Beginning with this entry and for the remainder of the
series I’m going to be sharing with you some practical ways that I build and
maintain my well-stocked pantry all the while eating from it daily. These are all things I have done or am doing.
In this entry we’re going to concentrate on leftovers and
how I use them to add to my pantry.
What! You didn’t know you could add to your pantry using leftovers …
oh.my.yes!
1. I save the
bones from fried, baked or from deboned chicken … both cooked and
raw. I add them to a freezer bag I keep in
the freezer. I even add the bones leftover from
a meal we've eaten after the chicken has been eaten off the bones. Don’t go ‘eeewwww’ … they’re going to be frozen,
cooked, and pressure canned. Nothing’s
going to live through that! When the bag
of bones is full, I dump it out into a pot of water, add a little vinegar, raw
garlic and onions and bring it to a gentle boil. I let it boil gently for 2 – 3 hours then let
it cool, strain out the bones and vegetables and pressure can it in quarts or
pints. I have also frozen it if there
wasn’t enough for a canner full. By doing this I add nutrient rich chicken
broth to my pantry.
2.
I do the same thing with beef bones … both
cooked and raw. By doing this I add
nutrient rich beef broth to my pantry.
3.
Before we leave broth, let me add that I also do
this with raw vegetable peelings … I don’t add the vinegar though. I make
sure that I wash the vegetables really well with a vegetable wash. This
is the one that I make and use. By doing
this I add nutrient rich vegetable broth to my pantry.
4. I make freezer convenience meals by filling up
freezer/microwave trays with
leftovers and adding them to the
freezer part of my pantry. I’ve even
been known to cook extra so I could add a few freezer/convenience meals to my
pantry. I let them thaw in the
refrigerator then pop them in the microwave to heat and then eat.
5. I keep an ongoing soup bag in my freezer. Every morsel of
food is precious when building up my pantry.
Not enough leftovers for
another meal … only a tablespoon full left … no problem … I put it in a freezer
container/bag and continue to add to it until the container is full, then use
it to make a pot of soup or pot pie, or add to a casserole, etc.
6. I use
leftover raw vegetables from the garden … you know the ones that get too
big such as cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, etc or that are left over from
a big canning day … maybe I have a cup of raw green beans left. It’s not enough
for another canning, not enough for a meal so I stick them in the dehydrator,
dry them and then grind them up using a coffee/spice grinder or a food processor/chopper. The
end results are that I add the powdered green beans to my ongoing
vegetable powder jar. I do the same
thing with tomato peelings. I add all
kinds of raw/dehydrated/ground up vegetables to my vegetable powder jar on an
ongoing basis. What do I use vegetable
powder for? I sneak small amounts into
meatloaf, meatballs, casseroles, hamburger patties, soup, vegetable patties,
etc. Great nutrition from something that
usually goes to waste.
7.
I use leftover peelings from lemons.
I wash lemons in the vegetable wash mentioned above. I zest the
lemons then either make lemon extract out of the zest or dehydrate the zest to
add to my pantry as dried lemon zest. I
add two things, lemon extract and lemon zest to my pantry from the lemon peels.
8.
I use leftover orange peelings to make dried orange peel for use in
recipes using the same method I use for lemons.
I add dried orange peel to my pantry from leftover orange peelings.
9. I use leftover pieces of fruit to make fruit powder just like the
vegetable powder in #6. I use fruit
powder in smoothies and fruit-based deserts.
10. I make apple cider vinegar using leftover apple peelings.
11.
I make apple jelly from leftover apple peelings.
12. I make peach jelly from leftover
peach peelings.
13. I make pear jelly from leftover
pear peelings.
14. When I fry bacon, I strain the leftover grease and put it in a freezer container to use for
seasoning purposes.
15.
When I have just a little bit of
buttermilk leftover from a cooking
project, I pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. When it is completely frozen, I pop it out
and add it to a freezer container for later use. When I get ready to use it, I let it thaw in
the refrigerator, stir it up and use as if it were fresh.
To sum it all up, from leftovers I add chicken broth, beef
broth, vegetable broth, freezer/convenience meals, lemon extract, lemon zest,
orange peel, vegetable powder, fruit powder, apple cider vinegar, seasoning
grease, buttermilk, jelly and bags of ingredients for making soup or casseroles. Pretty good for leftovers, don’t you think?
Okay it’s your turn, how do you use leftovers to add to your
pantry? Your comments are what will make
this series more helpful so please share your wisdom.
Patsi
Sharing 42 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building
My second blog: From This Heart of Mine
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
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