The other day I had bread dough rising in the fridge, as I often do, and then I remembered about it and put it on the wood-burning stove, which I had just lit, so that it could come to room temperature and I could do something awesome with it.
Then I went into the other room, because experience has shown that I will definitely remember that I have something going on in the kitchen when I'm elsewhere, and nothing stupid will happen.
When I came back into the kitchen the fire was roaring and the dough was risen, all right. In fact, the bottom half of it had started to bake (in the inadequately greased pan). What to do?
Well, I might not learn some things from experience, but others I do. I knew that I could get something out of this mini-disaster. Not a nicely baked big loaf of bread, but something.
So I gently pulled off the part of the dough that wasn't already baking, formed it into a little focaccia-like lump, put it on a properly greased baking dish, and popped it in the oven, letting it continue its rise as the oven pre-heated; and then it baked. It was fine as a little bit of bread for the family at supper — actually, they loved it, which is so sweet of them and why I don't give up entirely in the face of my distractedness.
The other bit, the part in the pan, I just baked as is. It's not lovely, is it? And it was impossible to get out of the pan without hackage.
The substance itself tasted fine — not even sour, as I thought it might after that pre-bake on the wood stove. I could have used it for Breakfast Casserole or Bread Pudding, but I chose to make it into breadcrumbs.
That got me to thinking about the end of the Christmas break, when Deirdre and the Artist and Finnabee were still here. Deirdre was remarking on how I am able to “pull out” things from the fridge to get supper together. Now that she's seeing it from her own perspective as a home-maker, she was wondering how exactly it's done.
I kept reassuring her that it's something that comes with experience and, to be fair, having a certain number of people around to cause the stash of food you can later use in this seemingly magical way. And I've written here about Save-a-Step Cooking, which is the best, most painless way to keep from having to come up with a meal from scratch every day or go broke trying.
You know about planning your meals for the week so you don't get caught unawares. But what about those days where the meat didn't thaw in time, or you have more people than you expected, or your shopping trip got thrown off?
You need some tried-and-true quick suppers up your sleeve, with some ways of rounding out a meal to make it filling.
As I made those breadcrumbs, I thought that maybe if I shared a couple of other tricks, it would be helpful to her and to you as well. I'm not going to list the usual things you find in magazines about what to have in your pantry. I take it for granted that we all know we shouldn't buy pasta one box at a time, and that jarred tomato sauce has its place. You have your cans of tuna and beans (or maybe some beans you've soaked and popped in the freezer). You get that you need to have a supply of milk and eggs. You have rice.
But what else would be helpful to have around? Here's a list, but I only have pictures of the breadcrumbs! Sorry!
1. Pie crust. When you make a pie, make extra crust, form it, and stash it in the freezer. A pie crust makes a small amount of stew (including chicken pieces with potato, carrot, and peas) into that wonderful and filling substance known as Pot Pie. One pie crust, rolled out thin, can make a wonderful galette that rounds out a pot of soup or some other little leftover slices of meat or what have you. One night with Deirdre's family, we had sweet potato galette and it was just so delicious! I will make one in the daytime at some point and take a picture of it. You could make this one here but don't bother mixing everything up in a bowl first — just chuck it all on your pie crust in layers and go.
2. Pieces of ham. Rosie had ham a while ago and called me to ask me what kinds of thing I would make with the little bits, since I'm always referencing them. What wouldn't you make? Soup is better with bits of ham. Mac and cheese becomes dinner with pieces of ham. Galette (#1) is heartier with little bits of ham. You can make Hawaiian pizza if you also have a can of pineapple in the pantry. You can toss pasta with ham and green beans and feed 8 people with half a cup of meat. So next time you serve ham, carefully divide the leftovers into nice slices, chunks, bone, and little bits you've taken off the bone (although you don't have to be obsessive about it since the meat on the bone is good for the soup). Wrap each kind up in its own ziploc bag, label it, and stash it away.
3. Pieces of bacon. You'll have to squirrel these away before the barbarians attack breakfast, but even two slices (I always get thick-cut bacon) will crumble up nicely on a salad with blue-cheese dressing. That galette will be lovely with bacon. You can mix it up in mayo to make lettuce, cheese, and tomato sandwiches that aren't BLTs but do have a sort of bacon-y aura.
4. Stock. When you have a roast (and making a roast on Sunday is the best way to A. Not work hard on Sunday but serve a nice dinner and B. Save plenty of Steps the rest of the weeks ahead), put all the bones in a pot with the bits of onion, carrot, and celery that you've collected along the way (you can keep those in a plastic bag in the freezer as well, along with parsley stems and mushroom bits). Add any pan drippings if you haven't already used them for gravy or sauce.
It's not beyond me to ask the family to put their chicken bones in the pot when they're done eating. Simmer it for the rest of the evening (doesn't take days as some think) with a tablespoon of vinegar if you remember it. Even if you add nothing, just simmer the bones. Strain it into a bowl over a colander and set the whole bowl in your fridge (sometimes in winter I put the pot with the lid on the workbench in the garage and do this in the morning, and this is a good reason to have a second fridge). It will keep with its layer of undisturbed fat for a week. Scrape off the fat (you can keep it if you want — I usually don't as I have lots of bacon grease handy, but I sure kept the duck fat from Christmas!). Put the stock into mason jars (leaving 2 inches of headroom) and freeze or use within a day or so. You can defrost stock by putting the jar in a pot of cold water. Once it's not crazy cold, you can slowly microwave it or use warmer water.
Stock is essential. With stock you can make the gravy for your pot pie and you can make good soup. But you have to have some for it to be any good for you! So start stashing it!
5. Pieces of cooked chicken. When your supper of roast chicken is over (and you should absolutely never roast fewer than 2 chickens at a time), separate it into big pieces, bones, and little bits. The latter are your special stash for chicken salad sandwiches, chicken caesar salad, and chicken quesadillas. Making chicken soup with your stashed broth? Add even a cup of little pieces of cooked chicken at the end, so that it sticks to their ribs.
6. Cabbage, carrots, celery, and apples. In winter especially, when you can't get to the store for fresh veggies, you can always pull out one of my three favorite side dishes: 1. Cole slaw (shred cabbage and carrots, toss with mayo, vinegar, a little sugar, salt, and cumin). 2. Carrot sticks (obvious). 3. Waldorf Salad (cut up celery and apple, add raisins or dried cranberries, toss with chopped nuts like pecans, dress like cole slaw minus the cumin).
7. Garlic-ginger paste. This is easy to make and keep in the fridge. Then add to the cole slaw with some bacon. Stir-fry is fast, and the garlic-ginger paste makes it extra authentic.
8. Sausage/beef mix. When you get back from the grocery store, just fry up the extra packages of ground beef and Italian sausage you bought for your stash. Drain and divide amongst ziploc bags. Freeze. With this mix you can make spaghetti sauce, chili, tacos, shepherd's pie — all super fast. Always make more than for your planned menus, because you will use it, trust me.
9. Cooked veggies. Cook your green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, whatever — with another meal in mind. Two days later, pull them out and heat them up. They will be very good if you didn't overcook them in the first place. Most veggies (not green beans, it's true) freeze fine.
10. Frozen corn. Sukie says that corn makes everything better. It's true. If you have frozen corn, you can add it to pot pie, chili, or soup to stretch it out as well as make it tastier. Peas and spinach are also good to have in the freezer for when you don't have another fresh veggie anywhere.
11. Bread dough in the fridge. Almost any dough will work just fine in the fridge, rising there slowly until you are ready for it. Homemade bread makes the simplest meal seem wonderful and warm. You can always make supper of a tray of dough, spread out, topped with your meat mix (#8) and cheese. Cheeseburger pie! Delish.
12. Bread crumbs! The most ordinary casserole is just a million times better with a layer of toasty breadcrumbs on top. Use any mason jar with your blender blade*. Collect all those heels of bread and leftover toast — you can keep them in a bag in the freezer until you are ready. Or put your dough on your wood stove 🙂
With breadcrumbs you can quickly make Chicken Lightly Seasoned or Mac and Cheese for dinner. Your meatloaf and meatballs need them. And you know those bags of red peppers? Buy one. Split the peppers in half. Drop a tablespoon of a mixture of some kind of cheese (goat, feta) crumbled, mixed with a little bread crumbs, parsley, maybe a small amount of finely diced tomato or sundried tomato onto each one — top with a little grated parmesan and bread crumbs, and roast on a pan spread with olive oil for 10-15 minutes at 400*. Serve with your pasta dish. You can't pull that one out of a hat without bread crumbs!
What do you reach for when your dinner plan doesn't materialize? What's your go-to easy supper? What do you have on hand to make it happen?
~~~~
*Don't put hot liquids in a jar — no room for expansion! But making a frozen drink is awesome — it's ready to drink!
Amy M. says
My go-to dinners definitely vary by season. In winter my favorites are things like scalloped potatoes and ham, tacos (if you have no meat or don’t want any, canned beans with plenty of cheese and rice will do nicely), chili in the slow cooker (everything except the meat comes from the pantry) and various pastas (sauce + meat + coordinating veggie, sprinkled with seasoning and/or cheese is a pretty good formula). In the summer, pasta salad, potato salad, bean salad, etc., can all either be a meal of themselves with two side dishes or can be side dishes next to something more substantial. And I definitely second the pie crust! Do you have 6 eggs, some veggies that are not quite fresh, and either milk, cream, or cottage cheese? If so, then make a quiche! I call quiche my “party trick” because I can whip it up in 10 minutes when guests are coming, it bakes while we chat, and then I serve what looks like a fancy dinner! Never fails to impress 🙂
Susan says
Ahh! Mason jars on the blender! That’s amazing. But, pardon my ignorance, how do you get it off? Do you have to turn the blender upside down? Mine is heavy but awesome and lacks a container at the moment so I never use it.
Leila says
Susan, my blender works by the blade assembly sitting on the base. So to use a mason jar, screw the blade assembly into the jar by turning the blade assembly upside down. Then turn the whole jar upside down (now the assembly is right-side up). Process. Then lift it up, turning the jar right side up. Remove the blade assembly.
You just have to make sure that the rubber gasket is properly seated on the glass. It will have a tendency to slip more than when you are using the original container.
Claire says
Great idea! And just a note: do not use Mason Jars with hot ingredients on the blender. Not sure why I tried that, maybe pureeing soup right out of the pot, but since there is no vent for steam expansion the thing jumped right off the blender! Dangerous. I was lucky nothing broke or injured me, but I did have a mess.
Thanks for these ideas Auntie Leila!
Leila says
Good point, Claire. Sounds like something I would try myself — good thing I have my stick blender!
Amelia @ One Catholic Mama says
Great post!! Some of my go-to dinners are pasta with sausage and peas, tossed with olive oil and garlic. Super easy to put together and super yummy.
I like to use extra bits of sausage, bacon and ham in a nice crustless quiche. Very filling and yummy.
We’re not huge fans of adding corn to everything, but we love adding peas to everything. I tend to throw frozen peas into lots of casseroles and others things to make them stretch.
Susan says
As for go-to easy suppers: crustless quiche. I prefer crust but I have a gluten-intolerant kid. I just put whatever cheese at the bottom, layer whatever veggies I have, and then beat up eggs and milk and seasoning and pour it over. Always delicious.
Megan @ The Ipps says
Frozen chili is my go to meal. Also, frozen turkey enchiladas are a favorite with shredded turkey from Thanksgiving, though the tortillas and dairy wreak havoc on our stomachs, Does anyone have suggestions for gluten/grain free dishes that are easy to prepare ahead. I use to do many of the meals suggested above, but our bodies have an awful time digesting gluten, grains, and dairy.
Jessica says
Megan,
I’m kind of in the same boat…we voluntarily went gluten/grain (we still eat white rice because I love it)/legume free and it makes things a little trickier. Have you looked at Paleo recipe blogs? Most of them are dairy free, too. One of my favorite quick and easy meals is sausage hash (having a shredding plate on a food processor makes it quick) – shredded sweet potatoes and sausage (I usually use hot Italian), cooked in coconut oil. I have frozen the shredded, uncooked sweet potatoes with success.
Lindsey in AL says
I make enchiladas with coconut flour crepes in place of tortillas. The recipe is a freebie from a blog called Health, Home, Happy. They’re super simple with just 3 or 4 ingredients. I use less oil to cook than she recommends, though. I also highly recommend avocados as a constant stash item if you’re dairy-free. Makes all the difference in a taco salad when you can’t have cheese or sour cream.
As for what I stash-
I learned pressure canning this summer so I can 14 quarts of stock at a time, freezing bones between batches until I have enough for my 22 quart stock pot. I also love canning beans. We really like way they feel and taste after canning. Picked up 25 lbs each of pintos and kidneys today. DH is having a snow day tomorrow so we’re gonna can some beans!
I try to always keep shredded cheese in the freezer. Not as tasty as shredding it myself but so easy to pull out and bang on the counter to loosen enough for chili or a pizza 🙂
Tamara says
Can you tolerate corn? I usually make enchiladas with corn tortillas and use homemade salsa for the sauce. If you can handle *some* dairy, just not too much, you can sprinkle a bit of extra sharp cheddar on top to make the flavor have more impact without consuming much dairy. But, if you cant do any dairy at all, you may still enjoy the enchiladas with just the corn tortillas, meat, and sauce.
LJ says
Power to the gluten-free! Flavored sausage and stirfried veggies are tops on my list – look for glutenfree soy sauce. Chili is also a good one, and soups! So many soups. And salads – I usually do warm salads like cooked spinach, hard boiled egg, and beets.
Betsy M says
Hi Megan, I feel your pain. My family of 7 is also gluten, legume and dairy free. I am still trying to get in the swing of things to cook ahead for this type of diet.
Have you made any “fake cheese” out of nutritional yeast? It tastes surprisingly similar but does not freeze very well. In a case of something like enchiladas could freeze your chicken ahead of time then make the enchilada filling (without dairy) and wrap them into something like a romaine lettuce leaf or serve it on top of potatoes along with some of the fake cheese.
We cannot do tree nuts or coconut 🙁 , but if you can, the recommendation of using paleo recipes is right on. I did many of those for bread and muffins and such before we found out that my son is severely allergic. Those recipes tasted great and were very nutritionally dense (read “filling” )to my kids.
I have also had good luck substituting broth gravy for where a cream or cheese base would be in casseroles and soups. They then freeze adequately .
Dixie says
We don’t eat gluten or dairy, but we do eat grains. But some things we make might suit: if you have chicken on hand left over from a roast chicken, we love making curried chicken salad (chicken, mayo, mustard, curry powder, raisins o halved grapes). It is very filling even on its own if you don’t want to make it into sandwiches, or you can wrap it in lettuce and enjoy it that way. We also like chicken soup; no noodles needed, really. Just simmer leftover chicken, sauted onion, garlic, sliced carrots and celery, salt and pepper in chicken stock. It’s really filling. We also will often make a big salad with leftover chicken: lettuce, avocado, dried cranberries, chopped apples, chopped tomatoes, and an easy vinaigrette. Cheap and very good. Also, if you do potatoes, shepherd’s pie? It’s not a quick fix, necessarily, but doesn’t take long if you’ve already got the browned meat in the freezer. Olive oil and salt make up just fine for not having dairy in the potatoes.
Also, sweet potatoes or baked sweet potato fries are a very easy and tasty side to fill out anything. Hamburgers wrapped in lettuce w/those fries on the side make a great quick and nutritious meal. I honestly never miss the buns.
Erin says
crustless quiche, frittata (with potatoes and leftover veggies and leftover bacon or sausage…), lots of soups are easy to double up. I make two big meatloafs and stash one in the freezer (same for chicken, pulled pork, etc) or triple up meat balls! I make a big batch of tacos (beef and potato, cheese optional, I add in onion and flavor with cumin) in corn tortillas and they are easy to freeze in bags of 8-12). tamales can also be dairy free (already GF) and lend themselves to a big afternoon of cooking with a friend (stuff with whatever you have on hand- I do roasted poblanos, beans, chorizo, chicken…).
Betsy says
This isn’t a meal in particular, but I love to make a bunch of pulled pork then freeze it in portions. It’s great for so many different meals: BBQ pulled pork pizza, pulled pork burritos, top a salad with the pork or just use it for the classic pulled pork sandwich. I’m sure there are other ways to use the pulled pork, but those are my favorite. I especially like it because making pulled pork is SO easy to do in the crockpot.
I also like to keep a large stash of sausage in the freezer because it defrosts really quickly and I can do various things with it, but one of our favorites is to make sausage pasta. Either pasta with sausage, tomato and a mixture of marinara and alfredo or sometimes if I have a stuffed pasta on hand (ravioli or tortellini) I’ll just add large veggies – usually broccoli and/or carrots – with marinara sauce.
Also, I was happy to see that I already do many of the things you suggested – I learned through trial and error/paying attention to the things I tended to use a lot and were easy to freeze/store.
Virginia says
I second the crockpot pulled pork! Just recently discovered that and now we’re eating it multiple times a month. So nice for the winter and excellent toddler finger food.
Melissa D says
I keep pureed pumpkin and butternut squash or sweet potatoes in flat-packed ziplocs in my freezer. If I’m smart I’ll do a few one-cup portions — easy to defrost for pumpkin muffins or pancakes in the morning, or add to ricotta and lasagna noodles with some sage for a fabulous butternut squash lasagna/casserole (I cheat a bit and use a jar of butternut squash pasta sauce sometimes, which I usually find at Homegoods).
– I make fresh pesto and freeze it — it’s very 1992 of me, but adding pesto to anything really can make a bland pasta or veggie much more interesting. (Oh, and now I freeze the LMLD pate and onion confit recipes….)
– I also make plain oatmeal (just with water and salt) and let the kids add cream and maple syrup — then I save whatever’s left to add to my bread dough. My great-grandmother used to make fried mush with her leftovers!
– I often make a huge batch of meatballs (I bake them in muffin tins – it cuts down on the grease) and freeze them in ziplocs. It’s so easy to pry even just a few out for a quick pasta lunch.
– Frozen leftover coffee (hey, it happens) is great – you can defrost the cubes and add them to chocolate cake as part of the liquid! It really brings out the best in chocolate, and you don’t have to make a cup of coffee all by its lonesome.
– I hate having leftover stuff (like 3 egg whites) just hanging out, so I’ll do a search on all recipes for “3 egg whites” to find a dessert that can use them up quickly — like a pavlova, so super easy to make and so impressive for guests! (All you need else is just fruit and whipped cream to pile on top.)
Kathy@9peas says
You are right, all these great ideas are born of many many times having ‘necessity being the mother of invention’ – I love that you share these, while I may be at a place of having my own ways creating meals out of what seems like nothing, I can always learn new tricks. I always love your tricks of the trade!
Anne says
I stash: stock (all homemade now and man does homemade make a difference!), chili, spaghetti sauce, pre cooked scramble fried ground beef, any chicken recipes that need a marinade I freeze in the marinade in a ziploc bag and then thaw and cook, pancake mix, homemade waffles that don’t get eaten when I make a batch. These make life and meals a it easier…and make a quick meal more healthy than Rotten Ronnie’s!
Lisa G. says
I used your mason jar on the blender idea – thanks for that one!
(I had just put the ravioli in the boiling water and came to the bedroom to turn down the bed. But I stepped to the laptop first, and saw your post here. After about a paragraph, I heard sputtering in the kitchen – it was almost boiling over, of course! Too ridiculous!!)
Thanks for the tips.
Erub says
I’m not that experienced in this arena since I tend to over plan and we eat leftovers a lot but in the summer I can and freeze different items. Homemade canned spaghetti sauce makes ordinary pasta lovely and homemade tomato soup makes an easy weekend lunch with toasted cheese sandwiches. Its a lot of work in the summer to do these different steps, but friends and family have been willing to help and it is just so delicious in the winter.
Caitlin says
I have 2 ultimate recipes for when I’m stumped: one is soup. I just put whatever veggies I have in it after cooking some onions & garlic & adding tomato paste (an item Always in my stash). Potatoes, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, seriously whatever I have that’s reaching the end of its life. Also usually white beans, chicken if I have it. This is particularly good when I am about to clean out the fridge before a trip to the store, I just utilize whatever odds & ends are available. Never had a disaster yet and most results are really good! Another is a weird frittata hybrid my mom used to make by first cooking some veggies (usually onion, red pepper, frozen peas & frozen corn, or whatever you have) and she’d throw in leftover bits of ham if she has it. Meanwhile she would cook some pasta, add it to the veggies and add enough eggs to make kind of a scrambly sauce. Usually some cheese would go in as well, and it would be cooked until eggs are well scrambled (you can stick it in the oven instead if you want.) so easy and surprisingly satisfying.
A great book about how to just come up with stuff to cook is called “An Everlasting Meal” by Tamar Adler. Common sense stuff and beautifully written.- not a recipe book per se, but her point is to develop the skill where you don’t necessarily need a recipe for everyday kind of cooking.
Annalisa says
What a good list! We are compulsive ham and bacon savers around here because everything is better with a little bit of pig, especially beans, which form a large part of our diet. Frittatas are great this time of year when the fresh vegetable choices are limited. At the height of summer’s bounty and into the fall, stir fries are easy; I’ll have to give the garlic and ginger paste a try. My favorite new trick from Martha Stewart is to store prepared pastry crusts in a pizza box in the freezer with parchment paper between layers.
Melissa D says
Oh my goodness. This one tip feels life-changing! My crusts are always mangled balls in my packed freezer! Thanks for sharing.
Krista P says
Aaaaaa….. Help! Leila, how does one pin one of your posts now? No Pin It button anymore… How will I ever keep track of these pages?????
Krista
Leila says
Oh, Krista, we will work on it. Meanwhile you can add the “pin it” function to your browser (go to Pinterest to download it) and do follow me on Pinterest — I pin these posts and you can get them from me!
http://www.pinterest.com/_leila/
Krista P says
Done! Thank you! Stay warm; enjoy your new thermostat 🙂
Anne says
Thank you! My mom is also a mistress of dinner from nothing, and it’s so nice to have the tips spelled out. I have a question, though. What do you do if you only have a refrigerator and it’s own freezer? We live in an apartment, so much as I’d love a big freezer, it’s just not possible. How much stock do I really need to keep on hand?
Thanks!
(Oh, and I love your new site!)
Leila says
Anne, thanks!
If your freezer space is minimal, then prioritize and only keep the important things. For stock, boil your stock down until it’s concentrated — almost syrupy. Freeze it like that.
Anne says
Thanks! That will help a lot. Should I start with less water, too, or just wait for it to boil down?
Leila says
Anne, don’t have a ton of water to start your broth, but don’t skimp either. You need to have an adequate amount so that things don’t burn (that’s a downer — getting your broth going only to have it burn!) and so that when you strain it there is enough liquid to carry all the goodness off the bones in the pot. Remember, a lot of what will be in the pot will be fat, as well as the solids.
After you strain, put the broth back in the pot and boil it down to a manageable amount. Again, remember the fat is part of the total liquid you see there. You can then put it all in a bowl, let it congeal, remove the fat, and spoon the now gelatine-heavy (thus, solid or near solid) concentrated stock into your ziploc bags or jars. After a few times, you will get a feel for how much you need to cover the bones to start with.
Margaret says
You can also leave the fat on the top and store your reduced stock in the fridge for up to three months. The layer of fat helps keep it preserved, and you can scoop out spoonfuls as needed. Just be sure to use a very clean spoon, and try to disturb the fat layer as little as possible.
Mrs.C says
Anne,
I hope you don’t mind me jumping in here but to make the most of a small amount of freezer space, you can freeze tomato sauces, gravy, and homemade cream of whatever soups in ziploc freezer bags and lay them flat to freezer so you just have stacks of flat packages.
If you want to take advantage of sales on large roasts or turkey plan to cook them in a day or two after purchase to avoid freezing them, then you can freeze a pound of diced or shredded meat flat in bags as well to maximize space and have something quick on hand for meals.
Mary says
LOVE this post! Thanks Leila for all the fabulous ideas. I make a HUGE pot of spaghetti sauce once every six weeks or so and split it between mason jars and freeze them. That way i am ready to go with pizza or I add sausage or meatballs for a heartier meal. I also make my own stock and freeze it as well. I just started making my own veggie broth as well for meatless Fridays. I know I will need much more of it come Lent.
Growing up in a family of ten, I learned early the benefit of roasting two chickens at a time. We rarely had the actual roast chicken. My Mom would just take the meat and stretch it into three meals of potpies, chicken salad with celery and apples and a chicken and rice casserole of some kind. She is a genius at stretching things.
The one thing I have not mastered is the whole dried bean thing. I know it’s less expensive to buy them dry but mine never turn out the right way. they are always hard and never as nice as the canned beans. One day I will get it right.
I finally got the bread thing down or at least I make better bread than I have in the past thanks to yours and Suki’s help. Always learning form the Lawler women!!
carrien - she laughs at the days says
The secret to easy beans cooked from dry is a crock pot. It makes it so easy. Just put the washed dry beans in the pot with water at night, turn on low, in the morning you have cooked beans. (Smaller beans usually need less time.) You can even add all your seasonings at the beginning, except salt, because then they won’t soften, and the green herb type seasonings do better if added at the end. The money you save on buying canned beans versus dry will quickly pay for the cost of the crock pot if you don’t already have one.
Virginia says
Thanks! Never knew this, although it seems like a big duh.
Becky says
If you find that starting them from dry doesn’t quite work for you…I always soak mine overnight in the crockpot on the counter- cover with water and add 2 inches more or so. Drain in the morning (I just put the lid a little askew and pour). Cover with water and add another couple inches or so then cook on low all day.
Dixie says
Another thing you can do if you’ve got spaghetti sauce (with ground beef, or if you’ve also got some ground beef you can brown) on hand is make a batch of cornbread and serve the two together sloppy-joe style. It doesn’t taste like spaghetti at all, so you can use it if you’ve already used pasta that week!
Leila says
Dixie, I forgot sloppy joes! So easy and good with that meat mix!
Jeannie says
I haven’t had a chance to read through all the helpful comments but one thing that I do is a frittata and some crusty bread.
I love posts like this!
Aoife Beglin says
“Hackage” – haha brilliant, made me laugh this morning!
Also love the new ‘lateral-thinking’ side-arrows to scroll through posts, very handy. The new design in just lovely – céad míle comhghairdeas!
carrien - she laughs at the days says
I’m having to relearn how to do this here in Thailand. The ingredients are so different, for instance, flour is pricy compared to rice, so, no bread except for special occasions, and things are sprayed or treated so if you don’t use them the day you buy them they start to go bad. The vegetables are different, not very hearty for freezing, you have to cook them quickly and gently and they wilt in a hurry. But soup is soup, and we always have some going, often now with rice noodles and basil and Thai condiments
The plus side is that the growing season here is year round and my newly planted kitchen garden is taking off very quickly, so I’m going to be set for vegetables in a few weeks. Next it’s chickens, so I can have eggs without buying them, and I think we might build a smoke house and start curing pigs bought from the local farmers soon. Yay for bacon. 🙂
thanks for reminding me of the things I can still do.
Elizabeth says
Great tips! Any suggestions for those of us with small refrigerators/freezers? (Although it’s been cold enough lately, that I could just stick things outside the back door…) We live in university family housing and can’t have an extra fridge or chest freezer yet, so I buy what I can in bulk and squirrel away things like cooked ham and chicken and stock when I can, but the freezer is usually a precariously packed game of real-life Tetris.
Leila says
Yes, Elizabeth, with minimal freezer space you have to prioritize for sure. Boil your stock down to the syrupy stage and reconstitute it when you need it. Don’t worry as much about bread in the freezer as meat — bread is cheaper!
Get those plastic-covered wire shelves to make the most of your space in there.
And do use ziploc bags where possible. Flatten them out and stack them.
Rebekah says
Ha! Guess I’m not the only one who saves bits here and there! Between saving scraps, compost and chickens we just don’t have food waste. This is a great, helpful post.
Katie says
Love this post!! Thank you! Do you know how long the garlic/ginger paste keeps in the fridge? Also, I’d love to see a pie crust tutorial, and especially some comments on lard…like, what is it (sorry!) and is it ok to eat? Obviously it is ok to eat since it’s a common ingredient, it’s just that I’m really unfamiliar, a bit wary, and need a little guidance.
Really appreciate all your insights and the opportunity to learn from experience.
Leila says
Katie, the ginger-garlic paste keeps for weeks!
The link above, in the post, has my best shot at a tutorial for pie crust (that I can remember): http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2010/03/strawberry-rhubarb-pie/
Lard is fat from pork (you can use suet, from beef, as well). It’s rendered and almost flavorless. It’s very edible! It’s good for you (although the lard you buy in the store in a butter-like package has preservatives in it 🙁 You have to track it down from a friend who butchers). Just use it for some of the butter in the recipe (where vegetable shortening may be called for — about 1/4 to 1/3 of the fat total). You will find that it adds the right texture and brings out the goodness of the wheat. Instead of just a “thing” your pie crust is a tasty treat!
Melissa D says
Leila, do you have a use for chicken fat? Sometimes I keep mine when making soup, sometimes I scrape it off and just use the stock underneath. Seems like a waste of something that could be put to good use (like bacon fat), though…?
Tamara says
I hope you don’t mind me jumping in. I freeze the chicken fat in ice cube trays and use it for sautéing chicken or vegetables. Its really tasty and makes me feel very much like Ma Ingalls! Waste not, want not! 🙂
Melissa Diskin says
Love this idea. Thanks so much!
Margo, Thrift at Home says
I keep a very deep pantry and freezer. I always have goodies stashed away. When I have ham scraps, I make this cabbage salad (http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunday-dinner-cabbage-ham-salad.html) and these ham balls (http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2013/09/sunday-dinner-crunchy-ham-balls-and.html).
I have been pressure canning my broth because my freezer was getting too full and that is WONDERFUL. Homemade broth anytime! I’ve entirely stopped buying commercial broth and bouillon. I absolutely support boiling down the bones after your family has eaten the meat off them (have you ever gotten your hands on More with Less, the cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre? I got that idea from her book. I bet it’s in your library, but I highly recommend it as a thrifty, teaching cookbook which is also compulsively readable).
My go-to meal is pasta and pesto from the freezer. Or an old-fashioned bread omelet from More with Less, or soup. Always homemade French bread which makes everything seem special and makes the house smell so good.
Leila says
Margo, pressure-canning! That is so awesome. I need to do that.
Helene says
Like the new layout here! Very pleasant, and the comments are much easier to read and navigate! Anyhow, the best tip for dinner at the last minute I ever got was from my sister-in-law. She said to buy quality ground beef in bulk. Then bring it home and divide it into four or five ziplock bags, about a pound each or so. Press them into big flat squares and freeze. Then, when you need meat for tacos, chili, meat loaf, meat sauce, etc..you simply take out a square and it will defrost completely in about ten minutes in your sink, shallowly filled with very warm water. This method has SAVED me countless times. Great tips here, too!
Laura says
I like to keep a can of salmon in my pantry. I’ll mix up a simple crust and mix together flaked/peeled salmon (i mean without skin and bones and such), a few eggs, and cream cheese or cottage cheese and then I’ll caramelize onions and add 1/2 cp spinach (frozen) to it, and dump that in and whisk it up, with salt, pepper and such, and bake as for quiche. Sometimes, I’ll wedge up whole scrubbed potatoes and make lightly oiled/seasoned potato wedges–which can turn a simple meal of salad (with shreds of ham/h.b. egg) into a fuller meal, they also go well with ANY sandwich–like chicken salad on bagels or toast, some sort of cold deli ham sandwich (with lettuce and tomatoes)… Speaking of which, I tried for awhile to simply get enough tomatoes to go with *each* meal and invariably ran short (perhaps one would start to ferment or something). So I have now gotten in the habit of buying 6-8 tomatoes at once (trying to get a couple that are a little paler and less ripe, to last a bit longer), so that we have tomatoes to slice for sandwiches, omlettes, and whatever else that would be good for. Tacos are a real staple at our house, as I can whip them up quickly, even if the meat is frozen, and it can be extended easily with rice or other (like red or black beans added in). We also usually keep romaine lettuce, sour cream, and such in the fridge, as such things seem to help round out meals and keep them from feeling too skimpy.
Tamara says
Yes to everything everybody said! 🙂 I also like to be sure to have couscous on hand because it cooks in about 5 minutes and is a good side dish when I have not gotten my act together for even something as simple as rice. The Save-a-Step way of freezing cooked ground beef has saved me many times. I just shared the idea with a friend who thought I was brilliant- but I gave you properly credit Auntie Leila! 🙂
Tamara says
*proper credit.
Also I meant to say that I stash those very ripe bananas, peeled, in Ziploc bags in the freezer for smoothies. We also freeze berries but my daughter’s favorite smoothie is peanut butter and banana. We also freeze cups of squash or pumpkin puree that is great in biscuits or smoothies.
Kelsey says
THANK YOU FOR THIS.
Becky says
I always freeze leftover rice. It won’t be quite as tasty when reheated but it works very well for things like stirfry or anything that will have a sauce. I usually aim for about 2 cup portions- adding to the same container until I get there. The best way to reheat is to put in a ceramic bowl in the microwave with about 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook for 3 minutes or so. A pat of butter on top makes it yummy.
Beans aren’t left over, generally, but are a great way to make your bits and pieces stretch. I also always have jars of frozen beans (I make them from dried in batches) and lentils in the pantry. I freeze the beans in wide mouth pint jars. They make for an easy veggie meal that will also use up all the bits and pieces from the bottom of the drawer or the frozen veggies that got a touch freezer burned. I use chick peas for curries (curry sauce will cover over many sins and curry paste stores well), black or kidney beans make a great “Mexican stir fry,” beans will work for burritos or tacos or you can stretch your not quite enough taco meat with lentils. I add butter or white beans to pasta salads to up the protein without using as much meat. It also makes it super easy to stretch a stew or chili.
I also freeze cheese- especially shredded. I found that I kept winding up with not quite used up, slightly moldy packages in my refrigerator. Combine it and then use it to top pizzas. It makes for an interesting wild card taste. 🙂
I make compound butters with fresh herbs I won’t use before they start getting iffy. I mix garlic, butter, and olive oil and use that to drizzle over pizza. It makes it sooo yummy!
You can freeze leftover wine in ice cube trays. Sometimes it freezes up nicely and sometimes it stays a little slushy and I have no idea why. But, either way, it’s handy to be able to throw some into your pasta sauce or whatnot.
Melanie says
Laughing, cuz I made those bread crumbs tonight to put on top of what was supposed to be chicken parmesan,only turns out I had used up the parmesan on something else and wanted something yummy to put on top of the chicken…so, some toasted, buttery bread crumbs with garlic salt….I think I liked it better than bread crumbs!
I have a ham bone with lots of meat still on it in the freezer waiting for split pea soup. I was supposed to make it last week, but the bag of split peas disappeared. They turned up today, under my 3yo’s bed. Please tell me these things happen in other houses….
Tamara says
These things definitely happen in other houses! 🙂 My kids have all kinds of play kitchen things but they seem to like my stuff better! My pots, pans, spatula, you name it, it has turned up in their play space or bedroom!
Leila says
Melanie, do check out that Chicken Lightly Seasoned recipe — just what you need to know for running out of cheese! 🙂
And too funny about the bag of peas. Think how ahead of the game you are that the bag was INTACT.
Elise says
Thank you for this awesome post…so many great & useful ideas!
briana says
That’s the way I cook, always, but it was learned the hard way by trial and error! You are so wonderful to put it all up there in one post like that.
And in the winter, I make two roasted chickens every Sunday or Monday, after dinner the bones go directly into the crock pot with whoever veggies are about, and the vinegar dash, then I set that on low for at *least* a day.
And I’m another that makes everyone save the bones! 😀
Also, save the rinds of the hard Italian cheeses, they make a wonderful addition to a minestrone.
ArdenLynn says
I make stock overnight in the crockpot. I then freeze some in plastic bags and some in cubes for adding to rice dishes.
I cheat and buy the buffet hams at GFS. They are pretty big so I can get some ham steaks and lots and lots of ham cubes for recipes and there is absolutely no waste. They get really cheap around holiday/graduation times.
I also take a 2# pork loin and marinate it in olive oil and taco spices overnight. Then cook on hi for 5 hours with additional spices like garlic powder, cumin and chili powder and you have amazing shredded pork for tacos.
Great work on the new site. I love it!
Susanna says
I’ve been reading the blog for a little while, and, as a mom of two littles, I usually study the homemaking/parenting posts and think, Boy I have a long way to go. But today I nailed it! I do almost all these things already. Boo-yeah! Thanks for the (unwitting) affirmation today. This unshowered, cabin-fevered mama really needed it.
Mary Keane says
Hi, I just wanted to say that today I did it! I was unable to get to the grocery store today as planned, or do much of anything as planned, but we are having chicken pot pie for dinner! In the past this situation would almost always mean take-out. My “stash” provided the pie crust, chicken bits, stock, and veggies and a few more veggies from the garden. My recipe even makes two pies so we’ll have an extra to freeze for another day or to give away. Thank you!
Heather says
I just had to refer back to this post because of a little mishap involving pizza dough rising in the oven while preheating the oven…oops! Past experience at least told me to use the stainless steel bowl instead of the Tupperware one! Looks like we will be having a bowl-shaped loaf of bread and quesadillas at our house tonight.