Thrifty Kitchen Tip ~ Quick, Easy, and Basically Free Marinades

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.

Save those stale baked goods for the world's best bread pudding!

Fresh baked... well, anything is so wonderful! The problem is, it never stays fresh for long, and stale breads, cakes, cookies, etc just aren't the same. Don't throw them out though! 
You can give them a new life and look like a culinary deity at the same time, by turning them all into a divine dessert (or breakfast, or snack, or lunch, or... whatever. No judgement here) fit for the gods themselves that will have everyone begging for more. 

Best of all, the recipe is cheap, easy, and wildly versatile!

Here are just a few options for variations on the basic recipe.

• Classic, Worlds Best Bread Pudding
• Kitchen Scrap Stratarole v1.0
• French toast casserole
• Breakfast in Bread
• Full English Bake Up 
• Toasted Cheese Breadwich
• Savoury Garlic Parmesan
• Holiday cranberry, pecan, candied orange bread pudding
• Curry cauliflower "souffle" 

Look for all these variations to be added and linked up here eventually!

All you have to do is start putting those bread ends, leftover rolls, cookies, toast, English muffins, the last slice of cake, old doughnuts or bagels, the fortune cookies no one ever eats,  the "test" pancakes, bread that didn't rise properly, pastries, etc, into the freezer before they get mouldy. I use gallon size Ziploc bags. 

If you want to do savoury as well as sweet, put the sweets in separate freezer bags.

 The one "rule" is that you want to have at least about half of the things be more "bready" than sweet (bagels, rolls, bread, pizza crusts, etc) to get the right texture. If most of your leftovers are sweets and you don't bake your own bread, grab a loaf of cheap, day old artisan bread from the grocery to supplement. I really love having a good amount of sourdough in mine, but any bread will do, really. 

Once you've got a full bag or two, you're ready to whip up a batch of awesome. 

 Want to know what's even more awesome?
Not only is the flavour and add-ins variety practically endless, but there are several different cooking methods as well!

Besides the traditional, oven method, you can also make this delicious dish in your Instant pot/electric pressure cooker, regular (stovetop) pressure cooker, slow cooker, BBQ grill, campfire (cast iron Dutch oven needed), regular skillet on the stove, and even the microwave!!
 

Presto Pesto Norwesto! (Delicious pesto for almost free!)

Today's thrifty food tip is also a recipe, just cause I can. 😎 

 As always, if you just want the recipe, without the story behind it, click here, or check out the AllRecipes Link. And if you make it (or someone else makes it and you eat it), PLEASE leave a review there too! 

 

 Pesto is, oddly, at once underrated and overpriced.

Dishes made with the warm, nutty, aromatic blend, as well as the ready-made stuff in a jar are nearly always outrageously priced. Perhaps that's what leads folks to think it is expensive or difficult to make, and why so few people make regular use of it in their own kitchens and cooking. 

The truth is that it takes a few minutes to make in a blender or food processor, and, even using the "finest" ingredients, the stuff is literally pennies a serving.

It's basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, parmesan, and a little salt and pepper. That's it. So, already, it's super economical to make it at home, especially if you or someone you know grows their own basil.
Many folk cut the basil with spinach to save money and/or tone down the flavour a bit. 

The thing is though, you don't even need those specific ingredients to make delicious pesto! You can literally make it with just about ANY greens and nuts/seeds you have on hand, as long as they're edible.

The greens in the batch I just made last week was primarily radish and carrot greens and fresh spinach, with a little bit of chives and Thai basil I snipped from my garden for good measure.


My rosemary isn't robust enough for harvesting any just yet, though I'm sure by next fall, I'll have plenty! My Thai basil, on the other hand, is going to town!
I've got some sweet, Italian basil just sprouted too. It'll be ready to harvest by next season.

Anyway, since you can use almost all ingredients that would often end up in the compost bin or landfill, this versatile paste of the gods is between dirt cheap and almost free. YAY!

So, as mentioned, the greens in this batch are carrot and radish tops, spinach, and just a bit of chives and Thai basil. For the nuts, I used mostly walnuts, with a small amount of pine nuts thrown in for good measure.

No seeds this time, though I'm definitely planning on making a batch (or two!) using roasted pumpkin/other fall squash seeds once I've got enough seeds saved up for that.

The cheese is a mix of Parmesan and Romano. Fresh (or frozen) cheese is always best, however, you can sub in the dried stuff in the can if it's all you've got.

I also added a splash of lime juice in this batch, just cause it sounded good, and the results were, indeed, good! I'll be doing that again for sure. 
It gave it a kind of extra brightness that really brought out the flavours in everything it's gone into so far (stay tuned for more recipes!)   

My clean up crew helpers agree that it tastes great! They each give it two paws up.

 
 I almost never have to scrape or soak anything before it goes into the dishwasher, with such an enthusiastic set of trusty assistants.
Alright; Enough of my rambling. Lets get to the recipe itself, for those who are still reading.

Presto Pesto Norwesto!

 Ingredients:

•  ¼ – ½  cup nuts/seeds (pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, toasted pumpkin, melon, or squash seeds, sunflower seeds, etc...)
• 2-3 cloves garlic

• 2 - 3 cups packed carrot/radish/beet tops, spinach, kale, or other greens and/or fresh herbs (arugula, dill, basil, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, chives...whatever sounds good and is on hand!), roughly chopped.
• ½ - ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
•     ¼ – ½  cup shredded/grated parmesan, romano, or other hard cheese (optional)
•     salt and/or pepper, to taste (optional)
•     other spices, as desired (optional)

  
Directions:

• Put everything except olive oil, salt, and pepper into the food processor/blender and pulse until VERY finely minced or almost a paste-like consistency (to preference).
• Add about ¼ cup of the olive oil and blend, drizzling in additional oil, as needed until desired consistency.
• Stir in salt, pepper, and spices, if used, to taste.
• Refrigerate or freeze in air tight container(s) until ready to use.
• Presto Pesto!!

I usually vacuum seal things before they go into the freezer. It keeps them fresher, longer, and keeps them from getting freezer burnt. I've read a few places that pesto with cheese in it doesn't hold up well to freezing. I haven't found that to be the case. There's been no discernable difference between frozen and not frozen, so I suspect the people who wrote that didn't actually try it, or didn't package it properly before freezing. 

Yes, that label does say "lime Jews". It's an old family joke which has nothing to do with discriminating against anyone and everything to do with the funny things little kids say when trying to master speaking and language and words. So many things sound similar to one another! LOL For a good-to-print version of the recipe, click on over to Allrecipes.com, and click the print icon. Or tap on over.. I keep forgetting everyone does everything on their phones these days. (Dang kids! Get off my lawn!)

 Ginger doesn't care about words, language, talking, or writing down recipes. She just wants more of that yummy stuff!

Sugar appears to be in full agreement on that note.

We'll take it under advisement.

Don't throw away those soap slivers! (This week's money saving tip)

When your soap gets too small to use in the bath/shower effectively, move it to the sink for hand soap.
When that gets too small, put the pieces into the end of a nylon stocking (knee high, tights, pantyhose, really thin trouser sock, etc) and twist the opening and turn it over onto itself, or tie a half hitch at the end of it to close. Several soap scraps together in there will act just like a regular bar of soap and you will be able to use every, last speck, rather than throwing out perfectly good soap.

More uses for those little slivers and chunks of soap are:

1. Use a small remnant of a full sized bar of soap is as a travel sized bar to stick in your travel supplies, camping gear, or go bag/bugout bag. 
2. Put the pieces into a mug to use with a shaving brush.
3. Save up the pieces to make a new bar of soap (same concept, but more attractive than the nylon)
4. make your own liquid hand soap or body wash, by adding the slivers to an old soap dispenser bottle, along with some water.
5. Use to "lubricate" stubborn zippers, sliding door/window tracks,and similar, by rubbing the dry chunk of soap against whatever needs to move more easily (you can also use wax from candle stubs, saved drippings, crayons, etc for this!).

Delicious, Nutritious, Hearty Bone Broth/stock for Free

This weeks thrifty food tip is how to make your own bone broth, absolutely free.

(I'm cheating here, and using lots of the wording from my vegetable broth post, so if it looks familiar, that'll be why!)

You can buy chicken or beef broth in cans, cartons, or powder at the store, but not only is it pretty expensive, even for the cheap stuff, but it is also usually full of preservatives and artificial flavours and colours and very high in sodium to boot. 

Instead, why not just make your own?

You'll need gallon freezer bags, a freezer, some cheesecloth  (optional, but makes things much easier) or a wok skimmer or strainer, and a crock pot/slow cooker, rice cooker, Instant Pot, stock pot, or other large pot for simmering or pressure cooker, and a marker. 

Every time you have bones left from cooking (or bringing home a roasted chicken), save them. You can even ask for take away bags/boxes to save bones from when you eat out, if you like. After all, you DID pay for everything on your plate!

Put them in all in labelled freezer bags and keep them in your freezer (if you have a deep freezer, better still!)
I have some separate bags for chicken, turkey, beef, pork, etc, some for general poultry, some specifically for smoked meats. You can separate them however you like.
When a bag gets full, time to make your broth (or start a new bag and make the broth later.. whichever). 

• Line your pot with the cheesecloth, if using and dump all the bones in. 
• Fill to the top with water. 
• Add any additional salt or seasoning, if desired.
• Turn the crock pot on low and let it go for 8-16 hours. 
  •  If you're using a rice cooker, turn it to the "cook" setting until it starts boiling, then leave it on warm for the same amount of time. Check water level periodically and add as needed.
  • If using the stove, bring to a boil and then simmer on lowest possible setting for 3-5 hours, at least. Check water level periodically and add as needed.
  • If you're using the Instant Pot/pressure cooker, set it to manual/pressure for 90-120 minutes and let it do a natural release.
• When it tastes like broth, turn off the heat and let it cool enough to handle. 
• Pull up the cheesecloth and squeeze out all the liquid you can into the pot, or skim solids out with a wok skimmer or strainer. (The bones and scraps can then be composted or added to animal feed. Just make absolutely sure the bones are soft enough to easily crush with your fingers before giving to animals)

That's it!

Once it's done, you can use it right away, or you can freeze or can it. For freezing, I suggest using a rinsed out, cardboard milk carton, freezer bags, reditainers, or, if you want more measuring control when you use it, ice cube trays.

Fix a leaky plastic tube of almost anything

We've all had tubes of things - lotion, Blistex, hand sanitiser, ointment, whatever - develop a leak at the crimped end.

If you're like me, you've probably tried to fix them with duct tape or Gorilla Tape with varying degrees of success (or not success at all), and ended up having to throw away the entire thing.

Even if you can afford to toss out an entire container of something, if you're reading this post, you probably really don't want to. 

Just a few minutes ago, I encountered this issue, and it occurred to me that I could probably just heat and re-crimp the tube.  Sure enough, it worked just great!  Here's how...

What you need:

⦿ Leaky tube of whatever

⦿ Pliers or multi-tool

⦿ Lighter

⦿ Cup or bowl of water

⦿ Wash cloth or hand towel

What to do:

⦿ Especially if the contents are flammable (anything containing alcohol or petroleum products, for instance), make sure that you have a cup or bowl of water and a wet wash cloth right in your work space. 

⦿ Squeeze any excess product from the leaky spot back into or out of the tube, trying to clear as much as possible from the crimp area. 

⦿ With your pliers close to hand and ready, hold the leaky part of the crimped end of the tube just above the flame until it is melty. 

⦿ Quickly use the pliers to crimp the end well. 

⦿ After the end cools, test to see if it is fully sealed, and repeat as necessary.