One of the greatest feelings a person can have is having their home organized and in order. Very close to that feeling of discovering that much less food is wasted. Leftovers are often stored in the refrigerator until they are thrown away! Give them new life and save money in the process. It is estimated that almost half of the food purchased by the average household is thrown away. Why? Because it has gone stale, passed the expiration date, there was too much left over after a meal, the family didn’t like it, or they forgot about the stored food.
Tips to prevent food from spilling:
Use all of the pancake batter and freeze any extra pancakes or waffles. They’re great for a busy morning and save on the cost of buying frozen, and they taste better, too.
Use up leftover spaghetti or macaroni by combining it with leftover vegetables and cooked meat, add a can of cream soup and you have a delicious new dish to enjoy for dinner.
Always check expiration dates before purchasing items, especially if they don’t sell out quickly.
Use leftover vegetables and grated cheese or sour cream as ingredients for baked potatoes.
Keep a plastic container in the freezer and when you have some vegetables left over add them to the container and when it is full you have the vegetables for the vegetable soup.
Use stale or leftover crackers for crusts by crushing and using as you would whole-grain cracker crumbs.
Use crackers or bread as crumbs to fry chicken or other meats.
Use stale bread for the croutons and to make the dressing the next time you make chicken and dressing.
Make homemade broth by boiling bones from roasts and hams and other boneless meats. Add spices and carrots and celery and the next time you need broth you have your own delicious broth.
Leftover mashed potatoes can be used as a thickening agent for the sauce. Use them as meatballs in stews and soups by dropping tablespoons of mashed potatoes into the boiling liquid.
Mix an egg, a small amount of flour, a little grated onion and salt and pepper to the mashed potatoes, shape into patties and fry.
Once you get into the habit of finding new ways to use leftovers and other foods you’d normally throw away, your creativity will soar, your food bill will go down, and you’ll have the wonderful feeling of not wasting.
