A (Scary) Food Waste Update - Plus, What to Do with Those Leftovers!

It's been much longer than I planned for it to be since I last weighed in on my Holiday Food Waste Challenge. Unfortunately, a *really* nasty virus swooped in and felled our family the week before Christmas and we've been trying to get out from under it ever since. I'm still not 100% recovered but I managed to stumble over to the fridge and do a bit of an excavation.

There's nothing like being laid up in bed to throw you off your game, and add the biggest holiday of the year into the mix, and it's pretty much a recipe for a food waste disaster! The irony of having the most food waste we've had in a long time during my official Food Waste Challenge has not escaped me.

Here's what I dug out of the refrigerator that is no longer fit to eat:

Some leftover cheese sauce from Taco Platters, 3 blueberry pancakes, a couple spoonfuls of leftover cooked vegetables, and, most unfortunately, an entire head of broccoli.

Since my last update, I also had to toss out two horrifically moldy organic lemons from a 2 pound bag I bought on sale. Whenever I buy organic lemons I always seem to forget that they spoil a lot faster than their non-organic counterparts. I also had to toss a clementine that was rotten in the middle - I don't think there was much I could have done to prevent that one, as the rest of the oranges in that box still appear to be fine.

Yeah, it's a half decent amount.of spoiled food. It does represent a full 4 weeks of food wastage, so it's still much, much less than the average family throws away. That doesn't mean I'm happy about it, it just could have been a LOT worse all things considered.

I'm hoping that you have avoided this unpleasant bug that's been going around, and that you've done better than we have on the food waste front.

If you have some holiday leftovers that still need using up, now's the time to make sure they don't go to waste!

My Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Lentil Soup is perfect for using up any number of leftover tidbits - vegetables, bits of meat, and even gravy easily slide into this soup and it always comes out tasting great.

Leftover turkey or ham both make delicious versions of this coconut curry and these pinwheels.

If you need more inspiration dealing with the remnants of the Big Bird, you can find my Making the Most of Roast Turkey post here.

Swimming in a sea of leftover mashed potatoes? They can be frozen in 1 cup portions for use in my Refrigerator Bread Dough.

If it's sweet stuff that's overrunning your kitchen, most desserts lend themselves well to freezing (except things like puddings and custards, so eat those first!) Whipping cream can be whipped and dropped onto a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet in spoonfuls for freezing. Once the mounds of cream are solid, pack then into freezer bags for longer term storage, and you have the perfect amount to top a single dessert or a mug of hot cocoa!

How was your food waste over the holidays? Do you have a clever way to use up those festive leftovers?

RECIPE: Spicy Pork Pocket Sandwiches

You all know how much I hate wasting food. This is one of my favourite ways to use up little odds and ends of leftovers (especially when it's not soup season). I almost hesitate to call this a recipe - it's more like a loose set of guidelines. You can tuck just about anything you want into these cute little sandwiches (leftover curries, stir fries and stews would all work wonderfully) and if your kids are anything like mine, they will excitedly gobble them up. There's just something about that crispy, crunchy, bready pocket that makes even the humblest leftovers seem special. I also make these when I want to stretch out a bit of leftover meat for a second meal, and I created this variation (shown above with Black Bean and Roasted Vegetable Salad) when I had some leftover pork begging to be used up.

Ingredients:

1/2 - 3/4 lb uncooked cubed pork, or finely chopped leftover cooked pork
1-2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
about 2 oz cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/3 recipe (1 loaf's worth) Whole Wheat Refrigerator Bread Dough (p. 239 in my book)

Instructions:
In a medium saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until they start to soften. Add pork and cook until onions are tender and pork is fully cooked. Add cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and cream cheese. Cook over medium heat until cream cheese melts. Add cheddar and stir until completely melted.

Divide the bread dough into 6 or 8 equal pieces (depending how big you want the sandwiches - smaller ones work well for younger kids). Roll a piece of dough out into a rectangle until it's about 1/4" thick. Spoon filling onto one half of the rectangle; fold over and crimp edges to seal. Repeat with remaining pieces of bread dough. Cut 2-3 slashes diagonally across the top of each pocket to allow steam to escape. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise 20-30 minutes (you can skip this step if you're in a real hurry, the crust will just be thinner and not as fluffy). Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 6-8 sandwiches.

What would YOU put in a pocket sandwich?

I shared this recipe at Tasty Tuesday.

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The Fine Art of Food Alchemy (or, How to Transform the Inedible into a Gourmet Treat)

Photo by Luigi Diamanti/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Being the thrifty sort of person I am, I hate to waste anything that can be put to good use in one form or another. I particularly hate to waste food. Even though our city has a municipal green cart program into which I can toss anything that might once have been food, including bones, meat scraps, dairy products and other items that are no-nos for backyard composting, I'd still rather see my food dollars go towards feeding people rather than the green bin. Due to my never-ending quest to keep our food waste as close to zero as possible, I've become known by my brood as a kitchen magician of sorts, taking all sorts of unpalatable-looking food scraps and transforming them into satisfying feasts. I recently shared my recipe for Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Lentil Soup, which is a handy repository for many of the little odds'n'ends one finds hanging out in the back of the fridge. But not *everything* can go in there!

I made a couple of good "saves" in the past week or so, and thought I'd share so you could expand the realm of your food-reinvention repertoire a bit.

Save #1: My older son poured his younger brother a heaping bowl of homemade granola with half a lake full of milk on top. Unfortunately, he hadn't actually *asked* his brother if he wanted the bowl of granola before doing so, and my younger son didn't want it. As my hubby and I had already both eaten a generous helping ourselves, we weren't prepared to indulge in seconds. What to do? I couldn't bear to waste a bowl of my homemade granola, but with the milk already on there and making it soggy, it wasn't going to be too palatable to eat later. I stuck it in the fridge and put on my thinking cap.
Solution: Make a single-serving baked granola! After considerable pondering, I realized that homemade granola + milk = most of the ingredients that go into my baked granola. So, the next morning I dumped the whole bowlful into a single-serving baking dish and put it in the toaster oven at 350-ish for about 15 minutes. I pulled it out and voila! Baked oatmeal for one. It wasn't *exactly* the same as my usual baked granola, but it was still plenty good. In fact, I liked that added texture of the sunflower and pumpkin seeds enough that I may try adding them to my regular baked oatmeal next time I make a batch.

Save #2: I was experimenting with a recipe for Apple Oatmeal Bread. Usually I can get away with doing all kinds of bizarre things in the kitchen and get away with it, but this bread came out a real clunker. Not willing to resign it to door-stop status, I considered my options.
Solution: I decided to go with door #1 and make French toast with it. It was actually a heck of a lot tastier this way! My boys wolfed it down without even batting an eye. Behind door #2 was the bread pudding option, which I think would have worked equally well.

I am always ridiculously satisfied when I transform the nearly-inedible into a tasty treat. What about you? Are you a food alchemist, too? What are your favourite food transformation tricks?

RECIPE: Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Lentil Soup

I'm sure every frugal cook has their own version of "anything goes" soup; this is mine! It's a bit of a joke around our house that when we have this soup for dinner I've managed to make a meal out of stuff most people would have thrown out. Honestly, even though that's sometimes pretty close to the truth, it's still one of the best soups I make. Although it never comes out exactly the same twice, it always makes a tasty and filling meal.

Basic soup:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups water

1 carrot, diced

1 cup frozen peas or green beans

1 cup dried red lentils

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

¾ - 1 cup crushed tomatoes

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp dried parsley (or ¼ cup fresh minced)

In a large saucepan, saute garlic and onions in oil until tender. Add stock, water, carrots, peas, lentils, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender (about 10-15 minutes). Add the crushed tomatoes, lemon juice and parsley and simmer another 10-15 minutes to allow flavours to blend.

Possible additions

I've successfully used all of the following in this soup:

-leftover cooked vegetables (in place of the carrots and peas)

-small amounts of leftover gravies and sauces

-scraps of cheese or the last bit of sour cream from the bottom of the container

-small amounts (less than 1/2 cup) leftover mashed potatoes

-leftover cooked rice or barley (or any cooked grain)

-finely diced leftover meat

Depending on how many additions you use, you may need to add some more water or stock to thin it out a bit.

What's your favourite go-to dish for using up a bunch of leftovers?

I shared this recipe at Full Plate Thursday,  Frugal Food Thursday, Recipe Swap Thursday, Tip Day Thursday, Friday Favorites, Fat Camp Friday, and the GCC Recipe Swap.

Making the Most of...Roast Turkey

Although I won't be roasting a turkey until Christmas Day, I know many of you in the U.S. have a leftover turkey stashed in your fridge right now! A whole turkey is one of the best values as far as animal proteins go, provided you make use of every bit of it.

Here's what I do with my leftover roast turkey:

1. Carve as much meat off the bones as possible and cube it into small bite-size chunks. I pack this in 2-cup portions into Ziploc bags and freeze.

2. Freeze any leftover gravy in meal-sized portions (about 3/4 to 1 cup or so) to keep on hand for serving with pot pies.

3. Make stock: 

After I've taken as much meat as I can off the carcass, I put it in my stock pot and cover with water, breaking up the carcass a bit so I can get the whole thing in there (if you still have the turkey neck and giblets, they can go in there, too). I then cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil, I skim off any foamy stuff that comes to the surface, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 2-3 hours, adding water as needed to keep the pot at least 2/3 full.

I then cool the stock and strain it to remove any solid bits. I pour this into sour cream or yogurt containers to freeze (make sure you don't fill the containers right to the top as the liquid will expand when it freezes). You can also freeze stock in ice cube trays, then pop out the cubes and pack into Ziploc bags for when you just need a small amount of stock.

Now, what to do with all that turkey and stock? The stock can be used in any recipe that calls for chicken stock. A few of my favourite ways to use leftover turkey:

Chicken & Vegetable Coconut Curry

Turkey Pinwheels

Turkey Pot Pie

Curried Turkey and Rice Salad

What are your favourite ways to use leftover turkey?

Making the Most of...Your Jack O' Lantern

Jack o' lanterns are one of my favourite things about Halloween - I enjoy them even more than the costumes. Checking out the spooky creations the neighbours come up with every year has always been a highlight of taking the kids trick-or-treating (the above photo is one of my husband's creations from a few years back when SpongeBob reigned supreme at our house).

The other thing I love about jack o' lanterns is that once you're done with them, you can eat them! While sugar pumpkins are the ideal type for eating, the large pumpkins sold at Halloween will still make an acceptable puree for use in baked goods (I've even made a respectable pumpkin pie with mine!)

Here's how to get the most eating out of your Halloween pumpkin:

1. When carving the pumpkin, scoop the soft "goop" into a clean bowl so you can save the seeds. After carving, take time to rinse the pulp away from the seeds. Once the seeds are thoroughly cleaned, they are ready for toasting.

2. Once you're done with your jack o' lantern on Halloween night, bring it inside (to protect it from pumpkin-smashing teenagers). Use it to make pumpkin puree the next day.

To make toasted pumpkin seeds:

I like to do mine on the stove top as I find it's the quickest and easiest method. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat then add the pumpkin seeds (the frying pan should be "dry" - do not add any fat or oil). Stir the seeds constantly until they are golden brown and pop open. Sprinkle the hot seeds with salt and/or other desired seasonings, then spread out on cookie sheets to cool thoroughly. Once they're cooled, transfer to an airtight container for storage.

To make pumpkin puree:

Cut your pumpkin into large chunks and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet or large baking dish. Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the pumpkin is good and tender. Let cool to room temperature, then peel off the skin and puree in batches in the food processor (you can use a blender or mash by hand if you don't have a food processor, the food processor just makes the job a lot quicker). Freeze in 1 cup portions.

This puree can be used in muffins, quickbreads, pancakes, etc. If you have a favourite way to use pumpkin puree, I'd love it if you'd share it in the comments.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

RECIPE: Turkey Pinwheels

I took a blogging break this weekend to focus on our family's Thanksgiving celebrations (for my international readers, yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in Canada). So now that I'm back - with a fridge full of leftover turkey - I thought it would be fitting to share this quick recipe. It's a fantastic way to use leftover turkey to make a lunch dish that looks much fancier than your standard turkey sandwich. If you don't happen to have a post-holiday stash of leftover turkey, you can use leftover ham or roast chicken in place of the turkey (or even a couple cans of tuna). These pinwheels also make a satisfying light supper with some soup and salad on the side.

Ingredients:

1/3 of a recipe (1 loaf's worth) whole wheat refrigerator bread dough
2 cups chopped leftover turkey
1/2 a medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 a red pepper, diced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2-3/4 cup grated cheese (mozzarella, Swiss or cheddar)

Instructions:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the bread dough to a 15"x12" rectangle. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Spread turkey mixture evenly over the bread dough. Starting with the long side, roll up tightly, jelly-roll style, pinching the end slightly to seal. Put log seam side down and slice into 12 pieces (I find a serrated knife works best for this). Place slices on parchment covered baking sheets, leaving about 1-2 inches between them. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

I shared this recipe at Tasty Tuesday, the GCC Recipe Swap and Friday Favorites.

A Successful Soup Experiment

There's nothing "new" about making soup from leftovers; that's Standard Operating Procedure for any frugalista. Soup usually makes its way onto our menu at least once a week because it is so accommodating. However, this week's creation was a bit different from my usual and I wasn't entirely sure if it was going to work out! I had the clever idea to use all the leftovers from our Sunday ham dinner to make a ham, cheese and potato chowder.

I'm happy to report that the end result was quite satisfying (I admit I breathed a sigh of relief when both boys dug in and pronounced it edible!)

Here's how I made it (to the best of my memory):

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
leftover twice-baked potato casserole (about 2 cups worth)
about 2 cups of milk
leftover cooked peas and carrots (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 smallish slices leftover ham, diced
1 tsp each salt and pepper
about 3/4 cup grated cheddar

In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the butter until tender. Add the mashed potatoes and milk and whisk together until smooth. Add vegetables, ham, salt and pepper and cheese and cook until hot and bubbly. Add more milk as needed to adjust the soup's consistency.

RECIPE:Turkey Pot Pie

On Sundays we generally have a proper "Sunday dinner", a special meal that takes a bit more effort than I'd go to on a weekday. We also break out the good silver (a family heirloom) and even flowers and candles on occasion.

Digging around in the freezer earlier in the week, I'd realized that I still had 3 meals left of diced turkey from the Christmas bird, and Easter (and more turkey leftovers) is not that far off. So I decided on the following menu:

Turkey Potpie
Mashed potatoes with gravy (gravy from freezer stash)
Green beans

Butterscotch pudding (I used a recipe from Gourmet magazine, but I found it over-set and had a jelly-like consistency; I think I'll try this one next time)

We were recently gifted a batch of brew-your-own-wine, so there was wine to go with dinner as well!Turkey Potpie
If you have leftover veggies in the fridge that need to be used up, substitute them for all or part of the vegetables called for in the recipe (you want about 3 cups of veggies total). I had about 1/3 of a loaf of refrigerator bread dough sitting in the fridge and decided to use it for the topping in place of my usual pastry crust.

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups chopped leftover turkey

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups milk (I use reconstituted skim milk powder)
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dried parsley

Topping:
1 pie crust worth of pastry, biscuit or bread topping as desired (use what you've got!)

In large frying pan, saute onions, garlic and carrot in olive oil until carrots start to soften. Add peas, corn and turkey and cook over medium heat until heated through (add a bit of water to the pan if mixture starts to dry out).

Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a small saucepan, whisk the cornstarch into the cold milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and cook over med-low heat until mixture thickens.

Pour the sauce over the turkey mixture and stir until well combined. Pour into a glass lasagna dish and top with pie crust, biscuit dough or bread dough, as desired.

Bake at 375F for about 20-25 min or until hot and bubbly and crust is golden brown.

I shared this recipe at Friday Favorites.

Learning to Embrace Leftovers

I am always surprised when someone expresses their utter disdain for leftovers. I have been a long-time fan of them, myself, for many reasons. Firstly, I can use them to help put together a meal faster than usual on a night where I don't have much time or energy. In addition, the wise and creative use of leftovers means that nothing is going to waste, keeping my grocery bill down! And I admit I feel more than a little satisfaction in creating something delicious out of items a lot of people might have just tossed in the garbage.

A few evenings ago, my husband was out at dinner time and my motivation for cooking for myself and my two boys was running low (sometimes it's hard to muster up my cooking enthusiasm when I know they'd be just as happy with a peanut butter sandwich!)

I rooted around in the fridge for a couple of minutes, and came up with: 2 baked potatoes (leftover from burger night), half a carton of sour cream, a few strips of bacon and a jar of salsa with a few spoonfuls left at the bottom. I also had some garlic chives poking up in the veggie garden. Inspiration struck and I came up with the following:

Spicy Potato, Bacon, and Onion Hash

2-3 strip of bacon
2 baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp canola oil
3-4 tbsp salsa
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
sour cream and garlic chives for garnish

In a small frying pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from pan. Saute the potatoes and onion in the oil until onions are tender and potatoes turn golden brown. Add salsa, salt and pepper and mix well. Crumble bacon and add to potato mixture. Cook for a minute or two longer. Spoon out onto serving plates and garnish with sour cream and garlic chives.

To round out our meal, I scrambled up some eggs and toasted the last few slices of homemade bread we had on hand. This turned out to be a deliciously satisfying meal!

I hope I've convinced you that leftovers are a good thing - they can be the springboard to a tasty, something-for-almost-nothing culinary creation.

Sunday Night Fridge Clean Out

It's hard to cook when you have no idea what's in your fridge or where to find it. Fortunately, it's not difficult to keep things organized in there if you stay on top of it regularly. A quick once-a-week romp through the depths of the fridge should be enough to keep the science experiments at bay. This should take about 15 minutes. If your fridge is a total disaster, just work on it 15 minutes at a time, every day for 1 week and you should get it under control.

Remove any spoiled food and toss in compost, green cart, food disposal or (last resort!) garbage.

Found stuff that's still edible?

Make a plan to use it in the next 24 hrs (i.e. tomorrow's lunch or dinner)

OR

Freeze it for future use (make sure to label it clearly with the date and type of food- trust me, you won't remember what it is 2 months from now when you find it at the back of the freezer!)
If you have leftover mashed potatoes, freeze it in approximately 1 cup portions (we'll talk about what to do with them later.) If there are little bits of a few different cooked vegetables lying around, you can freeze them together if they seem compatible (e.g. green beans and carrots) - they can be tossed into a soup, stew or other dish later. If you have leftovers of an entire dish (like a casserole or soup) portion it out into single servings for future use when quick lunches or dinners are needed.

If you do a once-a-week clean out faithfully, you'll always have a good idea what's in your fridge, and you'll drastically reduce the amount of food waste in your home - and the amount of money you're spending on groceries!

Diner Style Dinner Delight!

We had my favourite "guilty pleasure" dinner tonight: Hot Turkey Sandwiches and Oven Fries. The bread was homemade (fresh out of the oven), the turkey and gravy (Christmas leftovers of course!) were used generously, and the fries were of the olive-oil-and-sea-salt variety. Heaven!! This was washed down with a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc, followed by coffee, assorted Christmas cookies and truffles. I'm stuffed!

I also got the turkey stock made up today. Hubby is begging for turkey soup, so I will probably make that up in the next day or two.

Tomorrow I will probably try and unbury the house a bit more - I have to figure out where to put the massive quantities of art supplies the boys received as Christmas gifts!

I've also started making a list of items to pick up using the gift cards hubby and I got for Christmas (HBC, LCBO, and Home Depot). I need a good pair of jeans and khakis (have not been successful finding a good-fitting pair of either in the last couple of years of thrift store shopping) and some new undergarments, hubby needs some boxers, we need to restock the liquor cabinet with rum, Sherry, and Bailey's and pick up a faucet aerator and low-flow showerhead to help reduce our water usage. I will probably think of a few more things before we head out on our shopping spree!