Wasting food is one of our top pet peeves. That's why we asked chef and cookbook author Sara Moulton to share three things to do with an everyday staple that always seems to go bad sooner than we expect: bread. These pear and lemon turnovers are a genius way to use up extra sliced white sandwich bread and they couldn't be easier! 

"As I've confessed many a time, I count myself among the legions of the pastry impaired. That doesn't mean I don't love pastry; it just means I struggle to make it. Anyway, whenever pastry is called for, I start looking for an easy-to-use stand-in. One of my favorites is plain old white bread. Not the kind that's better wadded up and hurled at a likely target in a food fight than actually eaten. I'm talking about 'homemade-style' white bread that boasts enough integrity to be rolled out, like pastry, into a square. 
 
My less-than-noble motives aside, bread and fruit go together nearly as happily as pastry and fruit; think of every fruit-filled bread pudding you've ever enjoyed. These 'turnovers' are made with baked pears. (Baking intensifies a pear's flavor.) If you want to fancy them up a little, you can complement the filling with some almond paste or a few dried cherries or cranberries." —Sara 

For more creative and delicious ideas that are the best thing since, well, sliced bread, check out Sara's Mushroom Rolls and Spring Soup with Bread Dumplings.