January is a great time to use up leftovers, clear the pantry, make soup and look for new ways to max your menu. Here are a couple tips to help you make the most of what you already have:
- Inventory your pantry. What do you have hiding in the recesses that only need an ingredient or two to spruce up and serve? Perhaps you have more whole meals than you think.
- Inventory your freezer. What meat needs to be thrown away and what needs to be pulled out and thawed and cooked? Use it up if it is still good but watch for freezer burnt items.
- Inventory your refrigerator. Usually you store things in your refrigerator that can go bad quickly. Make sure to use up everything before it goes bad each week. If you thaw something, make sure to cook it as soon as it is ready. If one of your new year’s resolutions is to eat healthier, don’t forget to pull out those items at snack time and meal time.
- Save those sale flyers and make a list of which grocery store is selling what you need.
- Make a goal of reducing your trips to the grocery store. The less you go, the less likely you will pick up the vast number of “want” items rather than “need” items. I love all the pre-made stuffed meats I see lined up at the butcher’s counter but they instantly jack up your grocery bill and calorie content.
- Learn simple tips to improve your own cooking. At time when everyone is trying to recoup from holiday spending and eating, learn a few tips on making your own dishes tasty and delicious. Often, a little extra seasoning goes a long way to improving the flavor of any dish. Open those dusty recipe books to see what the professionals have tried and you might be surprised how simple it is. For example, I read recently that parsley stems have a bitterness you don’t want. Use the leaves only. In another discussion, I learned that adding salt to beans while they cook will harden them. Add salt after they are cooked. And, the acid in lemon or lime will break apart beans. Add them at the end if you want whole beans in your bean soup. There are reasons recipes are written in a particular order.
- Learn how to make soup. Once you’ve cooked a chicken or turkey, stick the bones in a pot with just enough water to cover them and put them on simmer for a couple of hours. By letting your water heat with the bones slowly, the pores in the bones open and allow all the good stuff to create a delicious stock that you can refrigerate overnight. Breaking the bones slightly will improve this process. Some cooks add onions, carrots, celery and other herbs with the bones to simmer. Others flavor when they know which recipe they are making. Strain everything out and stick the broth in the refrigerator. The next day, scrape the fat off the top, leaving behind a gelatinous stock which will liquefy in your pot when you add more water and ingredients to make a simple soup of meat, veggies, possibly rice or pasta, and spices. Freeze in baggies for multiple recipes. Soup is so versatile and easy to make from a variety of leftovers and inexpensive ingredients. You can even use the run-off when you brown beef to create a beef stock for later.
- Record cooking shows, join a cooking club, and exchange recipes. While some of the cooking shows I watch are over the top in terms of anything I will ever try, I often learn simple tips that both inspire and challenge me. I still have plenty of room for improvement but I am learning which is why I keep watching.
Send me a note on WHO inspires YOU! With questions or comments, e-mail me at sarah@peppel.com or send me a tweet at www.twitter.com/DIYFrugal.
In the Phoenix, January 9, 2010
