Trash to Treasure - Food Edition

 Good day to all.  Hope you are all well and safe.  It looks to be a lovely day here in my neighborhood!  Saw that opossum again this morning.  It is BIG to say the least and I'll be darn if it didn't squish under my gate - then run out to the deck area.  Suspicion it is living under the deck!  It is amazing the small areas they can maneuver.  

There were several huge crows sitting in a tree a couple doors down from me.  Boy they were big and they were hollering.  Geese flew over and were very loud.  Exciting out in my yard everyday!

Today let us talk a bit about turning leftover bits and pieces of food into new and fun eating treasures.  No one likes waste - and we can actually stretch things further if we just think about it a little.

First as mentioned yesterday - BROTH or STOCK

All bones can be used to make bone broth - chicken, turkey, ham, beef, pork, venison, etc.  Many people roast their bones first - I usually just use as is.  Place in a big stock pot of water and cook down for hours.  You get a lovely broth to use for soups or seasoning.  You can freeze or can it.

Also, you can add veggie scraps to add extra flavor.

VEGGIE stock can be made as well.  All scraps, peels, etc. - do it the same way as bone.  Get all the goodness you can from the food.

Afterwards - either compost, chicken feed

Just a reminder if you make a turkey or ham or roast of any sort - you get many meals.  Not just one.  You can eat as is, reinvent to soups or casseroles, sandwiches, hash, you name it.  Many, may meals!

APPLE PEELS (peach too) and cores can be cooked in water to get a juice and use to make jelly!  You can make you own cider vinegar as well!

ORANGE or citrus - candy them - oh, yum.  Or they can be turned into a cleaner.

Also think about DEHYDRATING  all the veggie or fruit scraps!!!

I love my tomato powder!  I use the skins and bits left from canning and dehydrate.  Then once extremely dry - I grind it smooth in a small coffee grinder.  I use it to flavor things.  I have also used to tough ends of asparagus - makes a good flavor enhancer for soup.  Those super tough okra pods?  Dehydrate and grind - makes a great natural thickener for soups and stews.

I have 2 coffee grinders I got at yard sales years ago for $1 each.  They aren't big but work well.  One for spicey things and one for all others!

Egg shells or banana peels - great for plants.  Dry and crush the shells and throw into compost or around your garden plants or even roses.  Lots of calcium.  Banana peels - soak in water in a jar for a week or two and use to water garden or plants.  Great plant foods.

BREAD - if you have stale bread (not moldy) - you can turn into croutons, stuffing/dressing cubes, breadcrumbs, bread pudding, French toast, toast and make mini pizzas, toast and use with gravy instead of biscuits.  Gosh, the list goes on and on. 

Leftovers in the frig - make soup!!!!!  I have absolutely NO recipe for soup - it is different every single time.  Whatever is in the frig gets thrown in, or I also use any tinned or frozen things that may need to be used up soon.  Any meats can be used if desired or make a vegetarian soup - maybe add rice or pasta.

Leftover RICE - great for rice pudding.  Add to soups or casseroles or make fried rice.

Leftover SPAGHETTI - I often make too much spaghetti and sauce to use the leftover as baked spaghetti - it is actually a favorite of mine.  Mix it with an egg or two (depending on amount) and some cheese and bake until solid at a medium temp.

I often add leftover broccoli, peas, cauliflower, carrots, etc. to mac n cheese.  Makes things go a little further and you add a bit nourishment to it.  You can actually do the same with a small amount of meat.  I like to add tuna to mac n cheese, but have added small pieces of ham, beef, pork chop, etc.

Those small pieces of meat are also good in a stir fry with many veggies.  OR fried rice.

Heck I even save pickle juice.  Dill juice is great for drinking in my opinion, I love it.  I love to mix it with tomato juice!  It also works great to add a bit to salads instead of dressing or to use as a meat tenderizer.  Sweet juice is super to use over certain meats when baking.  It can also be used as a dressing in salads or pasta salad.

Cookie or cake crumbs (even sweet cereal) can be used over pudding or ice cream.

Crumbs from the bottom of a bag of chips makes a good crispy topping for casseroles.

All the above can also be added into sweet or savory muffins or breads.

Later on I will post about stretching other items in our household to extend and save dollars.  You all know I love stretching the budget!!!!  It used to be a necessity, now it is a habit and I see it as fun - love getting new ideas.

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I hate to do this - but again another reminder NO politics please.  I deleted a comment last night, as they weren't listening.  We all have opinions, and they differ - that is fine.  You can use your own platform to vent - not mine.  I hope this will be the last reminder needed.  This is a SAFE zone.  Thank you.

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If you have any fun and different ideas on how you turn your trash into treasure and good eats - let us know.

Have a wonderful and beautiful day!