USE IT UP in the kitchen

[poppycat]

Just to continue with our using it up, wearing it out theme, I have been thinking about how to make the best use of some food odds and ends.

The dregs in the cereal box are pretty good stirred into basic cookie batter. We made Special K-coconut-yellow raisin cookies that were yum-yum.

Today I made meatballs and used some stale bread heels in them. Stale bread also makes good, cheap croutons. When I was in college I worked at a pretty well known restaurant. They made their own croutons that were really good. All they were was stale bread cubes tossed in melted butter, crushed garlic and salt, and then toasted in the oven.

Nearly empty bottles of BBQ sauce can be "rinsed" with soy sauce and then brushed on to chicken. Same goes for ketchup.

My challenge items are those little pieces of leftover grilled chicken or pork chop. I hate to throw them away but I'm not a big fan of them cut up and mixed into something like soup. If I can accumulate enough pieces, shepherds pie is good, but it rarely ever happens here

I'd love to hear some other ideas.

 

[keljonma]

My dh feeds the dregs of the cereal boxes to the chickens. They like corn flakes, raisin bran, and shredded wheat, but aren't fond of puffed rice! In the days before chickens, I would mix cereal dregs together as an addition to bread pudding.

DH loves homemade bread heels, so I have to make bread to make croutons..

I had dried apples, peaches, strawberries and blueberries left in the pantry - but none of them enough for a recipe. So I combined them into a mixed fruit dessert.

The jams and honey that cling to the jars, I heat in the microwave, and combine them to make a spread for muffins. Back in the day when we ate poultry, I used it as a glaze - orange marmalade and honey is really good on poultry with a dash of dijon mustard.

 

[PamsPride]

You all have left overs and scraps???????? I have trouble with cutting the kids off at just two helpings because they act like they are still starving!!!
Let over cereal??? HA!! They have trouble remember they are not the only one to eat breakfast and they should make sure there is enough to go around...instead they fix the biggest bowl of cereal they can find!

 

[FarmerChick]

Just eat the pieces of leftover meat cut up in a small salad....I do that all the time.

I don't care what kind of meat it is....it goes good with mixed greens, maters, cukes, carrots, and ranch dressing!


All leftover veggies go into my "soup" tub for when I made any kind of noodle soup.

Big meat is just used as other meals or sandwiches, etc.

YA KNOW, I don't ever have much left over because I freeze things all the time and portion out sizes.



Like I make 2 lasagna at one time......We eat what we want, then I cut the rest in portion sizes and freeze......so when I take 3 portions out we eat all of it.

I make a big pot of beef stew we eat it that night....then again, I portion out into a few tupperware and freeze. Then when wanted, I defrost and eat and there usually isn't any leftover.



Any meat leftover in the fridge that got shoved back a bit, I give to the cats at the barn. Dogs are gone now, they used to be the final disposal..LOL



We don't eat much breads and such......so when I do have a little left over for whatever reason, I might just toss it. Dogs used to get it, now I put in the compost and such.





Great idea about "rinsing" out with soy and using as a baster on meats and such...never thought of that one! good deal!



And if we have big leftovers, like we don't eat alot of desserts, and I make a pie for Tony and he eats 2 pieces and it sits, then I recycle to my MIL...that way everyone enjoys it.





good thread. use up what you have all the time...after all it is money we spent for it. if we throw it then it is like throwing money in the garbage. and who can do that..LOL

 

[prairiegirl]

I always call dibbs on the bread ends of homemade bread.
Our youngest daughter doesn't like them and my sweet husband saves them for me.

When we have just a bit of leftover meat - chicken, pork, beef - I'll made it into a taco sort of meal. Add some salsa or taco mix to the meat and simmer a bit and serve on a tortilla. Add toppings: sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, peppers to stretch.

I save up a few peanut butter jars (you know the ones that no one wants to mess with the last bit on the bottom) and then use a spatula to scrape the jars clean. Then I make peanut butter cookies or peanut butter bars.

Most of you already do this, but just for fun I'll share........I always turn bottles of ketchup, mustard, sauces, dressings, syrups upside down to get the most out.

 

[dacjohns]

Since I eat a granola type cereal with yogurt there aren't any cereal crumbs left over.

Catsup bottles and the like get rinsed with water and dumped into soup, stew, or chili.

Leftovers get turned into soup.

 

[hoosier]

NOT people food.

I save chicken/turkey bones in the freezer. When I have a large amount, I put them in a pressure canner and cook at 15lbs pressure for an hour. Most of the bones will be quite soft and I feed to the dogs. Any that aren't (turkey leg or thigh) are put back in freezer for the next cooking which will soften them.

My husband jokes about me using everything except the gobble.

 

[me&thegals]

What a great thread!

When we have a mish-mash of cereals that are getting on the stale side, I make crispy bars, only use all those cereals instead of Rice Krispies. We usually have bran and whole grain cereals, so it makes a fairly nutritious dessert.

My husband's aunt has a wonderful recipe for "pear bread." When I have lots of getting-old dried fruit and nuts, I dump them all in a bowl (about 8 cups' worth), then add:

1 cup sugar
1 table. salt
3 table. yeast
3 table. vital wheat gluten
6 cups warm water (about 110 F)
flour--as much whole-wheat, white and whole-wheat pastry as needed to make a good dough texture.

Mix it well. Let it rest until doubled. Punch down. Then, I grease up about 8 of those old small round coffee cans, dump in about 1/8 of the total mixture, let rise until the tops of the cans and bake at 350 for 45-60 min. So delicious and uses up all sorts of odds and ends!

 

[inchworm]

Today I took a loaf of French bread that didn't rise well in the bread machine and soaked it in leftover egg nog from Christmas. Made some great French toast for breakfast!

Inchy

 

[onebuggirl]

Stale crackers like saltines or club crackers...even a small amount of potatoe chips in a bag make a great coating for panfried fish. I crush them and mix a little parmesan cheese with it, press a tilapia fillet both sides into it and saute in butter...My DH loves it when I use potatoe chips.