I have an entirely food-themed Five Frugal Things today. Ready?
1. I used a stretched-out coffee filter to make Greek yogurt
You know how sometimes toward the end of a coffee filter package, you get one that’s so stretched out, you know it’s not going to work very well in your coffee maker?
That happened to me.
Sooo, I used it to drain some homemade yogurt to make Greek yogurt.
2. I rescued my celery
I had a bunch of celery from Hungry Harvest that I inadvertently put in the wrong part of the fridge.
And then I completely forgot about it!
It was a little wilty when I took it out yesterday morning, but no worries.
I chopped the end off, stuck the whole bunch into a mug of water:
And I let it crisp up.
3. I made some use-it-up pasta
Zoe was out with some friends one night, so I poked around in the fridge to see what needed to be used up.
I cooked the last few slices of bacon, and then browned leftover tortellini in the same pan, along with some rotisserie chicken and some halved small tomatoes.
Then I reduced some half and half in the pan and poured it as a sauce over top, with some shredded Parmesan and crumbed bacon.
4. I made a use-it-up serving of asparagus soup
I got some thick asparagus spears from Hungry Harvest, and honestly, those are not my favorite. I like skinnier asparagus.
Sooo, I thought, hmmm, a soup would be good for these.
I made a little batch for myself one night while Zoe was at work, using:
- the asaparagus
- a Parmesan rind
- homemade chicken broth
- a leek from Hungry Harvest
- the last of the half and half
- the last few pieces of bacon (left from when I’d made the above pasta)
5. I made a use-it-up pot of chicken noodle soup
Yesterday morning before my clinicals, I made a pot of soup using:
- some of the rescued celery
- the last few Hungry Harvest carrots
- the last Hungry Harvest leek
- the last of the rotisserie chicken
- the last of a bag of noodles
- homemade chicken broth from the freezer
And because I like mine creamy, I put a glug of cream into the bowl that I packed for my clinical dinner.
Honorable mentions: I roasted the last three sweet potatoes (Hungry Harvest of course), and I will probably eat them as mashed sweet potatoes with fried eggs the next two mornings.
I also roasted the beets from my last Hungry Harvest box, and I might have those on a salad.
Anyway, after all of this, the produce drawer in my fridge is looking respectably empty!
This post is a remind of why I keep getting boxes from Hungry Harvest; they really help me to eat more produce. 🙂
A new box arrives on Wednesday, so it’s good that I used up almost everything from the last one.
Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?
P.S. If you want to try Hungry Harvest, this referral link will get you $10 off your first box.
Nikki
Wednesday 10th of April 2024
1. I needed some fleece. It was to make a dog toy and the color didn't matter. I found the right size in the remnant section of Hobby Lobby for just a few bucks. It sure is ugly though! 2. I used up food from the pantry, fridge, and freezer. 3. I made all our meals at home and packed lunches for people. 4. I went through summer clothes for one kid. We'll make a list and start looking at second-hand places. 5. We needed to refill school supplies. After looking at home, we found everything we needed.
Chris b
Wednesday 10th of April 2024
Carrot chowder to use inexpensive bag of carrots. Making beef jerky. Son works in factory. Needs protein. Got milk chocolate Easter bunnies for 50% off. Son loves chocolate in work lunch. Got satin pillowcases at Dollar Tree.
Selena
Tuesday 9th of April 2024
The leftovers from a one pan cream-of-soup/veggies/chicken/whack-em biscuits plus left over rice from a dine out meal became the base of another cream-of-soup. I find it interesting you like thinner asparagus stalks. We have a patch and IMHO, the thinner stalks tend to be more stringy/woody. To each her own I guess. Regardless, nothing better than cut-cook-eat in 15 minutes fresh veggies (or fruit usually minus cooking). The beauty of use it up is a tasty meal. The downside is often there is no recreating it unless you have the exact ingredients to use up again.
Katy
Tuesday 9th of April 2024
1. I cooked sweet potatoes too. I was baking regular potatoes in the oven, so I tossed in the sweet potatoes (from discount store) in too. That way no extra electricity was used. 2. I saved at least $50 buying used Algebra 2 books off ebay (I made an offer) instead of buying them used. I have 2 offers waiting on other homeschool curriculum. 3. We went to our library's eclipse party and got free food, plus got to see the eclipse with other people. 4. Sunday I wore my newly Thrifted dress and sandals. 5. I bought clothing dye at the discount store. I want to dye a thrifted dress that's pretty light. I think I remember you dyeing clothes. I've never done it before.
JEG
Tuesday 9th of April 2024
The local grocery store donates overstocked bakery goods daily to the Sr. Center. Sometimes I am at the Sr. Center and will pick it up. Last week there were some individual soup bread bowls. Friday I bought clam chowder at the supermarket and an added can of clams and served it in the bread bowls.
We are having a coaster swap (knitted or crocheted) at our weekly knitting clache. I am using up some bits of yarn and a free pattern for my design.
I went to an eclipse party the other day. I created my herb garlic spread with in 'frig items--cream cheese, butter, and feta and I had a box of crackers saved up (for something like this).
Last week I met up with my quilting friends (I knitted on my scarf). I had nothing to bring. But I had stopped at the library on the way to pick up some DVDs I had placed on hold. We had two movies to watch that night while we worked on our projects and chatted.
A day of free entertainment--hiking in morning with friends; watching the eclipse in the afternoon with friends, and knitting in the evening with friends. Many are new friends.