Wasted food is one of the biggest causes for increased grocery bills. If you haven’t read about the frozen tomatoes we found in our fridge one day, you’ll want to read this post which also gives some tips on how to avoid having frozen tomatoes wasted food at your house. I’ve improved 10 fold with this en-devour but still have some room for growth.
Where I’m stuck at right now, is knowing what to do with the food I find that needs to be eaten sooner rather than later. I put together a list of creative ways to use left over food that may be a starting point for some of you. But honestly I could use some more suggestions. It seems like the only ideas I get are to remake the same meal again so that we’ll have enough, or to make a new meal that would require a more expensive ingredient than I want to use. Since we only have an above the fridge type freezer, it’s not a good option for us to make tv dinners with our leftovers. I’m just plain stuck in a rut.
I know that many of you guys are fabulous in the kitchen, where as I’m extremely lacking. (remember that my husband does a lot of the cooking)What ways do you creatively use leftover foods to avoid wasting not only the food, but the time and energy you put into shopping smartly for the food and preparing it? If you’ve got an idea that’s not already on the list mentioned above, I’d love for you to share it in the comments, or share your favorite idea from the list.
You might also like: Food Expiration Dates – Understanding the “Use by, Sell by and Best by” Dates on Foods.
What about quiche. You can use up whatever leftovers you have, add some eggs throw them in a pie crust and voila! Or make a frittata, then you don’t even have to worry about a crust. Stir fry is a good option. You know, if you would just cook that whole chicken and peel the meat off of the bone, you could add those ageing veggies to the carcass and have wonderfully wholesome chicken stock. Throw them in with pasta for pasta primavera. If they are root vegetables, boil them up and mash them down with butter, salt, & pepper. Mmmm… Oh the things you can do… 😉
I am a big believer in not letting food go to waste so I too am interested in what others say. Here’s a few things we do in our house. The freezer is my friend, but I too only have a standard freezer above the refrigerator… I cut up some of the fruit and veggies I buy and freeze them right away to use in smoothies or stirfry. That way, I can take out just what I need and the rest is fine for next time. I also freeze leftovers in individual containers so we can just grab a container for each family member. Lots of times its different meals from the week so everyone eats something different. Good way to get kids to eat too, since they get to choose what to eat. We also juice veggies and fruit everyday. You can even use stuff that is past its prime. I also make soup and stew out of just about anything — meat, veggies, rice, noodles. The options are endless!
I make jambalaya…here’s the info:
http://www.hummingbirdhomemaking.com/2011/09/recipe-jambalaya-update.html