Food Waste Friday - Some Sad Lettuce

I'll hopefully have a picture for you later today, but we do have some honest to goodness food waste this week. I was using some red lettuce no my hubby's lunches while the sprouts were growing. Luckily, I got down to the itty bitty center pieces that aren't big enough for a sandwich just as the sprouts reached readiness - perfectly coordinated if I do say so myself. But, of course, the last little bit of lettuce was forgotten, and when I pulled the bag out of the crisper last night it had that brown slimy liquid running around in it.

The last of the fresh spinach is also on it's last legs, but I don't plan to let it go to waste. I'll throw the wilted pieces in a pasta or something. Actually, I was planning on trying out this recipe tonight for the first time, and some spinach tossed in might be perfect!

Spicy Beef-Noodle Bowl

1 lb. beef sirloin, cut into strips
1 Tbsp. oil
28 oz. broth
1/3 cup peanut sauce
3 oz. egg noodles
2 cups broccoli florets
Sliced green onions for garnish

Brown beef strips in hot oil in a Dutch oven. Add broth and peanut sauce, and bring everything to a boil. Stir in noodles and reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 4 minutes. Stir to break up the noodles, and add broccoli. Return to boiling. Reduce heat, and simmer for another 4 minutes or until noodles are tender. Garnish with green onions.

Sounds good, and easy right? I'll let you know how it goes!

Food Waste Friday - Living On The Edge

I don't have any food waste to report this week, but I am quaking in fear (okay, mild exaggeration) about a couple of items. After my success with my first Italian loaf last weekend (gobbled up by family at my sister's birthday dinner) I decided to make focaccia bread. Although delicious, the recipe also turned out huge. We have been ever so slowly eating a slice here and a slice there, and I'm a little afraid it's going to end up moldy before we finish it.

Which would break my heart.

I'm also mildly nervous about my sprouts. But first, let me tell you how awesome they are. Every night, I pull a chunk of sprouts out of the mason jar and put them on my husband's lunch sandwich. I add a little water, swish it around, and pour the excess out to keep things moist, and the next morning the mason jar is full again. It's the coolest thing!

The other cool thing is that they are a million times greener than the kind you buy at the store. Since they're just sitting in my window, they get to soak up a lot more sun than the sprouts that are quickly loaded into the back of a truck and then left to languish anemically at the grocery store.

But, this never ending source of sprouts has me wondering if they're going to go bad at any point. I know technically they're growing and should be fine, but the ones at the bottom of the jar are packed in there so tightly that the little leaves are trapping water against the glass, even after I turn the jar upside down. Hopefully they are getting just enough moisture, and not too much.

This is my first experience growing sprouts at home (besides watching my mom do it as a kid) so I guess if they do go bad, it is just part of the learning curve. I've already gotten a week's worth of lunches out of this one jar, so I'll count it as a success either way. Next, I'm going to get some basil seeds started indoors.

A Different Kind Of Food Waste

My husband offered to make meatloaf for dinner this week on a night when I was a little busy and stressed out. He made a really delicious meat loaf for the first time last month - but of course even a half recipe ended up being far too much food for the two of us.

I had halved a pound of ground beef and frozen the big half, so I told him to go ahead and take it out of the freezer. I explained that it wasn't a full pound, but would be plenty for us, and that if he wanted he could use half of the mushrooms to "beef" it up a little...so to speak.

I then left him to it. When I came down to dinner I found out he'd defrosted two of the Italian sausages I'd earmarked for future meals, de-cased them, and added them to the beef. He was very proud of himself. He'd also used half of the mushrooms. The meatloaf was even bigger than the first one.

I was...frustrated. I have my meals this month diligently planned out around 1) cutting back a little on our meat consumption, and 2) not purchasing anymore meat this month. Technically, we're fine - even without running to the grocery store. I can still make a meal out of the canned tuna or salmon that I hadn't planned on using. He also ultimately ate (most of) the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Still, just as I start to try to curb our meat consumption we end up with a meal that consists of no less than beef, sausage and bacon. Plus half my mushrooms! This screams wasteful to me.

And like I said, only most of the meat loaf was eaten the next day at lunch. The rest was left in a Tupperware container for me to discover the next day. Ick! I didn't get a picture of it before it went down the disposal. You're welcome ;)

There are certainly worse things. I have a loving husband who is not only a great cook but is also willing to help out when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Nevertheless, I felt a little derailed from the no-waste track and my budgetary and dietary goals.

Changing my husband's eating habits might be harder than I thought!

Food Waste Friday - The Lost Tomatoes

I've been doing really well using up the food we have in the fridge and minimizing food waste. I did have to chuck a couple strawberries as I sliced them up for the freezer, but for the most part they were rescued before falling to utter demise. I also had to toss an entire heirloom orange, and chop parts of a couple others, but I really can't be blamed for that one. I picked up my free bag on Friday and was composting oranges on Sunday. I'd be really annoyed if they hadn't been a giveaway from Metropolitan Market, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Other than that, I've been working my way steadily through a bag of red peppers and been pretty pleased with my efforts. Unfortunately, I didn't realize they were hiding the last of my tomatoes. They don't look so bad in this picture, just a little wrinkly. But they were flat on the bottom. Not to mention, I didn't even buy tomatoes in February. All in all, I think these tomatoes hung on as long as they could for me, but I still failed them. Sorry! It's the compost bin for you.

I haven't even done a big grocery shop yet (and it's already the 11th of the month!) so I'm pretty sure there's no more produce hiding in the back of my fridge. I should do pretty well minimizing the food waste this month, and making sure I use up everything in the fridge and freezer is also doing wonders for my food budget!

Food Waste Friday - Brie and Frozen Flank Steak

I'm extremely happy with how my food waste has been going ever since I started partaking in Food Waste Fridays. Posting once a week helps keep waste in the forefront of my mind, so I've been very conscious of using up leftovers and finding ways to incorporate veggies that are looking like they're on their way out.

The only thing I have to report this week is an old piece of Brie - mostly rind. It's been in there...awhile. I'm pretty sure someone brought it over during a potluck get together, and the last little bit was thrown in a plastic bag and into the deli drawer of my fridge, never to be seen again until today.

Brie is pretty much my most favorite thing in the world, so I said a few words before regretfully tossing it.

The hubs bought strawberries two-for-one last weekend when he got a hankering for Belgian waffles, so I have a ton of strawberries in the fridge that probably won't last much longer. I think I'm going to add some to my homemade yogurt. I'm wondering, do strawberries freeze well? I need to get on it, or these will be part of next week's post.

The other thing I've been doing a lot of lately is using up frozen leftover flank steak. I buy a two pack of flank steak from Costco every month. I'm that girl sorting through every package of flank steaks in the fridge looking for the lightest, cheapest one. Hey - there's only two of us! Even though I usually don't spend more than $15 on two small flank steaks, they're still far too big for the two of us to finish, so I throw the leftovers in the freezer.

If I don't, they will go to waste. I've learned this about myself, and accepted it. Leftovers go straight into the freezer, none of this fridge business.

Next time I decide we're having red meat for dinner, I take out the leftover flank steak and make it into Beef Stroganoff! It's actually a bonus that it's already frozen, because many stroganoff recipes call for you to lightly freeze the beef before chopping it up. Here's how I make my stroganoff:

Heat up a little oil or butter in a skillet while you chop up a medium sized onion. Toss the onion in the pan, and slice the leftover flank steak into bite size pieces and then dredge in flour. When the onion is looking pretty translucent (cook it on pretty low heat) toss in the dredged meat. I season with salt, pepper, and some Italian seasoning or thyme. I usually add some freshly chopped garlic or powdered garlic as well.

Once that's all tossed together and heated through (remember, I'm using cooked meat - if yours isn't, make sure to cook it all the way through) I add about a cup of chicken broth. Many recipes call for beef broth, but I never keep that on hand. I think the chicken broth is just as flavorful. I let that cook down just a little, and then stir in about a cup of sour cream. Oh - don't forget to cook your pasta at some point! I like to use linguini. Egg noodles are the usual choice, but I don't keep them on hand.

I stir the sour cream in for just a few minutes, adjusting the seasoning to taste and the thickness with either broth or a little more sour cream. You can also add a little flour if it's not thick enough. Then, pour everything from the skillet over your pasta and serve. Voila! Another meal from my frozen flank steak.

If you're wondering where the mushrooms are, my husband stands steadfastly against button mushrooms. He's worked his way into liking Portabellas, but hasn't opened up his palate to any other fungus...yet. I'm trying. If I don't feel like serving my stroganoff with a salad, I usually add some cooked peas instead. Delish!

Food Waste Friday - Croutons!

Today's food waste post is another victory - I don't have anything to toss! My husband, however, would say differently. He's wondering why I haven't thrown away the four bags of sandwich bread crust that I have in the fridge.

Granted, I should probably consolidate them....

I make my husband a boxed lunch every day to save money over eating out. I once sent him to work with a sandwich made with one regular piece of bread and one crusty end. I got a text message from him that read, "Baby, are you mad at me?"

So, since he has been ever so willing to eat the same packed lunch every day instead of spending money, I have tried to be extra considerate and never force the crust on him again. I always make sure we have a spare loaf of bread, but I can't seem to bring myself to throwing away the crusts! I sometimes have toast as a snack, and I try to use them up that way, but I definitely don't snack on toast enough. My fridge full of crusts attests to that.

For dinner the other night I decided to make a salad with grilled chicken. It was a delicious - and thrifty - meal if I do say so myself. I seasoned one and a half chicken breasts (I tend to only eat half, but hubby can definitely down a whole) with lemon pepper and cumin. I sneak cumin into everything! I grilled that in a cast iron skillet and sliced it up. I chopped up some red lettuce, dressed it with an oil, vinegar, powdered garlic and Italian seasoning mix and threw in some chopped green onions and red pepper.

The dressing was key in this being the most delicious salad ever. I have a handful of tiny Tupperware, and I use these for all my dressings. Just pour in a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, season to taste (or perfectly delicious unseasoned, too) and then put the lid on. Shake for a few seconds and it emulsifies. It's the easiest thing in the world, and I don't spend money on bottles of dressing that live in the fridge for years getting crusty around the edges.

I decided that since I was making salad it might be a good time for me to tackle some of my bread crusts. I chopped two crusts up, tossed them with oil, and threw them in my cast iron pan. I'm sure I could have baked them, but it was a last minute idea that I wanted to cook quickly. I threw in some seasoning - Italian and powdered garlic - and tossed the mixture around the pan until the crusts were crispy. They were delicious!

My husband agreed it was one of the best salads we've ever had.

My fridge is still full of unused crusts, but now they have a purposeful future ahead of them. Maybe I'll toss them all in the same bag to neaten the fridge up a bit, but I'm definitely not tossing them in the garbage!

A Cheap Quiche Recipe

I have loved quiche all my life. Growing up we called it "spinach pie". I'm not sure how many parents could get their kids to eat that, but I guess I've just always been a spinach fan!

I bought some pie crusts this month on sale - 2 packs of two for $5 - but am planning on making my own pie crust from now on, so this recipe could have been even cheaper. I usually put ham in my quiche, but I forgot to get a new pack from Costco. The ham is fairly reasonably priced, and I can usually get 6 quiches out of it, but I was restocking the freezer with a lot of meat this month, so I'm glad I skipped it.

I decided to make quiche anyway when I realized I had some frozen spinach in the freezer. So, I chopped up some bacon and sautéed it with half a large onion. Usually I put the onion in the pie crust uncooked with the ham chunks, but I think this way added great flavor!

I whisked 5 eggs with about 1/2 a cup of milk and added about a cup of shredded cheese. Any hard cheese will do. I've used cheddar, pepper jack, swiss. Last night I used up the last little piece of Dubliner...mmm. You can use cheaper cheeses, but it was the best option for me since the cheese would have been part of next week's Food Waste Friday if I hadn't used it!

Then I defrosted about a 3/4 cup of frozen spinach, squeezed out the extra liquid in a strainer, and mixed it in with the cheesy eggy goodness. Then season season season! Last night I used salt, pepper, powdered garlic, paprika, red chili powder, and cumin.

I usually pin prick my crust and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 3 minutes before I put the onions and bacon in. It helps the crust that gets covered up bake a little more than it would otherwise. Then pour your liquids  over the onions and pop it in the oven. Bake it at 400 for 15 minutes and then at 350 for 30 minutes.

Quiches are so quick to assemble, and you can just sit back while they bake. I wish I'd taken a picture last night. It was my most delicious quiche yet - and made for a great breakfast on the go this morning!

Update: Made quiche again and added some chopped asparagus - pic this time!

Food Waste Friday | Famous Focaccia Fail

I don't have too much food waste to report, although I just did my big shopping trip of the month so everything in the fridge is relatively brand new. Crossing fingers none of it turns into waste!

I did make a gallon batch of yogurt, courtesy of The Frugal Girl's instructions. I still need to perfect this. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I think I may have added the starter when the milk was still too hot and killed off some of the good yogurty bacteria. It definitely still made yogurt, but was a little runny. As a result, I have about half an inch of yogurt at the bottom of a mason jar that seems to have separated and will have to be thrown out.

I also requested some of my hubby's famous focaccia bread to accompany some pasta, but he couldn't find his favorite recipe. He used a different one found online instead, and it turned out....not the best. We ate it the first night, suffered through it a second night, and decided to put the remainder to rest the third night. So disappointing!

I also have been far too busy with decluttering the house and a to be announced thrifty project to bake anything other than store bought cookie dough, so the sour milk in my fridge remains unused. How long can you leave milk before it goes from sour to just plain bad? I'm getting nervous about cooking with it, so that might have to be added to my food waste tally for this week.

All in all, I'm not feeling too guilty. I did make some extra rice the other night (I like to make two batches at a time and refrigerate half) and we're going out of town for the next 2 nights, so I'll have to use it up on Sunday to make sure I don't have to post about it next week!

Food Waste Friday | Keeping Accountable!

Staying accountable to my grocery budget isn't just minimizing my spending, it's also minimizing wasted food. Kristen at The Frugal Girl stays accountable by posting pictures of any food that has gone bad as part of her Food Waste Friday series, which I think is a great idea. Saying your goals out loud helps assure you'll actually achieve them.

With that being said, I think I'm doing pretty well so far. My successes are both breadcrumb related. First I made some breaded chicken, but misjudged the amount of breadcrumbs I needed and ended up with a lot left over. Of course, at that point they were contaminated and couldn't go back in the tub, but I decided to save them in some Tupperware and make Chicken Parmesan a couple of days later. I wondered if this was a good idea, since technically all sorts of deadly germs could be sitting in there, but I figured the heat of cooking the next meal would suffice.

We're still alive, so I think it worked out alright.

My husband also made some delicious corn bread when he realized we were out of yeast and couldn't make his trademark focaccia. I ate it for breakfast lunch and dinner for a couple of days, but the last little bit got pretty stale. I decided to throw it in the food processor, and now I have a bunch of cornbread crumbs! I'm thinking they might be delicious on some pork chops next week.

The bad news was mainly lunchtime related. There were a few slices of Havarti cheese remaining before we went away for the holidays, and they started looking pretty bad. I also had about half a bag of salami from Costco that started to look.....gray. Horrors! I have never in my life let a Costco bag of salami go bad. I don't even know how it's possible, especially with cured-meat-loving Me around. It never would have happened if we hadn't been out of town for 3 weeks.

The last little bit of my milk went a little sour. I drank about half a glass of it before I decided it was gone. I poured the last of the glass back in the jug, and I'm going to scour the internet for some recipes this weekend. I'm determined not to let it go to waste!

If you've ever read anything about food waste you know that this is just one of the ways in which frugal living is also sustainable living.