Ok, so I had planned on the next post I wrote being a more 'serious' philosophical one, but I did something really weird that I didn't know would work out and, wonder of wonders, it WORKED OUT.
This past Monday, I served my family a dish I like to call freezer soup.
Over the past month, I've been saving pasta scraps, broth, leftover beans, rice, pieces of meat, and leftover steamed vegetables in a large, empty plastic mayo jar in the freezer (the type they sell at Sam's Club for school cafeterias and restaurants). I tried to avoid adding food with strong conflicting flavors (some of the beans and meat I rinsed before adding to the jar).
Once the jar was full, I thawed the contents enough to get them out of the jar.
It looked a little bland, so I added a can of tomatoes, some cooked chicken we happened to have in the fridge,
And some turnip greens from our garden.
I let it simmer for awhile.
Earlier in the day I made homemade rolls so we'd at least have something that tasted good if the soup was a bust. I also made a salad we'd grown in our garden.
I served it all together...
And...oh my heavens.
Quite possibly one of the best meals I've ever eaten.
The soup tasted well made, the flavors all played well together, and it was filling.The salad and the rolls ended up accentuating the meal rather than salvaging it.
We're definitely going to keep doing this.
I've also noticed a lot less 'lost' leftovers in the fridge lately. Usually we're going into the fridge every two weeks and throwing out a lot of odds and ends into the compost or to the chickens. That didn't happen this month. I have proof that this technique is actually using up food that would otherwise go to waste.
A little weird? Yes. But also economical, eco-friendly, and surprisingly delicious.
Quick post scrip: I originally got this idea from the Tightwad Gazette books. If you're interested in thrifty or 'green' living that doesn't involve paying an arm and a leg, they're a fantastic resource.
This past Monday, I served my family a dish I like to call freezer soup.
 |
| Looks wholesome, don't it? |
Making the soup is actually very simple. You combine a bunch of leftovers together, saved over a few weeks, and heat it up.
That half serving of steamed broccoli? Toss it in.
That jar of soup from last Thursday? That goes in too.
That half a sausage your toddler refused to so much as look at? Yep.
I've basically been using up all the little odds and ends-- stuff that won't quite add up to a meal on its own.
 |
| The 'before' picture |
Over the past month, I've been saving pasta scraps, broth, leftover beans, rice, pieces of meat, and leftover steamed vegetables in a large, empty plastic mayo jar in the freezer (the type they sell at Sam's Club for school cafeterias and restaurants). I tried to avoid adding food with strong conflicting flavors (some of the beans and meat I rinsed before adding to the jar).
Once the jar was full, I thawed the contents enough to get them out of the jar.
 |
| 'Appetizing' is not the word that comes to mind... |
It looked a little bland, so I added a can of tomatoes, some cooked chicken we happened to have in the fridge,
And some turnip greens from our garden.
I let it simmer for awhile.
Earlier in the day I made homemade rolls so we'd at least have something that tasted good if the soup was a bust. I also made a salad we'd grown in our garden.
I served it all together...
And...oh my heavens.
Quite possibly one of the best meals I've ever eaten.
The soup tasted well made, the flavors all played well together, and it was filling.The salad and the rolls ended up accentuating the meal rather than salvaging it.
We're definitely going to keep doing this.
I've also noticed a lot less 'lost' leftovers in the fridge lately. Usually we're going into the fridge every two weeks and throwing out a lot of odds and ends into the compost or to the chickens. That didn't happen this month. I have proof that this technique is actually using up food that would otherwise go to waste.
A little weird? Yes. But also economical, eco-friendly, and surprisingly delicious.
Quick post scrip: I originally got this idea from the Tightwad Gazette books. If you're interested in thrifty or 'green' living that doesn't involve paying an arm and a leg, they're a fantastic resource.
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