Frugal kitchen tips and hints. Share!!!

[patandchickens]

I would never have thought to save the veggies in the freezer for stock.

Oh yes, you can freeze lots of other things for soup too. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the last few Tbsp of spaghetti sauce out of the pot. That sort of thing. You may already use pan drippings from roasts for gravy/sauce/potpies/casseroles (I sure do!), but you can save the liquid you pour off of ground beef when you brown it, and let the fat congeal to remove it - there is actually a surprising amount of basically 'hamburger pan drippings' under there that can go towards soup too.

Just keep a dedicated freezer container, like one of the square ones, that you put all these odds and ends in. You can take it right out of the freezer, take the lid off, put today's contributions in, and put it back in the freezer. When it is full, soup time!

Man, this is really making me miss soup (I grew up with leftovers-soup being like the 6th major food group ). Gotta start being more selective about what I give to the chickens

Pat

 

[heatherv]

Oh I have a kitchen tip!!

If you have a dog, have him/her clean up the floor/chair after your young child is done eating!

We just adopted two 5 mos old puppies (a little over a week ago) and I tell ya what, those two pups save me alot of work! I despise after meal clean up from my messy 2yo! 4yo makes a normal kid mess... my 2yo is the messiest I've ever met! Those dogs lick up every crumb off the floor and her seat, so then I just need to wash it off (not get all the yucky gooey crumby sticky mess) They pretty much lick it clean!

ok.. so it's not a money saving tip... and it's a little silly! But it sure saves me a hassle! They don't miss a drop! We had spaghetti tonight, and this and soups are her messiest. Clean up was so easy! I've just learned in the past couple days to let them into the kitchen when we're done eating!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Well, you're saving on dog snack--that's saving money!! OTOH, my dogs roll in horse, chicken poop, not to mention the roadkill du jour, so mine don't come in the house

 

[Farmfresh]

When I have to buy celery for a recipe I always buy a lot. Then after I have used what I need fresh (or for snacks), I take the rest and run it through the food processor and then dehydrate it. It is great for seasoning those homemade soups that you all are so hungry for! AND no more wasted wilted celery stalks hanging limply around in the refrigerator.

I also dehydrate onions. Those Vidalias, and other sweet onions that just won't keep, make wonderful dry onion flakes. They are even sweeter when dry, easy to keep, and last! Warning! Run the dehydrator out on a porch or somewhere breezy. The first batch I did in the house. We left to go shopping and when we came home the whole house was a tear filled gas bomb!

When I butcher chickens I pack them like we eat them! Breast halves in a bag, cut pieces for fried chicken etc... I also package all the backs and necks together in their own packs. I use them for making chicken and rice or rich stock for those homemade soups.

Freeze extra broth in a ice cube tray, then pop out and bag them up. Easy way to add flavor to meals and nutrition as well. Veggie broth or juice works too.

I keep a soap ball for hand washing by each sink. We get a big bar in the shower, but all the "leavins" get moistened and smooshed onto the soap ball. It lasts forever this way.

 

[Farmfresh]

One more ... unwrap your soap to store it. Especially store soaps.

Storing it in a basket or other container that allows air to contact the soap drys the soap, which makes the bar harder. Hard bars last longer and don't mush away. Also store soap in the bath on a rack out of the water to keep them dry.

 

[cackle]

When I have to buy celery for a recipe I always buy a lot. Then after I have used what I need fresh (or for snacks), I take the rest and run it through the food processor and then dehydrate it. It is great for seasoning those homemade soups that you all are so hungry for! AND no more wasted wilted celery stalks hanging limply around in the refrigerator.

I also dehydrate onions. Those Vidalias, and other sweet onions that just won't keep, make wonderful dry onion flakes. They are even sweeter when dry, easy to keep, and last! Warning! Run the dehydrator out on a porch or somewhere breezy. The first batch I did in the house. We left to go shopping and when we came home the whole house was a tear filled gas bomb!

Farmfresh,

I was wondering the other day if I could dehydrate onions but never thought about the celery. I am so glad I read your post because otherwise I would have dried the onions in the house.


Another hint is I take my roasted chicken bones and put in a pot with onion, celery, carrots, salt and pepper and make broth from the bones and the little bit of meat left on them. If there are good drippings I add that to the pot and use the deep rich broth for sauces and gravys. I freeze in 8 ounce containers. Then I can grab as many as I need depending on what I am making.

When I make rice I often make extra and after we finish dinner I cool it and put in a plastic bag and use in the next day or two for fried rice. This is a good use for a few peas, mushrooms, brocolli or other veggies you like in your fried rice. If you have a small portion of meat you can add that.

When there is a little roast and gravy I make a hash where I start diced potatoes cooking and in a skillet I saute some onion in a little oil and then add the beef or pork cut in bite sized pieces and just heat, add the gravy and when what is in the pan is heated I drain the potatoes and combine with the meat mixture serve with a salad and some bread.

 

[miss_thenorth]

One more ... unwrap your soap to store it. Especially store soaps.

Storing it in a basket or other container that allows air to contact the soap drys the soap, which makes the bar harder. Hard bars last longer and don't mush away. Also store soap in the bath on a rack out of the water to keep them dry.

I do this too--my mom taught me. funny when you've been doing things for so long, you kinda see it as second nature and think everyone else already does it.

 

[Farmfresh]

You know this sounds silly but, I almost forgot about HASH!

We always eat sandwiches with leftover roast! I also have a little problem with the broth from bones idea as my hubby picks the bones so clean their is barely anything left for the dogs! LOL

 

[me&thegals]

I've been pan frying all my leftover garden veggies--especially green tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, summer squash and zucchini--then dumping on spaghetti sauce, topping with cheese and baking. It helps me not waste those veggies that are so abundant right now...

 

[patandchickens]

Mmm, that sounds *yummy*! I will have to try that. We *had* been using bits-and-bobs from the garden in frittatas (saute with garlic til basically cooked, then pour 5 beaten eggs over, put a little parmesan or whatnot on it, cover and cook til top is set - if you flip it over to serve, it doesn't matter that the 'top' never got browned). But I am sort of 'between' bunches of hens at the moment and just don't have enough eggs for that... so baked with spaghetti sauce and cheese sounds like a really good alternative! Thanks.

Pat