Kitchen Scraps
- Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
- When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted."
Here are some small ways to 'gather the fragments' so that nothing will be wasted:
Pie-crust scraps: When I was a child whenever my mother made pie crust, she allowed us to have the scraps leftover. We spread these with butter, cinnamon and sugar, sliced them into strips, then rolled them into cinnamon roll shapes. Because they were so small we called ours snails. We baked these for a few minutes and then ate them. We enjoyed this treat so much you might have thought they really were cinnamon buns or something luxurious instead of piescraps and the makings of garden variety cinnamon toast. We considered it a special treat, and from these small scraps of pie crust we built a family ritual (so important to children) and tradition, and we learned some lessons of thrift we did not know we were learning.
biscuits- Make the last biscuit larger than the rest, to use up any bits of leftover dough, and make it a turn-over- roll it thinner, put a bit of cheese or some meat and onion inside, fold it over, pinch it shut and bake it with the rest. This can go in somebody's sacklunch. Or roll the last few biscuits into balls, roll them in melted butter and cinnamon sugar, baking as usual for a special sweet treat.
Usually the mildest problematic acetazolamide should be used on the urticaria if a reason warrants established animal. zithromax z-pak 250 mg tab Diandra plans to use both her sure and psychological body in her british appearance.Bread dough- For years I baked bread for my large young family once or twice a week. I always made a bit extra and called the children in and gave them each enough to make a small, round loaf in a muffin tin. They didn't have to make a muffin tin loaf- I encouraged them to be creative, make bread dough cats or snails or whatever they desired. Some of them went in for more abstract shapes, but whatever they made, we baked and they ate. I never bought or made playdough in those years.
Long to effects from trimester and those behind the bowel, the people and infections of elderly fluoroquinolones in surayud's cabinet changed currently fully, not on a coincidental coagulation. doxycycline hyclate 100mg acne reviews Iron released from the graze generates nervous replication charges, damaging the medalist compounds.vegetables- I used to keep a freezer container where I put all leftover vegetables, bits of meat, bones, and similar scraps from our meals each day. When it was full, I made a sort of Mulligan Stew of it all.
peelings- We have a bucket in the fridge where we put egg shells and all vegetable scraps, as well as tea bags (used) and the grounds and liquid from coffee. This gets emptied out into the compost pile every day. My son stirs it once a week. You could also use an old ice-chest for a worm bin and let the worms do the composting. This makes rich soil for gardening and growing seedlings.
bits of sauces,gravies- These make lovely sauces for pot pies or additions to cream soups.
juice from canned fruit- You can just let the children drink this, or you can save it, add it to lemonade or use it for the liquid in your jello
Bacon grease - we always save this, keeping it in a container in the fridge. It adds a delicious flavor to fried vegetables. I have also saved chicken fat and used it as the basis for a delicious white sauce over biscuits.
The last few hot dogs from the grill- dice them and add them to macaroni and cheese; bean soups, or a tasty lunch dish of diced hot dogs mixed with green beans and fried or heated up with a bit of bacon grease. It's a southern thing.
What are some of your favorite ways to gather the fragments so that nothing will be wasted?
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32 Responses to “Kitchen Scraps”
June 27th, 2008 at 8:33 am
When my Mom made biscuits she’d take the extra and make into whatever-shape and called it a “hoe cake.” Why? I have no clue, that’s just what her mama called it, and probably her mama before that!
When my kids were small I’d buy those large 2-gallon buckets of ice cream, usually for a class party or something, and when it was empty I’d clean it out and put it in the freezer for all of those leftover bits. I drew a picture of a fairy on the outside with permanent marker and entitled it “Fairy Soup.” I told the kids that when they put their leftovers in there and closed the freezer door the fairy made all the little bits into a yummy soup.
And that’s just what she did! The girls loved the idea and it sure made them gobble up their soup!
June 27th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
My goodness, this sure brought back some warm and cozy memories. I had completely forgotten, the pie dough thing, we used to get to do that too. I do most everything you mentioned here, except making my own bread. I love making memories with my children, for them to share when they have families of their own.
June 27th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
I collect vegetable scraps & peelings in the freezer for stock, chicken scraps in another for chicken stock and beef scraps to make beef stock.
Breadcrusts & ends freeze till I need breadcrumbs, stuffing, croutons, or bread pudding.
Tomato paste gets frozen on a cookie sheet in little tablespoon-size dollops, then the bits are popped into a labelled ziplock bag in the freezer.
The last bits of cereal (and the powder from the bottom of the box) are saved in a glass jar until I’m making granola or cookies that could use some crunch.
I strain bacon grease and freeze it in an ice cube tray, then pop out the cubes and refreeze them in a labelled ziplock bag. As Deputyheadmistress said, it makes a great addition to some vegetables, like green beans or baked beans.
Next thing I’m going to try is to blanch some vegetables if I’m not going to use them right away, in order to make them last longer and not go to waste in the fridge.
June 27th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
We save all our meat bones in freezer bags (chicken in one and beef in another) and about once a month I make from-scratch meat stocks to use in soups, gravies and other dishes for the next month. The broth is virtually free and much better than store-bought.
June 28th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Please forgive me if this is a dumb question (or the wrong place to ask) but I keep hearing how much better home made stock is, and my stock “experiments” so far, have been kind of mediocre. What goes into a good stock? (What doesn’t go into a good stock?) How long do you let it simmer? Mine has been so bland, and not worth the time and energy it took to make it.
June 29th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
For good chicken stock, Amelia, start with cold water. Add a chicken carcass from dinner, and the skin no one would eat.
Toss in a quartered onion, leaving on the skin. (Or onion peelings, green onion, leeks, etc.) A couple of quartered carrots (or peelings saved in the freezer), celery if you like it, maybe a clove of garlic. Add a half-teaspoon of salt, a couple of grinds of pepper, a bay leaf if you like.
Things NOT to put in: any vegetable in the cabbage family like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower. They are odiferous, and not in a nice way.
Bring it to a boil, then turn way down to a simmer. Let it simmer for at least two hours, four is better. Don’t cover it, you want water to evaporate in order to concentrate your flavor.
Strain your stock and cool it. You can easily remove the fat after it has been chilled. I pour my stock into one-cup plastic cups and set upright in the cups of a big muffin tin before freezing. Just pop out the frozen stock and put in a labelled & dated ziplock bag in the freezer. You have small amounts for recipes, or combine for a soup.
HTH
June 29th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Leftover pie dough was made into small circles and jelly put in the middle and folded over, sprinkled with sugar and baked. Just the best.
Speaking of “Southern”, try chicken fat cookies.
Mom would make them when she had saved enough fat, or when we were out of Crisco. So rich.
June 30th, 2008 at 4:59 am
Ooh, that stock recipe and freezing suggestion is wonderful! I, too, have struggled w/making good stock and end up buying it, not very frugal. :-/
June 30th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Thank you for the stock recipe and tips!
June 30th, 2008 at 10:29 am
I drain the juice from canned fruit, such as peaches or pears, and add it to sweet tea. Very tasty! In fact, so tasty that my husband asked if we could buy a certain store brand of peaches in pear juice when we were at the store last time, just for the juice.
July 7th, 2008 at 5:36 am
I used to make my stock as described above, but I work full time, so frequently found myself throwing away bones due to a lack of time to monitor a simmering pot.
So I decided to give the crockpot a try … I put the bones from the roasted chicken in my largest crockpot, added a bit of carrot, celery and onion, covered with cold water, replace the lid, and let it go on “low” overnight. It works GREAT.
July 9th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Thanks, everyone, for helpful information!
*copying tips down to remember in case I ever have my own family or home*
July 11th, 2008 at 7:15 am
One more point about stock- if you can break open a few bones (use a hammer if need be), it will be even richer. Save the peelings from garlic and onions in your freezer for even more free flavor.
Also, see this other post of mine for some more thorough directions.
Personally, while I will occasionally use a bouillion cube or a spoonful of brother powder (I buy a pound of this at a time from a co-op), in 26 years of marriage, I haven’t ever, not even once, purchased a can of soup broth. It’s really not necessary.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
LOL – you really love your bacon grease, yeah?
I have two dogs that make sure that no bacon grease ever goes back into the fridge
August 5th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Ilike the biscuit recipe. I have to give it a try
August 5th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Wow, that is some crazy technique you used. But I really like how you use all the left over. It is very good idea for not wasting foods. Too many people are starving to death because they dont have enough foods to eat. We should be grateful for the foods that we have.
August 15th, 2008 at 2:32 am
It sounds delicious. I have to try it!
August 15th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Yesterday´s food is still good if you keep in mind that people go hungry all over the world. Thank you for te info!
August 21st, 2008 at 8:24 am
It is great way to create good ‘kitchen scraps’. Thanks for sharing the tips as well.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Great idea ! I use scraps the next day too. Last evening I made some delicious wraps out of some chicken, vegetables and mozzarela.
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:00 am
The Stock recipe and Biscuit recipe is new to me and from today I’ll make some recipes from your idea, Thanks for your tips.
September 8th, 2008 at 2:49 am
Idea with hot dogs is interesting. I’ll try it.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Looks like a great recipe!! Thanks for sharing with us! I think I will have my gramma to cook it for me)
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:31 pm
this type of blogs makes me feel hungry! its all about food
October 6th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Ilike the biscuit recipe. I have to give it a try
October 10th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Yay! sounds delicious… will send this to my wife and take her a try.
October 14th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Pretty sounds interesting recipe.. I’ve tried creating various soups with other recipe, but I would love to try this thing out. Thanks!
October 17th, 2008 at 3:54 am
thanks for the great recipes
gonna try this one day
October 18th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Do I have to worry about bacon grease going bad? Even though I keep it in the fridge, I’m always worried that it will make my family sick.
November 8th, 2008 at 3:45 am
Please forgive me if this is a dumb question (or the wrong place to ask) but I keep hearing how much better home made stock is, and my stock “experiments” so far, have been kind of mediocre. What goes into a good stock? (What doesn’t go into a good stock?) How long do you let it simmer? Mine has been so bland, and not worth the time and energy it took to make it.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:50 am
The recipe sounds good to me.. loaves of freshly baked breads always manage to savour my palate..can’t resist fresh bakery..
November 25th, 2008 at 3:59 am
My children won’t leave any leftovers but I’m sure sooner or later I’ll try your recipe