As usual, we're going with the theme of, "don't throw it away"!
Those unused condiment packs from take out or delivery meals, like spice or seasoning packets, dipping sauces, salad dressings, honey, sweet and sour, soy sauce, hot sauce, jams/jelly/preserves, etcetera, as well as your own leftover bits/dregs of salad dressing, beer, wine, spirits, soft drinks, juice, mixed drinks,and all manner of other small bits of stuff can be reused and turned into delicious marinades, glazes, and other additions to meals.
Sometimes, you even find something that ends up being the "secret ingredient" that pushes a good meal over the top to awesome!
I often go hunting in the kitchen for the almost empty bottles of sauces or salad dressings to incorporate into a spur of the moment marinade.
Use a little bit of water, beer/ale/lager/etc, wine, coffee, soft drink or juice to pour in almost empty bottles and shake up to get the last little bits out of the bottle and into your delicious creation!
As you add each new ingredient, use your nose. Smell the mixure. Smell things you have around to possibly put in it. Smell what you want to marinate. Imagine how those will be combined! Science has revealed what home cooks and famous chefs alike have known all along; 80%-90% of how food "tastes" is actually how it smells!
So put your sniffer to work to whip up an amazing, on the fly marinade for your next meal or few.
And remember, it's not just meats that you can marinate a few hours or a few days to turn a decent dish into a decadent delight that will impress the heck out of everyone who tastes it.
As for how to save those little condiments and culinary bits and bobs...
Packs that are unopened and/or already individually packaged can go right in the freezer as-is. I like to put them in Ziploc, freezer bags, just to keep them together and easy to find.
For stuff that isn't pre-packaged, check out this post.
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