Someone once told me that necessity was the mother of all invention, and while that may be true, in our house it is often experimentation that many of the inventions come from.. and that's the way I like it!
When the kids were small, I hit a point where I was getting so completely fed up with the variety of leftovers that seemed to be relegated to death in our fridge. I cannot count the times where it seemed I was emptying the contents of our fridge into the garbage can on garbage day. I grew more and more discouraged each week realizing just how much money we were literally throwing away and feeling like there was nothing I could do about it.
Initially I'd started surfing the net looking for ideas on re-purposing leftovers. I found some truly wonderful resources and the great tips and tidbits that I was coming across ignited somewhat of a challenge on my part. The idea eventually expanded well beyond my desire to combat wasteful habits in our house, but before long I was reading about once-a-month cooking, batch cooking, freezer meals, crockpot meals, recycling and upcycling leftovers.. I was beyond inspired.. I was on fire!
It became a great source of amusement during an extended hospital stay. My hubby had brought me a laptop, and since I was confined to bed, I spent much time reading, catching up on e-mails as well as chatting with online friends. I even put the Food Network on as background noise because my hubby would often have it on at home, and it was somehow a bit of a comfort to have that little piece of "home" with me.
I still have the notebook that I filled full to bursting with recipe ideas, tips and tricks for this or that, notes to share with my hubby or mother-in-law about this or that I had seen. It really helped to pass the time.
I had just undergone a gastric bypass as well, so the idea of looking for new ways to cook a lot of our family favourites and find some new ones was necessary. I was elated to realize that we'd already made the necessary changes and by the time we'd gotten to surgery as an option there were no food related changes we needed to make we were already way ahead of the game -- however the challenge to come up with some new ways to cook the same old tired meals kept me moving forward.
What had started with leftover lunches brought home by my hubby and left in the fridge to die, or forgotten to take to work in the first place, coupled with the item-du-jour that the kids had decided they didn't like that week -- had sparked me on a creative tangent. I wanted to come up with creative ways to not only save ourselves some money by planning ahead and not throwing out so much food, but after many years of medical issues, the idea capitalizing on the great days so that the not-so-great days weren't such a bother was also in the forefront of my mind.
Among my favourite gems - a woman who would cook an extra portion of each meal made during the week so that at the end of the week they could have one night where every family member could choose one favourite meal from the week's menu to enjoy a second time. The idea seemed to have some serious merit, and I was intrigued. The idea never really took off in our house because inadvertently 2 of the kids would almost always choose the same dish..
I decided to take it one step further at that point and I'd basically clean out the fridge and put everything that was available buffet style on the stove and let the family help themselves to the items that pleased them. This way at least if more than one person wanted one particular item, it was easier to cut it in half so both were happy. With that our family's CORN nights were born.. something the kids still talk about on occasion.. Who knew "Cleaning Out the Refridgerator Night" would be such a hit!
The idea of "Garbage Soup", a meal made completely out of leftovers that would normally have been destined for the trash resonated with me as well. Not a particularly appetizing name but this sparked a great many soup experiments and started me on the the "Planned leftovers" phase.
Making an extra chicken leg or chicken breast meant the start of a great soup base, extra sausages, or leftover steak could be a soup base, or a great stir fry or fajitas. Cooking some extra potatoes when you['re making mashed potatoes, turns into a great homefries, potato salad, and in a pinch I've even diced them up for a soup when I didn't have any other potatoes on hand!
Since learning peppers could be cleaned, sliced and frozen has been one of my big hurrahs. Having fresh peppers in a variety of colours all year round to add color to a variety of meals. My hubby used to shake his head and wonder just what the hell I was doing as I put bag after bag of green peppers or other great deals in the cart -- among the most priceless was when I spent 100.00 on hamburger that was on sale and it was just the two of us at home. It took some doing but that stash, was split up, some precooked and some left as is -- and I'm sure it saved us a lot of time and money in the process. He doesn't ask anymore!
The only real limitation is your imagination!
The concept that leftover vegetables left in the pot after supper tonight could go into a container in the freezer to be added to soup seemed brilliant though, admittedly I don't remember to do this one very often - these among some of the greater gleanings..
Much like the Omelettes of my youth that I'd make my Dad based on whatever vegetables he'd happen to have on hand that day - my soup creations have become a family favourite.
It took some getting used to, but now making meatballs or shepherds pie when I'm already making meatloaf just makes sense. Scramble frying extra hamburger and bagging it in 1 and 2 pound proportions, second nature. Putting that extra chicken leg, or leftover ham or turkey in the freezer early - means the start of a great soup or casserole, or even a chicken salad sandwich for a lunch. A little planning ahead - it seems - was all that was needed.
I'm not an expert by any means, but that awesome feeling of hearing Mom I'm hungry and being able to produce restaurant style nachos in just minutes because your hamburger is already cooked in the freezer is what my daughter would call "Epic" It really comes in handy too for a last minute spaghetti sauce on those nights when you get home later than planned and supper isn't ready. I like to think of it as my "back-up" plan.
No matter what the menu for the week, I always have a back-up plan in tucked away.. that makes me smile.
Do you have a favourite time saver or left-over recreation that you'd like to share? We'd love to see it! Send it to us at feedmeepicure@gmail.com or post a link to your page in the comments right here! :)
When the kids were small, I hit a point where I was getting so completely fed up with the variety of leftovers that seemed to be relegated to death in our fridge. I cannot count the times where it seemed I was emptying the contents of our fridge into the garbage can on garbage day. I grew more and more discouraged each week realizing just how much money we were literally throwing away and feeling like there was nothing I could do about it.
It became a great source of amusement during an extended hospital stay. My hubby had brought me a laptop, and since I was confined to bed, I spent much time reading, catching up on e-mails as well as chatting with online friends. I even put the Food Network on as background noise because my hubby would often have it on at home, and it was somehow a bit of a comfort to have that little piece of "home" with me.
I still have the notebook that I filled full to bursting with recipe ideas, tips and tricks for this or that, notes to share with my hubby or mother-in-law about this or that I had seen. It really helped to pass the time.
I had just undergone a gastric bypass as well, so the idea of looking for new ways to cook a lot of our family favourites and find some new ones was necessary. I was elated to realize that we'd already made the necessary changes and by the time we'd gotten to surgery as an option there were no food related changes we needed to make we were already way ahead of the game -- however the challenge to come up with some new ways to cook the same old tired meals kept me moving forward.
What had started with leftover lunches brought home by my hubby and left in the fridge to die, or forgotten to take to work in the first place, coupled with the item-du-jour that the kids had decided they didn't like that week -- had sparked me on a creative tangent. I wanted to come up with creative ways to not only save ourselves some money by planning ahead and not throwing out so much food, but after many years of medical issues, the idea capitalizing on the great days so that the not-so-great days weren't such a bother was also in the forefront of my mind.
Among my favourite gems - a woman who would cook an extra portion of each meal made during the week so that at the end of the week they could have one night where every family member could choose one favourite meal from the week's menu to enjoy a second time. The idea seemed to have some serious merit, and I was intrigued. The idea never really took off in our house because inadvertently 2 of the kids would almost always choose the same dish..
I decided to take it one step further at that point and I'd basically clean out the fridge and put everything that was available buffet style on the stove and let the family help themselves to the items that pleased them. This way at least if more than one person wanted one particular item, it was easier to cut it in half so both were happy. With that our family's CORN nights were born.. something the kids still talk about on occasion.. Who knew "Cleaning Out the Refridgerator Night" would be such a hit!
The idea of "Garbage Soup", a meal made completely out of leftovers that would normally have been destined for the trash resonated with me as well. Not a particularly appetizing name but this sparked a great many soup experiments and started me on the the "Planned leftovers" phase.
Making an extra chicken leg or chicken breast meant the start of a great soup base, extra sausages, or leftover steak could be a soup base, or a great stir fry or fajitas. Cooking some extra potatoes when you['re making mashed potatoes, turns into a great homefries, potato salad, and in a pinch I've even diced them up for a soup when I didn't have any other potatoes on hand!
Since learning peppers could be cleaned, sliced and frozen has been one of my big hurrahs. Having fresh peppers in a variety of colours all year round to add color to a variety of meals. My hubby used to shake his head and wonder just what the hell I was doing as I put bag after bag of green peppers or other great deals in the cart -- among the most priceless was when I spent 100.00 on hamburger that was on sale and it was just the two of us at home. It took some doing but that stash, was split up, some precooked and some left as is -- and I'm sure it saved us a lot of time and money in the process. He doesn't ask anymore!
The only real limitation is your imagination!
Much like the Omelettes of my youth that I'd make my Dad based on whatever vegetables he'd happen to have on hand that day - my soup creations have become a family favourite.
It took some getting used to, but now making meatballs or shepherds pie when I'm already making meatloaf just makes sense. Scramble frying extra hamburger and bagging it in 1 and 2 pound proportions, second nature. Putting that extra chicken leg, or leftover ham or turkey in the freezer early - means the start of a great soup or casserole, or even a chicken salad sandwich for a lunch. A little planning ahead - it seems - was all that was needed.
I'm not an expert by any means, but that awesome feeling of hearing Mom I'm hungry and being able to produce restaurant style nachos in just minutes because your hamburger is already cooked in the freezer is what my daughter would call "Epic" It really comes in handy too for a last minute spaghetti sauce on those nights when you get home later than planned and supper isn't ready. I like to think of it as my "back-up" plan.
No matter what the menu for the week, I always have a back-up plan in tucked away.. that makes me smile.
Do you have a favourite time saver or left-over recreation that you'd like to share? We'd love to see it! Send it to us at feedmeepicure@gmail.com or post a link to your page in the comments right here! :)
