Frugality

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Getting A Handle On “The Leftovers” Dilemma…

We’ve all went to the refrigerator at one time or another looking for something to eat (aka leftovers) only to pull out a dish & discover we had unknowingly started a science experiment.  YUCK!  Not only is the dish in question disgusting, but you feel guilty because it somehow slipped under the radar, was pushed to the back of the refrigerator, forgotten, & ended up being completely wasted.  So, now, you have guilt on top of the being grossed out. 
Here are a few tips to help you get a handle on using up those leftovers & not letting them become the next science experiment.
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USING UP LEFTOVERS:

1. Designate a shelf in the refrigerator just for leftovers.  Immediately after a meal, place the leftovers in a container (preferably glass) & place them on the shelf you previously designated for them.  Make sure everyone in the family knows which shelf this is so that the delicious dishes you prepared get eaten. 
2. Keep a dry erase marker next to your refrigerator and Write The Date (& Contents, if desired) On the Glass Container!  This allows you to see what dishes are nearing their end (usually within 3 to 5 days) & need to be used up quickly or frozen for future use.  AND it wipes off easily, leaving no trace behind. 
3. Have one day a week that you designate CORD, Clean Out Refrigerator Day.  That means, all of the leftovers get pulled out of the refrigerator & everyone fixes their own plates on a first come, first serve basis.  Anything that does not get eaten, gets frozen to await transformation into a new dish.
4. Divide & freeze leftovers into meal-size portions for future lunches.
5. If you can & have leftover beans/soups, can them in pint jars for future lunches! Just remember that anything with rice, milk, or pasta CANNOT be canned. 
6. Keep a container/bag in your freezer where you can place all of your little bits of leftover veggies/meat pieces/sauces (together or separate, your choice) and, once they are full, pull them out & make a delicious soup/casserole with them. 
If you find that you have a lot of leftovers but cannot get anyone to eat them, look at the amount of food that you are fixing & cut back on how much you prepare. 
I hope you find these tips helpful & useful. Even though we homeschool, our school year is always hectic  and sometimes CORD nights save me because I’ve forgotten to either place something in the Crock Pot ™ or thaw it out the night before, and we’re already tired of our quick go-to meals for a while.  If you have anymore helpful tips to help with using up leftovers & keeping food waste down, I’d love to hear from you!  I’m always looking for new ideas!
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Dehydrating Tomatoes

As you already know, I absolutely LOVE my Excalibur Dehydrator!  Well, with all of those wonderful tomatoes that I had, I decided to try some “sun-dried” (aka dehydrated) tomatoes.  As a FRESH tomato lover, I have to say, “OH MY GOODNESS are they Delicious!!!”  Dehydrating them brings out the natural sweetness in them plus enhances that tomato flavor!  In fact, I love it so much, that I now have a whole gallon jar filled to the brim, just waiting for me to savor them this winter. 

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These will be delicious in dishes, but also just as a snack!  It was suggested that you could add extra virgin olive oil and salt/pepper to the slices before dehydrating, but I just dehydrated them as they were.  They really don’t need anything!  The flavor is wonderfully refreshing.  But, I might try a few different ones later on just to see what they taste like.  I’m sure they will be delicious, too. 

 

Oh, what a wonderful time we live in where it’s so easy to preserve foods for the long winter months ahead.  We will be eating well, that’s for sure!  I’m thankful to God daily for all that He is providing for us, and I’m trying my best to not let any go to waste. 

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Canning, dehydrating, & more canning….

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I have been busy, busy putting food by for my family for the coming winter months, as well as enough of some items to last until next growing season.  Lately, it has been lots & lots & lots of tomatoes!! Oh, let’s not forget the potatoes, corn, & bell peppers! 

 

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I’ve managed to get all of my tomatoes (approximately 280 lbs) & bell peppers (approximately 80 lbs in a 2 gal. bucket) taken care of so far that we’ve picked.  I’ll be going one more time to pick tomatoes.  I’ve put up quite a bit of Italian seasoned tomato sauce, some plain sauce, & quite a bit of tomato juice, but I need to put up more plain canned tomatoes for use in soups & chili.  So, I’ll be going again in the next few days to get those. 

 

With the help of my son, Michael, I managed to get 61 ears of corn (purchased at 6/$1.00) shucked, blanched, & in the freezer!!  It will taste so good this winter!

 

You can see some of the potatoes that I’ve managed to get canned, but I still just a few more to go…..

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(I bought these in 5 lb bags for $1.00 each!!)

 

Even though I’m not going to get near enough put up this winter like I would like to have on hand, I’m going to put up as much as I possibly can.  I know God will take care of us no matter what, but I know He’s put a lot of this wonderful food in my path because I couldn’t have gotten it if I had to pay the outrageous grocery store prices.  Next year, I’ll be looking to have another garden as well has put up a lot more to feed our family. 

 

I think I’ve shared with you a pic of my pantry before, but here’s a pic of what my hall canning pantry looks like right now:

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(Custom built by my wonderful husband!)

I still need to do a bit more reorganizing on it to get all of my tomato products together & sorted better, but it’s filling up quite nicely!  I still need to do a current tally.  I just haven’t had the time to stop & count up everything & write it all down, but I will!

 

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