Creative Ways to Use Leftovers and Scraps
Here are ten (or more) ways to keep food from being wasted...starting with bread.
Stale bread
• Toast, then cube for croutons or crumble for crumbs. Freeze for later.
Freeze whole bread and pull out for:
• Grilled cheese sandwiches.
• French toast.
Green Onions
• Save the tops (roots) and grow new green onions in a pot. You can do this indefinitely.
Black bananas
You know the feeling. You just can't eat one more banana and now they're overly ripe. Freeze them. If you have three of them, save them for banana bread. Here's a recipe.
Desserts
It's hard to believe we have left over desserts, but most recipes make too much for two people. If I can't halve the recipe, I give half away.
Some desserts, like cookies or brownies are easy to freeze and taste fine when thawed.
Canned food
I discovered I really didn't like canned black beans. Crazy, I know! And I had bought a bunch of them on sale--certain I would like them.
After the first can, the rest went to a food bank.
Orange and lemon peels
I've mentioned this one before. Whenever we eat citrus, I save the peels so I can zest it later for other recipes.
Limes: I've never used lime zest, so I just toss the whole (used) fruit into the garbage disposal. Makes it smell nice and fresh.
Chicken carcass
Once you've picked that chicken clean, boil it and make chicken broth. MUCH better than the canned stuff. I then pour the broth into an ice cube tray or into small plastic tubs in 1-2 cup servings.
Extra chicken meat: Make chicken salad for the next day. An easy and fast lunch.
Beer and wine
We always add a cup of red wine into our homemade pasta sauce. Really gives it another level of flavor. Beer is good in chili. That might be sacrilege to some folks, but we don't drink enough to polish off an entire bottle in a timely fashion.
Coffee grounds and (crushed) egg shells
Sprinkle them in your garden.
There are only two of us so it's easy to waste food if we're not careful. To make matters worse, we don't always have the same taste in food.
I won't drink beer or Dr. Pepper, and pumpkin pie makes me grimace. Every year I make Greg a pumpkin pie. I've never tasted it, but it must be good because he always asks for one. LOL!
Is your family easy to please at the table or does everyone have different likes and dislikes with the dishes you prepare?
What's your favorite food? Least favorite?
I adore frog legs, and Mexican food.
Stale bread
• Toast, then cube for croutons or crumble for crumbs. Freeze for later.
Freeze whole bread and pull out for:
• Grilled cheese sandwiches.
• French toast.
Green Onions
• Save the tops (roots) and grow new green onions in a pot. You can do this indefinitely.
Black bananas
You know the feeling. You just can't eat one more banana and now they're overly ripe. Freeze them. If you have three of them, save them for banana bread. Here's a recipe.Desserts
It's hard to believe we have left over desserts, but most recipes make too much for two people. If I can't halve the recipe, I give half away.
Canned food
I discovered I really didn't like canned black beans. Crazy, I know! And I had bought a bunch of them on sale--certain I would like them.
After the first can, the rest went to a food bank.
Orange and lemon peels
Limes: I've never used lime zest, so I just toss the whole (used) fruit into the garbage disposal. Makes it smell nice and fresh.
Chicken carcass
Once you've picked that chicken clean, boil it and make chicken broth. MUCH better than the canned stuff. I then pour the broth into an ice cube tray or into small plastic tubs in 1-2 cup servings.Extra chicken meat: Make chicken salad for the next day. An easy and fast lunch.
Beer and wine
We always add a cup of red wine into our homemade pasta sauce. Really gives it another level of flavor. Beer is good in chili. That might be sacrilege to some folks, but we don't drink enough to polish off an entire bottle in a timely fashion.
Coffee grounds and (crushed) egg shells
Sprinkle them in your garden.
There are only two of us so it's easy to waste food if we're not careful. To make matters worse, we don't always have the same taste in food.
I won't drink beer or Dr. Pepper, and pumpkin pie makes me grimace. Every year I make Greg a pumpkin pie. I've never tasted it, but it must be good because he always asks for one. LOL!
Is your family easy to please at the table or does everyone have different likes and dislikes with the dishes you prepare?
What's your favorite food? Least favorite?
I adore frog legs, and Mexican food.
Comments
I'm always looking for ways to stretch food (as long as they're easy).
Also, try the pumpkin pie...with whipped cream. You will love it! :)
I usually eat leftovers for lunch. If I've made too too much - because I learned to cook from a woman who had to feed 5 kids - I freeze the leftovers.
We're both pretty easy to please, but with just the two of us, I don't get as elaborate as often as I used to.
Like you, there's only 2 in my household. And my kiddo is a picky eater. And I'm not exactly Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen, so we try to minimize the waste with food planning. I'm learning to turn our dinners into lunches for me so it reduces what I spend at lunch for work.
As for a favorite food, it's so hard to pick just one lol!
Susan Says
My family is pretty easy to please food wise; not too fussy. Son has had some girlfriends that were a bit fussy, but his fiancee is an easy pleaser when it comes to food (which is a good thing compared to some of the ones in the past, LOL). I have so many favorite foods, LOL. I never met a pasta or a potato that I didn't like :)
betty
I need to be better about using up fresh fruits/veggies before they go bad, as well as herbs. I don't know how many times I've bought herbs, used a little for one dish, and then forgot about the rest until it got moldy. Anyone know how well fresh herbs freeze?
They keep far longer than normal.
I have a rule in my house: never throw food away. Leftovers ALWAYS get divided into servings and then into the freezer. I also save most of the trimmings from chopping vegetables. I make sure they are clean and dry, and keep a bag in the freezer to put them in. Whenever I want vegetable broth, I grab a handful and have at it. After I make the broth, the trimmings go in the composte pile.
I do need to get me some ice cube trays. Would make saving small amounts of liquids much easier.
I know it sounds boring, but I love bread. There are so many different types and if any dares to go stale, you can toast it!
I may love them, but I rarely get them. The restaurant where I used to order them that way doesn't even serve them now unless you ask. One of these days, they're going to turn me down. :(
You can also freeze almost anything you need in small amounts like tomato paste, milk, fruit juice. That's why I keep so many trays handy.
I try to make meals everyone likes, but I keep frozen leftover single portions of everyone's favorite dishes for nights when I make something that they might not like, i.e. a bowl of chili for my guy when my daughter and I want to have crab, which he doesn't like. Then I just scale down dinner to two and warm up chili for him. When I run out of frozen leftovers there's always the emergency turkey pot pie, too. :)
My favorite food is scallops sauteed with a little garlic and lemon juice. I could probably eat them until I explode, I think. Least favorite, caviar. Tried it once and that was enough, forever.
Love scallops. Actually, there's not much seafood I don't like.
re:caviar
Definitely an acquired taste. I had really good caviar once. The grocery store brands pale in comparison. It's no wonder so many people hate it. Most of it is awful...and I can no longer afford the good stuff.
PS Belated happy birthday! Hope you had a wonderful birthday.
I do love sandwiches.
I don't particularly enjoy cooking, but I love to try new dishes--as long as the ingredients aren't too exotic.
I like to stay in my comfort zone of tastes.