Leftover GOLD: DONT throw this away!

[kellydoeshair]

share your tips of things you LOVE to have leftover and what you do with them!


leftover small veggies: be it canned corn, green beans, cucumber, ANYTHING, I freeze these in baggies and throw in the mix when I make soups, the plus is that even SUPER small amounts are save-able so you don't feel like you HAVE to eat it or it'll go to waste!

leftover mashed potatoes: I use these in the morning mixed with a little bit of onion and bread crumbs to make mashed potato cakes fried up in a little oil

leftover meat of just about any kind: I usually shred and throw into tacos, soups, stews, on top of pizzas into salads whatever meat is TOO expensive to throw away, and if you're SO OVER the seasoning you used on it you can always make a quick glaze or something for re-heating

leftover fruits canned or fresh: I also freeze these "medley" style in baggies it's great to throw in with vanilla ice cream or even for smoothies with leftover yogurt!

sandwich crusts/ bread heels: are GREAT crouton/ bread crumb fodder, just toast the pieces in the oven to dry them out and either fry them in garlic oil for homemade and AMAZING garlic croutons or buzz them up on the food processor for bread crumbs

veggie "waste" : such as asparagus tips, broccoli stalks and the like are great when making stocks to throw in for extra flavor and vitamins

the last bit of a bottle of wine: lol as TEMPTED as DH usually is to finish off the bottle I snatch them up and freeze the leftover in ice cube trays to add to sauces etc so next time I want to make a sauce I DONT have to open a bottle of wine to get that extra flavor!

any others I haven't thought of please add here!
it's always GREAT to get extra mileage out of "leftovers" especially when they can be ALL NEW and no one in your family is the wiser ;-) *wink wink*

[mndtrp]

leftover small veggies: be it canned corn, green beans, cucumber, ANYTHING, I freeze these in baggies and throw in the mix when I make soups, the plus is that even SUPER small amounts are save-able so you don't feel like you HAVE to eat it or it'll go to waste!

leftover meat of just about any kind: I usually shred and throw into tacos, soups, stews,

sandwich crusts/ bread heels: are GREAT crouton/ bread crumb fodder, just toast the pieces in the oven to dry them out and either fry them in garlic oil for homemade and AMAZING garlic croutons or buzz them up on the food processor for bread crumbs

veggie "waste" : such as asparagus tips, broccoli stalks and the like are great when making stocks to throw in for extra flavor and vitamins

I do the same, except I let my bread air dry so I don't have to heat up the oven.

[nadine64]

Just a trick I use @ home with the kids and condiments. We have a lot of unused 1-oz. cups from the club. So when we're having a meal that I know the kids will be using ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, etc., I fill the cups about half way with what I know they'll be using and put that on their plate. Less condiment waste and they like using the cups.

[Darlene]

Ham bones! I wanna cry when I hear that someone threw theirs away, I'll take it! It adds such flavor to pea soup, bean dishes, etc.
Same for chicken carcasses, great stock to be made from them.

[nuisance26]

~Applesauce, juice and jelly from the peels and cores
~Grating the zest off of oranges, limes and lemons and freezing with a bit of water in ice cube trays for use in baked goods and marinades
~Bacon grease for flavoring beans and making gravy for grits
~The last little 1/4 cup of coffee in the pot goes in a jar in the fridge for iced coffee when the jar is full
~Seemingly empty jars of dressing, ketchup and bbq sauce get shaken out with a bit of water when I make a crockpot of bbq

[mauimagic]

Mahalo for great ideas!! When I buy a roast, I first slice off thin slices for terriyaki and stir fry and also a couple of 1/2 inch slices to cook another way - then I have the roast left. If there are any meat leftovers after cooking, I save then for soups and stews - trying to be frugal in all aspects of food prep!!

[IntlMom]

love the wine ice cube suggestion!!!!!

[Josephhgoins]

When I have Bananas that are getting ready to go bad, I freeze them for a desert or banana bread later.

I also trim a lot of the fat off of meat that I buy and then render it down when I have enough for flavoring beans.

[Luckybustert]

love the wine ice cube suggestion!!!!!

I do too! This is one I'm going to do. I normally save the LO wine for cooking, but if I freeze it like this I can throw it into a baggie in the freezer and it'll take up less space too! Thanks very much for the suggestion.

[Libby]

Freeze l/o coffee from the pot into cube trays and transfer/store in freezer bags. Use them to make iced coffee so reg cubes don't dilute your coffee and/or make coffee slushees with them.

FYI I have discovered that brand name Coffeemate dissolves just as well in cold coffee as it does in hot. Store brand does not dissolve well in cold.

Broken cookies/crumbs from the bottom of the bag - crumble into fine/small tiny pieces and sprinkle over yoghurt & fruit for a crunchy dessert topping.

[marlas1too]

don't throw away your orange,grapefruit.lemon or lime rinds away just dry them then grind them to a fine powder and add some powdered sugar or powdered spleda like i do and just a small teaspoon is just as good as a vitamin c tab ----moma always did it like that