Thursday's Thrift in the Kitchen

Planning Ahead

Although I don't make a month long (or even a week long) menu plan I do tend to plan ahead on a regular basis. I'll explain, and show you what I mean.

Last night we had hamburgers (from the patties I made and froze last week), and oven fries. I made lots of fries so I'd have enough leftovers to make Breakfast Salad this morning.

Planning ahead to use up leftovers is a way to save money in the kitchen.

Oven Fries
8 medium potatoes, cut into eight wedges each

Mix together in a small bowl or measuring cup:
1/4 cup oil (your choice, I use canola and/or olive)
1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Place potato wedges in a large bowl, pour oil mixture over the wedges, stir to coat all the potatoes. Place the wedges on a large baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes (depends on the thickness of the wedges and the heat of your oven)

Breakfast Salad (basic version)
Brown a small amount of bulk sausage (I use about 1/4 to 1/3 of a pound) in a large skillet
Cut up leftover oven fries and add to the browned sausage
In a separate pan, scramble two eggs; add to the sausage and potatoes.

If you have more time adding chopped onions and various colors of bell peppers adds lovely flavor and color to the salad. This is one of those expandable recipes. For large families or other crowds, just increase the quantities of each ingredient, or add something that you like or have on hand. A salad is simply a collection of ingredients, it can be whatever you like. Experiment and have fun!

Mrs. Use it Up Strikes Again

I did so well in February with groceries that I'm going to keep going for March. I started the month buying only dairy, (milk and eggs), lots of fruit, some veggies (still have some to use up), and a little bit of meat. My stock up item this month is cleaning supplies because that's what I was running low on. It feels so good to have a cupboard full of supplies again!

So, the use it up deal; I foraged around in the freezer for all the odd pieces of bread I had stuck in there and found an assortment of pieces which I laid out on a baking sheet and popped in the oven to toast. When they were nicely dried out I broke the pieces into the blender (I don't have a food processor) and whizzed them up into bread crumbs, which I then put into an old plastic container with a piece of masking tape for a label and back it goes into the freezer so that the next time a recipe calls for bread crumbs mine are all ready. Whew!

Lunch today was a salad of grated carrot, some leftover green peas (frozen kind), a spoonful of leftover white rice, a spoonful of feta cheese, the last of some Romaine lettuce, a pinch of basil, and some homemade Italian dressing (well, sort of homemade, the kind with water, vinegar, oil and a packet of mix). For an experiment in combining flavors it was really good. But then I like oddball salads.

I had plans to make some baby bibs and burp cloths for a friend but got called out to do some church work so my plans got bumped a day. These items will also be made from leftovers in a use-it-up effort.

Supposedly the weather is warmer, but without sunshine it still feels cold to me.

Gourmet Lunch

Sometimes I surprise myself. Today was one of those times. I made lunch without a plan and it turned out absolutely delicious.

I started with the last of the Spring Mix salad from Sam's Club that I had taken to the church potluck on Sunday. I've been eating it all week and there was just enough left for one more salad. To that I added some fresh cherry tomatoes and cucumber from a church friend's garden (thank you John); then I sliced a string cheese stick. I wanted something more and was looking around when I spied the leftover salmon filet from last night. I love salmon so I flaked that onto the salad then drizzled some Italian dressing over the whole thing. (I use Good Seasons Italian packets and make it up with apple cider vinegar and olive oil.)

I'm telling you it was the best tasting salad I've ever had. I must remember and write down this recipe! This is an example of creativity in the kitchen!

Potluck

Today was the monthly potluck on Fast Sunday; a true "potluck" there were six or seven pasta casseroles, a roaster of hot dogs, one quiche and one fruit pie for dessert. I think we all had the same idea--something quick, easy and filling. My poor husband didn't eat very much as he dislikes pasta. Poor him. I loved it. But I think I'm going to stick to something that is rarely there on potluck Sunday and is sorely needed. Can you guess? I'm talking about GREEN and FRESH, salad and vegetables. I think in all the year and a half I've been here in Iowa I've been the only one to bring fresh vegetables and/or salad to the potlucks. When I don't there isn't any. So in the interest of promoting health and good nutrition I'll be bringing fresh salads from now on.

By the way, my salads are either dark greens such as Romaine lettuce or spinach and whatever vegetables I have on hand, or just straight veggies, no lettuce. Topdad actually likes the veggie salads best.

I love to add garbanzo (or other) beans to a salad.