The Frugal Kitchen
Don't waste that!
I was just browsing the newest All You magazine that has a good article on ways to use things you'd normall throw away. Here were a few ideas. Add yours too; I love being able to get the most out of my food!
- Mushroom stems: chop and add them to ground beef to stretch it further.
- Softening fruit: Throw bananas in the freezer and use in baked goods later. Cook apples and pears until soft, then mix with jam and spread on toast for breakfast.
- Broccoli stems: Make broccoli slaw. Shred stems and mix with coleslaw dressing.
Hi Kellie, that's really appalling about the average amount in $ that people trash. What I'm thinking is that amount would increase if what people freeze is taken in to account. (frozen and then never to be seen or used afterwards ) . I don't compost, I don't like compost bins so that doesn't work for me in my yard. I try hard not to trash much food and I've been getting much better at it now that my ds is married and out of the house. LOL
WE try hard not to prepare too much food (which is really an experience when you have a new "empty nest" : just cooking for 2 LOL ). Anyway, I don't have much freezer space so I only freeze ice cubes, some popsicles, chicken and fish and the veggie I save for minestrone.
I have to admit though that I do peel many veggies if they are not organic and would not use the peel in a soup broth as there is the chance that (in today's world ) that it is either waxed (to give a nice shiney shelf appearance as is with apples) or it's got some sort of pesticides on it. Hate to be paranoid but do have to be careful.
As for throwing out fish.
Dh and I buy fish regularly (bass or loup de meer), and can't always finish the whole fish. So I pick off the meat and use it the next day shredded on a arugla salad. It's lovely. I got the idea from a high priced restaurant we went to on the Aegean Sea. No need to throw away $5.00 of your $10 fish. (and I wish fish was so reasonable over here LOL)
Here's the fish recipe:
leftover fish (not breaded , just a baked fish)
arugula , washed and dried
2 tomatoes, washed and diced
1 ripe avocado if you have it, cut into strips
EVOO, Salt , Pepper to taste
Parmagiano , grated
ON each plate: put the arugula, on top of that the toms, then the fish . Arrange the avocado around the sides of the dish. Sprinkle the parmesan over the top of the fish and then EVOO, salt and pepper . If you like red pepper then use it sparingly.
misstrygg wrote:
Stock cubes and beans I don't see that as food one shouldn't buy, because one would need a larger freezer to be able to cook large bathes and freeze in and most of us on frugal budget can't afford the added cost of electricity and buying a freezer.
How ever, mixes like soup, cake, cookie, bread and pancake is just idiotic to have at home in a frugal home, because all you need is plain flour, raising agents , sugars, fats, eggs and liquid and you have a ton more option when it comes to cooking, baking and thickening.
I kind of go back and forth on the stock. I never buy the stuff in a can or box, but I do buy bouillon cubes. They're cheaper and take up much less room. I do make stock on the rare occasion that I have a chicken or turkey carcass, but I only make about 4 jars of stock and I use them pretty quickly. I definitely wouldn't want to fill my freezer with tons of soup stock, but I use it often enough that a couple of jars in my freezer wouldn't hurt. We are trying to empty out our extra freezer and get rid of it, so I'm going to have to be more conscientious about what I put in ours.
twig04 wrote:
I have to admit though that I do peel many veggies if they are not organic and would not use the peel in a soup broth as there is the chance that (in today's world ) that it is either waxed (to give a nice shiney shelf appearance as is with apples) or it's got some sort of pesticides on it. Hate to be paranoid but do have to be careful.
That's a great point - it hadn't occurred to me! We only get organics now, so I'm relatively safe from that. But I do agree, I might not use the peels from regular produce!
