftover roast, steak, or chicken chopped (about 1 cup)
leftover vegetables (about 1/2 cup)
1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of celery
milk or water as needed
crisp toast slices

Combine all ingredients except toast. Heat and serve on toast or in hot patty shells. A tasty way to "make a meal" out of small amounts of meats and vegetables.
Variations: Substitute cream of chicken, mushroom, or tomato soup for cream of celery soup.

I'm thinking leftover beef roast with some leftover green beans in cream of mushroom soup would be really good this way!

Here's the second recipe from the book:

Soup Plus
A pattern recipe to use as you like with foods you have on hand

1/2 cup cooked meat, cut in strips
1 TBL butter or margarine
1 can any Campbells soup
1 soup can milk or water
1/2 cup cooked vegetables

Cook meat in butter until lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients. Heat; stir often. 2 to 3 servings.

This is almost like the first recipe. They will double simply enough. I think either would be good dumped into a 9x13 and topped with biscuits or tator tots with cheese.