Waste not, Want not!

cwp500

This is really a bump of one of my earlier replies but is specific about food;

Waste not want not! If you save those stalks from broccoli, cabbage etc they make really great stir fry ingredients.

The trick is to use a veg peeler and peel the stalks really thinly so they cook like chinese greens.

Cheap, full of fibre and vitamins and really good for you.

Dont throw it away, just prepare it differently.


Any other good tips for maximising food usage?

debbym

I save the stalks from broccoli and cauliflower in the freezer until I have enough to make broccoli and cauliflower cheese soup. Since this is blitzed it doesn't matter if they are tough.

liz545

I tend to keep parmesan rinds in a bag in the freezer, then bung them in when I'm making minestrone or similar soups; fish it out before serving and it adds a lovely deep savouriness to the soup.

chalky_75

I make what I call debris soup. As long as it has not gone off add all the ingredients yu have got to potatoes and onions and it nearly always turns miraculously into delicious soup

thriftlady_2

The obvious one is using chicken bones and other bones for stock. I add the green tops of leeks too.

I save bacon fat and fat from a roast chicken for frying potatoes and making hash.

Dobie

Freeze the ends of bread & use to make breadcrumbs.

Use the crumbs from the bottom of the cereal box to make Bran Cake or cereal bars.

Brown bananas to make banana muffins. Apples that are going wrinkly peel, core & slice then cook in a tiny amount of water & use to fill a pie, top your breakfast cerealm make an apple cake etc. It freezes well too so you don't have to use it straight away.

Keep a dog!!!

Penelope_Penguin

Dobie wrote: »

Keep a dog!!!

:rotfl: :T :j Keep a freezer, hens and a compost heap

Penny. x

cwp500

thriftlady wrote: »

The obvious one is using chicken bones and other bones for stock. I add the green tops of leeks too.

I save bacon fat and fat from a roast chicken for frying potatoes and making hash.

Good tips. remember when soup stock has been made from bones to let it go cold, store overnight in the fridge and next day skim off the fat that has risen overnight.

This works for stews, sauces, and any liquid that is used to cook meat.

exlibris

debbym wrote: »

I save the stalks from broccoli and cauliflower in the freezer until I have enough to make broccoli and cauliflower cheese soup. Since this is blitzed it doesn't matter if they are tough.

I froze some broccoli stalks but when I defrosted them they had gone soggy. As it happened I was using them to boil the chicken carcase (also frozen but defrosted) to make stock so I used them. I wouldn't like to use them in anything else though. What did I do wrong please?

Aril

On a similar theme use the mushroom stalks [we had them fried up with the leftover cold potatoes we had last night]. I water down the end of fruit juice to make it into a longer drink..doesn't seem to matter how well I shake the carton we always end up with the thick sludgy bit at the bottom or I add it to sauces [mushrooms with o j and a little cream are lovely] Scrapings of pesto etc all end up in the tomato mix for the pizzas. I mix up tail ends of dried herbs into new and thrilling mixtures [not thrilling really] but eeks them out a bit longer until you need to buy more. A small drop of leftover cream has been known to finish up in OH's proper coffee. If you have small amounts of different fruit left over I think they work well together in a fruit salad with a drop of fruit juice or mixed with yogurt for a quick pud. If you've bought something that upon tasting you find you don't like see if it can be incorporated into something else...a few months back I bought two boxes of muesli from Lidl. I knew I didn't like it when I was a child but thought now that I'm a big girl bound to have changed my mind...erm no....OH turned it into some very tasty granola which I did eat. However, won't be buying it again!
Aril

cwp500

exlibris wrote: »

I froze some broccoli stalks but when I defrosted them they had gone soggy. As it happened I was using them to boil the chicken carcase (also frozen but defrosted) to make stock so I used them. I wouldn't like to use them in anything else though. What did I do wrong please?

Did you freeze the cooked stalks or the raw stalks?

cooked stalks will turn to water. freeze them uncooked after 60 seconds in boiling water then quick plunge into ice cold water to stop the cooking process.

This seals in flavour and colour. Dry as much as practical and bag and freeze.

Try it again and see how you get on.