This week I haven't posted a menu, since at my house it's time to use up all of the odds and ends left in my cupboards, refrigerator and freezer. Every so often they just seem to pile up! You know the extra cans that somehow made it into the shopping cart, or the leftover half of a cucumber.
So instead of sharing a whole menu this week, I thought I would share some of the tips I use when I want to use up most of the odds and ends.
1) Soup - soup is a great way to use up little bits and pieces of leftovers. I stock up on chicken broth when it's on sale and keep it in the pantry. That way, when I have leftover meat, I can just simmer it with whatever leftover veggies I have in the fridge. Add in some kind of starch (chopped potatoes, rice, or dry pasta) and whatever fresh or dried herbs you have in the cupboard, and you are good to go!
2) Salads - much the same thing, as long has you have some greens and a favorite salad dressing on hand you can add in pretty much whatever leftover raw veggies you have on hand. To make it the main dish add in any shredded meat you have and you're set!
3) Omelets - again, good for adding small amounts of leftover veggies and cheeses. (If omelets are challenging, just scrambling the eggs with the other ingredients works just as well - especially when topped with shredded cheese!)
4) Fried Rice - you can take day old (or 3-day-old) rice and add veggies, eggs, and meat (optional). Just fry it up in a little bit of oil in a wok or a non-stick frying pan.
5) When I have more challenging ingredients left over, I turn to one of my favorite online recipe sites:
They have an option at the top of the page to search by ingredient. I prioritize my extra ingredients because I want to use the ones that might go bad soonest first. I pick two, and enter them into the search by ingredient page. Then scroll through the options it gives me. If none of them appeal, try a different combination. Many times, it gives me options I never really thought about. Sometimes I end up needing just one or two ingredients from the store in order to make whatever looks good (okay with me, since I'm trying to avoid wasting the ingredients that might otherwise go bad and get thrown away). The last example I have was typing in "carrots" and "sour cream" and coming up with a great recipe for sheppard's pie that I didn't even know I was craving!
If you have other hints or tricks for using up the odds, ends, and leftovers; let me know in the comments, and I'll post them for everyone else!!
1 comment:
Those are some great ideas actually. Sometimes I am only as original as heating them all up and letting it be a free for all - but that is for the prepared stuff. I love the ideas you have for the extra veggies in the fridge, etc!
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