Use It Up Food Challenge: 3/17/24

 What is a 'Use It Up Food' challenge?

 It's about food waste or more specifically not wasting food ...

 It's about repurposing our leftovers into another dish,

 It's about using every part of fruits and vegetables,

 It's about using up the really small amounts of food ...

It's about using up food scraps, peels and stems ...

It's about being mindful of every bit of food that comes in and through our kitchens and finding a use for it ... all of it!

That's our purpose for this series, so, how did we do this week?

It started with about a half of loaf of potato flake sourdough bread that needed to be used ...

I sliced it into about half inch slices ...

and then cut it into cubes for croutons ...

next, I sprinkled the following seasonings over the 4 cups of bread cubes along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and mixed gently in a bowl ... 

(all measurements are approximate)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons ground up Italian seasoning 

(I used a grinder like this one to grind up the Italian seasoning.)

I spread the mixture on a dehydrator sheet over a tray and placed them in the dehydrator at 110 degrees for about an hour.  You can also dry them in a flat pan in a 350-degree oven for approximately 15 minutes.

Here they are ... I'm letting them cool completely before adding a lid.  

(These will be a nice addition to the salad greens that are just about ready to start harvesting from my garden.)

Yet one more thing, I can add to the list of things I can make instead of buy and it started with a half loaf of sourdough bread that needed to be used!

What leftover, bits and bobs, etc of food did you use up this week?

With this post, our Use It Up Food Challenge is going away until later in the year.  Gardening season is in full swing in our area which means I need to clear my schedule.  I will continue to write my Hunkering Down posts on Fridays and my A Journal of My Days posts on Mondays, but for now our Use It Up Food Challenge is going to be paused.  I hope you understand.

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

 Instagram link!

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Use It Up Food Challenge: 3/10/24

 What is a 'Use It Up Food' challenge?

 It's about food waste or more specifically not wasting food ...

 It's about repurposing our leftovers into another dish,

 It's about using every part of fruits and vegetables,

 It's about using up the really small amounts of food ...

It's about using up food scraps, peels and stems ...

It's about being mindful of every bit of food that comes in and through our kitchens and finding a use for it ... all of it!

That's our purpose for this series, so, how did we do this week?

I used all the marked down bananas I had in my freezer and needed to restock.  The problem is finding them, I don't pay full price for banana's, I just don't.  Instead, I look for the overripe, marked down ones.  The problem is that they are getting harder and harder to find.

Hubby and I went bargain shopping this week in a nearby local town with marked down bananas at the top of my list.  The first store we visited didn't have any, the second store did, but the third store did not.   

Here's what we found and what we did with every part ...

We paid $.32/lb for these 'overripe' bananas.  The white tape around them signifies that they are marked down.  The organic bananas also are wrapped in a white tape, but it looks different.  We have to be careful at check-out that we get charged the price for the non-organic marked down bananas and not the organic ones.  There is quite a difference in the price per pound.  We learned the hard way to make sure the person at the check-out knows the difference.

I peeled each banana ...

After peeling each banana and cutting them in half, I placed them on this sheet pan to flash freeze in the freezer for 24 hours.

After the 24 hours are up and they are completely frozen through and through, they are packaged into freezer bags and added to the freezer.  I use them mostly in smoothies and if we get a hankering for banana bread, I'll pull out enough to thaw and make the bread.

Meanwhile, I had a pile of banana peels to do something with ... I chose to make potassium fertilizer water for use in watering my garden plants.  This is a great fertilizer for tomatoes, peppers and roses to name a few.

I simply put the peels in this 5-gallon bucket and covered them with water.  Next, I put something over the top of it to keep critters from getting into it while we wait.

When the peels turn black and the water darkens, the potassium fertilizer water is ready.  This can take several days, sometimes weeks depending on the weather.

The spent banana peels will then be added to the compost.

Yes, we used every part of these bananas!  No part went to waste!

Waste not, want not!

What leftover, bits and bobs, etc of food did you use up this week?

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

 Instagram link!

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Use It Up Food Challenge: 3/3/24

 What is a 'Use It Up Food' challenge?

 It's about food waste or more specifically not wasting food ...

 It's about repurposing our leftovers into another dish,

 It's about using every part of fruits and vegetables,

 It's about using up the really small amounts of food ...

It's about using up food scraps, peels and stems ...

It's about being mindful of every bit of food that comes in and through our kitchens and finding a use for it ... all of it!

That's our purpose for this series, so, how did we do this week?

It started with these ...

four and a piece of skinny carrots!  I knew once I peeled them that would make them even smaller so I thought, and I thought, and I thought and then I knew what I could do ...

I would make chicken broth!  

I washed and scrubbed the carrots and cut them into about 2-inch pieces (I did not peel them).

Then, I pulled out the bag of onion peels and skins I had frozen a few weeks ago and added them.  After that I started adding last years dried herbs:  sage, nettles, rosemary, garlic and thyme.  (I'm really focusing on using up last year's herbs to make room for this year's.  Most dried herbs do really well for about a year if stored properly, after that they start losing their potency.  There's nothing wrong with them, they're just not as potent, so I try to preserve fresh herbs every year.)  I also had some dried celery that I added to the pot along with plenty of water.  

The last thing I added was chicken feet from the freezer.  I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for about 24 hours.

I let it cool, strained it and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.  The next day poured it into these plastic containers (I had one quart size).  The specks you see are tiny pits of fat and herbs.

And here you go, nutrient rich chicken broth ... and it all started with 4 and a piece of skinny carrots!

What leftover, bits and bobs, etc of food did you use up this week?

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

 Instagram link!

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Use it Up Food Challenge: 2/25/24

 What is a 'Use It Up Food' challenge?

 It's about food waste or more specifically not wasting food ...

 It's about repurposing our leftovers into another dish,

 It's about using every part of fruits and vegetables,

 It's about using up the really small amounts of food ...

It's about using up food scraps, peels and stems ...

It's about being mindful of every bit of food that comes in and through our kitchens and finding a use for it ... all of it!

That's our purpose for this series, so, how did we do this week?

I had some leftover steak in the refrigerator that I needed to use.  It wasn't enough for steak for two, so I turned it into a stir-fry dish ...

I started out with a large skillet and a little oil.  (I used cooking oil, but you can use bacon grease, garlic oil, any kind of fat that you think will go with the stir fry.)

I sliced up some onion and chopped up some carrots I had on hand and sauté them in the skillet over medium heat.

Then I added a cabbage from our garden that I chopped up and continuing sautéing right along with the onions and carrots.

Next, came the sliced up steak, fat and all.  I didn't add any seasoning to the skillet other than salt and pepper for the vegetables because the steak was already seasoned just right for our taste.

Since the steak was already cooked, all it had to do was sauté along with the vegetables until everything was done and the steak heated through and through.

Oh my goodness, it was lip smacking good!  Stir fry is typically served over rice, but this was eaten as you see it!  Yum!  Yum!

I was able to take what wasn't enough for one meal and turn it into 2 meals using leftovers and what I had on hand!

Score!!!

What leftover, bits and bobs, etc of food did you use up this week?

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

 Instagram link!

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Use it Up Food Challenge: 2/18/24

   What is a 'Use It Up Food' challenge?

 It's about food waste or more specifically not wasting food ...

 It's about repurposing our leftovers into another dish,

 It's about using every part of fruits and vegetables,

 It's about using up the really small amounts of food ...

It's about using up food scraps, peels and stems ...

It's about being mindful of every bit of food that comes in and through our kitchens and finding a use for it ... all of it!

That's our purpose for this series, so, how did we do this week?

Do you remember the leftover pizza sauce I had after making homemade pizzas from this post?  I told you that I had a plan to use it and would share it later.

This week I used it and this is how ...

I made homemade pizza flavored hot pockets! Here's basically how I made them ...

I opened up a pint jar of home canned ground beef and drained the liquid out.

I mixed the drained ground beef and the leftover pizza sauce together and let it simmer while I prepared the dough.

For the dough, I took a portion of the sourdough bread dough I had made up earlier, rolled it out to between 1/8th and 1/4 inch and then cut it into the size shapes I wanted.  You can do circles, but I chose to do long rectangles about 3 inches wide and about 6 inches long.

I then laid half of a piece of pepper jack cheese on the lower half of my cut-out rectangles and then added about 2 tablespoons or more of the ground beef/pizza sauce mixture on top of the cheese.  Next, I placed 2 or 3 pickled banana pepper rings on the mixture.

I folded the top half of the rectangle over the bottom half and sealed the edges, first with my fingers then with a fork.

I melted some butter and brushed the tops of each hot pocket and then sprinkled some pizza topping seasonings on top of each.

Into the oven they went at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  

They are quite yummy and it all started with a small jar of leftover pizza sauce!

The original recipe for these hot pockets came from Here, I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit our tastes and way of cooking.

But that's not all, look at what other 'discard' I turned into something yummy to eat ...

These are homemade crackers made from the 'discard' of my sourdough starter.  If you are familiar with making sourdough bread you will know that there is always 'discarded starter' to either 'get rid of' or use it in making something else.  In keeping with my 'use it up' mindset, I chose to make something with it.  These crackers are the result.  Here's how I made them ...

3/4 cup of sourdough starter discard 

3 tablespoons of butter 

1/4 teaspoon of salt

herbs or seasoning of choice

Melt butter and stir in seasonings or herbs, sauté if necessary

Mix sourdough starter, salt and butter mixture together, stirring until well mixed.

Spread evenly on a parchment paper lined flat baking pan and bake for 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven.

Remove pan from oven and make slices through the partially cooked dough for the size of crackers you want. Just make the slices, don't try to separate the dough into shapes.  Return pan to oven and cook an additional 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.  When completely cooled, place crackers in a jar for keeping until you're ready to eat them.  

Be warned ... I bet you can't eat just one!!

The original recipe for these crackers came from Here, I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit our tastes and way of cooking.

That's how I did this week, what leftovers or discarded foods did you use up?

until next time,

 mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

 She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

 Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

 You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

 Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Use It Up Food Challenge: 2/11/24

  What is a 'Use It Up Food' challenge?

 It's about food waste or more specifically not wasting food ...

 It's about repurposing our leftovers into another dish,

 It's about using every part of fruits and vegetables,

 It's about using up the really small amounts of food ...

It's about using up food scraps, peels and stems ...

It's about being mindful of every bit of food that comes in and through our kitchens and finding a use for it ... all of it!

That's our purpose for this series, so, how did we do this week?

This week I was checking my onions and discovered that several of them were starting to turn soft.  Oh! Oh!  Time to get busy ...

I peeled the onions and put the skins, peelings, end pieces, etc in the freezer to use in meat broth making or maybe to make some onion broth.

After I finished peeling the onions, I chopped and added them to the crockpot to caramelize.  I added Worchester sauce and balsamic vinegar for flavoring.  These cooked approximately 6 hours in the crockpot.

I then made up some beef broth from beef bouillon powder, because I didn't have any beef bones on hand to make it from scratch, added the caramelized onions to the broth and canned it all up together.  I plan to use this in cooking beef roast or other cuts of meat and as a base for soups and stews.

That was my use it or lose it project for this week, how did you meet our 'use it up' food challenge this week?

until next time,

 mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

 She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

 Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

 You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

 Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Use It Up Food Challenge: 2/4/24

 What is a 'Use It Up Food' challenge?

 It's about food waste or more specifically not wasting food ...

 It's about repurposing our leftovers into another dish,

 It's about using every part of fruits and vegetables,

 It's about using up the really small amounts of food ...

It's about using up food scraps, peels and stems ...

It's about being mindful of every bit of food that comes in and through our kitchens and finding a use for it ... all of it!

That's our purpose for this series, so, how did we do this week?

Do you see that partial bag of cheese in the picture?  There wasn't a lot in the bag and I've being shuffling it around in the refrigerator for weeks and finally decided that I needed to find a use for it.

My hubby had told me about pizza being brought in to his work for lunch one day and ever since then, I've been craving pizza.  So, when I was trying to decide what to do with the cheese, a light bulb went off in my head and I thought ... pizza!  Typically, this is not the kind of cheese we use when we make pizza, but when you have pizza on the brain and this kind of cheese that needs to be used, you make it happen.

That's what I did!  I started pulling items from my pantry:  pizza sauce, pizza topping, banana pepper rings, mushrooms, browned ground beef (from the refrigerator), already cooked sausage (from the refrigerator) and a low carb tortilla.

It wasn't very pretty but let me tell you it was delicious and hit the spot for my pizza craving!

You will notice that the jar of pizza sauce still has quite a bit in it, hmmmm .... now what can I do with that ... I have a idea and no, it's not another pizza ... stay tuned!

So, how did you do?  I can't wait to read your comments!

 until next time,

 mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

 She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

 Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

 You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

 Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.