Sunday I was up
bright and early and ready to get started on projects. I worked all day as I mention in my previous
post and then after running our houseguest home it was time to fix my family some
dinner and none of us wanted to eat, let alone cook.
I was on a mission
to use up all the odds and ends of food and leftover items in the refrigerator
and freezer. I detest food waste. To me it is just like throwing money straight
into the trash.
I rifled through the
freezer and found cooked pasta and shrimp.
One quick pan of shrimp linguine and a couple of cans of clam chowder
heated up later we were well fed and ready for some much deserved down time.
Monday I started my
day by putting a big pot of beans on to cook in my largest slow cooker before
washing up two loads of laundry and hanging them up on the line outside to dry. Then back inside to clean up and re-organize
the refrigerator. I had recently spring
cleaned it but you wouldn't know it to look at it. It was a wee bit messy inside.
Before |
After - much better! |
With that job
completed I moved onto the pantry which was in serious need of some spring
cleaning. It wasn't messy, but it has
been awhile since I had washed the shelves or mopped the floor. Once that was done I put all the food away
and moved the collection of empty canning jars to garage where they belonged.
I put leftover taco
meat away in the freezer to use keep until later in the week.
Pantry - all squeaky clean |
We were having
company for lunch too so I got busy and put together a gelatin and fruit
salad. Then I made a big green salad and
a batch of homemade macaroni and cheese with sliced smoked sausages in it. It was a delicious lunch.
Later that day I
made a huge batch of refried beans. I
put them into containers, labeled them and put them away in the freezer. I also put a container in the fridge for
lunches.
Refried beans |
After a parent's
meeting at my youngest's school on Tuesday evening we stopped at Albertson's
and I picked up two summer bus passes for the girls. Once we got home we dined on leftover macaroni
& cheese and salad. The girls and I
had leftovers for our lunch the next day too.
Wednesday I used
more cooked pasta I had stowed away in the freezer and a vegetable ragout I
made out of the veggie tray I had bought for the weekend along with some
leftover pizza sauce to make baked pasta.
It was delicious. I had leftovers
for a couple lunches too.
Used a rubber spatula and scraped out enough peanut butter for a sandwich |
Thursday we cooked
up some of the fish sticks the girls had bought a few weeks back to make
homemade fishwiches. We still have a
bunch of those fish sticks left and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. We also finished up the potato chips and
gelatin salad left from Memorial Day.
Friday we ate the
last of the leftovers for our lunches and then enjoyed breakfast burritos for
supper using up leftover grated cheese and flour tortillas.
Naptime with Mom in the recliner |
Saturday the taco meat came out of the freezer and we had tacos for supper.
I washed out several
Ziploc bags in a variety of sizes to reuse.
I gathered up a bowl fo hodge podge items to use up last week It worked out pretty slick |
We gave the hens our
kitchen scraps. I also cut them a lot of
milkweeds from the backyard which they absolutely loved.
How was your thrifty
week?
Sounds like a productive (tiring) week. I hate food waste too, but sometimes it happens.
ReplyDeleteIt does and it makes me feel terrible. Having the chickens to help us eat things up helps a lot!
DeleteI once used fish sticks for fish tacos -- not great, but not bad :)
ReplyDelete"Thrifty Grandma"
That's a good idea. I don't mind them in small doses. I'm ready for them to be gone for awhile. ;)
DeleteGreat job! I love your cat...what a sweetheart!
ReplyDeleteHe is a great big love! :)
Delete