Cleaning Out The Fridge
Cleaning out the fridge before our trip, my thoughts centered upon resourceful uses for the food left on shelves. Knowing that in a few days we would be leaving home for almost two weeks, my goal was to leave the refrigerator as empty as possible. With this goal in mind, my frugal creativity went into gear. A half empty jar of barbecue went into a pan on stovetop. Remains of some sourcream were whisked into the sauce. Frozen meatballs are added to the mix and a low heat turned on under the pot.
Still not satisfied with my concoction, I mused on what could be added. Opening a can of pineapple chunks and wondering what I might do with the juice, an eureka moment came to mind! Pouring this juice into my meatball pot, I now had my own version of sweet and sour meatballs! This addition to my sauce improved both consistancy and flavor. The meatballs simmered quietly while I continued my use up project.
Too much granola was left for our last morning breakfast so I had grabbed the can of pineapple, always a pantry staple, and dumped it into a pie pan. Covered with my leftover granola and topped with chunks of butter then baked in my toaster oven for 20 minutes, a delicious dessert was born. We just wished we had some left over whipcream!
I dumped the rest of a bag of couscous in another pan and when cooked added this to my meatball concoction. I found some fading lettuce and a few lone carrots and a salad was born. Some shreds of mozzarella found in a near empty bag added a bit of excitement to this simple salad. The night before I had defrosted some pan drippings collected from several sautes of canned salmon in butter with dill. Paired with a can of cannoli beans and some mushrooms and then served over pasta, this too had made a delectable, creative, frugal dinner.
Not really a cook at heart, but one who does desire to nurture her loved ones, frugal concoctions are my favorite kind of cooking. The satisfaction that comes from pairing a bit of this with a bit of that brings me joy. New favorites can come into your kitchen repertoire.
What family favorite have you created when cleaning out your refrigerator?
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4 Responses to “Cleaning Out The Fridge”
October 11th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
LOVE it! I do this a lot too—I have come up with some keepers way more often than not. Unfortunately I usually don’t write them down when I’m “experimenting”.
October 11th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Write it down if you really liked it! I hate it when I do something like this and then forget what all I put in it.
October 12th, 2011 at 7:34 am
For us, Jambalaya is usually a good indication that we’re heading out somewhere. However, trips to my parent’s house, who live in the country, usually involve anything that may go bad during our stay there. My mom always makes fun of me for the odds and ends I bring down to compliment the other things I pick up for our trip.
October 13th, 2011 at 7:59 am
I have other reason’s to need to clean out the fridge, sigh….my about to go on a trip usually means my odds and ends go to the freezer for later use. Remember a full fridge and a full freezer are cheaper than empty one’s
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