Photo by daxiang stef

DEAR SARA: I have half a small pan (three wedges) of leftover cornbread from last night. It wasn’t that great so I doubt it’s going anywhere unless I can think of some creative way to revamp it. I’m trying so hard not to toss food! Any ideas? — Lukesmama, via forums

DEAR LUKESMAMA: You can make croutons for salad by crumbling the cornbread onto a baking sheet and baking in the oven at 250 F until it’s golden brown. The croutons will taste great on salads, soups, stew and chili.

DEAR SARA: Any ideas for stale crackers? My husband is driving my frugal self nuts. He opens a fresh box of crackers, eats about 15 pieces, then throws the rest of the individual package away because “they are stale.” He opens another individual pack and does the same thing. If the box is open for more than a week, everything winds up in the trash. Help! — Keilley, via forums

DEAR KEILLEY: You can use stale crackers instead of breadcrumbs in your meatballs, hamburgers and meatloaf recipes. Since he has this bad habit, place the opened package of crackers into a cookie tin or leftover Pringles potato-chip can so less are wasted.

DEAR SARA: My neighbor is moving, and she put a bunch of stuff out at the end of the driveway for anyone to take. There was an old wooden ironing board. I’m going to sand it and put on a light colored stain. It’s so neat that you can see where the wood is worn where the iron would have sat. Any ideas as to how I should display it? — Heather, via forums

DEAR HEATHER: You could use it as a sofa table. Place books on it, and keep your eyes open for a pair of vintage irons with stands to use as bookends. eBay has them frequently listed for less than $20. Search keywords “vintage iron.” If that looks too barren for your style, you could drape vintage handkerchiefs to give it added flair.

DEAR SARA: I’d like to do a clay-pot craft, but most are too complicated for me. I’m not an artist, so I can’t paint fancy designs. They just seem more trouble than they’re worth. Do you know of any that are easy? — Carolyn, Wisconsin

DEAR CAROLYN: You could use a larger clay-pot saucer approximately 14 inches in size as a serving tray and smaller 4-inch saucers as coasters. The tray could be painted with acrylic paints and sealed with clay-pot sealer. To keep it simple, paint the coasters one solid color and your serving tray two colors, with one being the exterior and the other the interior of the saucer. You could apply rub-on transfers, decoupage or stencil on a pattern, too. It’s perfect for serving summer drinks.

DEAR SARA: My future daughter-in-law is living in a dorm on a very limited budget. She can’t have any cooking appliances in her room, but she does have a small refrigerator that she shares with her roommate. There is a microwave two floors down in the lounge she can use. What can she eat that’s frugal? — Denise, Illinois

DEAR DENISE: There’s quite a bit available. Here’s a list to get you started: Baked potatoes, soup, fruit, raw veggies and dip, oatmeal, sandwiches, cheese and crackers, peanut butter, popcorn, yogurt, hot dogs, cereal, tuna, applesauce and breakfast burritos made from microwaved eggs and tortillas. You could get her a microwave cookbook. There are tons at thrift stores. They could help her get more creative and eat more than the standard fare of Ramen soup.

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