A few weeks ago I threw a bowl of cooked collard greens in my meatloaf because I didn't want to waste them. I also added a handful of shredded cheese that was looking a little dry. It turned out great!

I also bought a roast on sale and sent it to work with DH for him to shave into philly meat. I stuffed the meat into muffin tins and when it was frozen I popped out the individual portions for later use.

I have also been cooking more meals that go a long way like whole chickens, chili, stew, soups, and spaghetti.

Anyone else finding interesting ways to stretch their food budget?

I have stopped throwing away the heals of bread or the peices that are dry. I am now making bread crumbs and using them in hamburgers, meatloaf, meatballs, etc. It streaches the bread and it really is good.

I also have started training my DH that every meal doesn't need meat.

I had some left over pot beans the other day and I made taquitos out of them. They were good and different.

I don't throw away banana's that look past their prime. I make bread or smoothies out of them.

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sorry it double posted

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I'm really focusing on making sure leftovers get eaten up instead of thrown out. Just about every day this week, one of us has had leftovers for lunch. I'm pretty good about freezing bananas, etc. before they go bad. I have a pretty good banana bread recipe.

just the other day i made a huge batch of chicken and dumplings. well, i always have a ton of juice. so, i saved the juice by itself and added noodles to it! it was awesome. and we have a "leftover night" at least once a week. we haven't eaten out in months!!

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“Don't get too comfortable with who you are at any given time - you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be.”

When I make pot roast or crock pot chicken there's alway broth with tiny pieces of veggies and bits of meat left over and I freeze it and throw it in when I make soup. I also freeze my chicken carcasses (I know this sounds gross) and make my own chicken stock when there's enough bones saved. We buy the cheaper cereal in bags and the shredded wheat alway has a ton of crumbs at the bottom of the bag. I save it and make shredded wheat muffins. DS loves them.

I love leftovers but sometimes when there is just too much of a certain "meal" - I will stick it in the freezer and I have a meal waiting for me to reheat and eat. For example: I made beef and noodles (from leftover roast) and was afraid we wouldn't eat it all before it went bad so I stuck it in our deep freeze. About a month ago, I made pizza for supper. I had extra sauce and toppings so I made pizza on top of hot dog buns and stuck it in the freezer. Because I had to work last night, I pulled the hot dog bun pizza out of the freezer and that is what dh and the kids ate last night.

So I guess you could say that I am into freezing before spoiling!

I really don't ever have leftovers. I don't know if it's how I cook or what. Sometimes I'll have some meat leftover and I typically eat it for my lunch the next day.

I have found that I have started cooking to create leftovers! It means that I have a ready-made meal for the next day, or if I freeze it I can have it a few days/weeks later. I also will cook a whole chicken and make broth from the carcass and tear the meat into small pieces that I freeze in serving-size portions. Then I can just dump the portion into a small meal for ds and I anytime, no hassle, no thought required.

What I have also found is that dh and I are getting ever more efficient with grocery shopping, and are really buying food that we eat and eating what we buy. This is a great feeling! He does the shopping every Saturday morning and by Friday evening the pantry, fridge and fruit basket are all looking puny. Then on Saturday it gets refilled and it's a great feeling to see that the things we run low on are the fruits & veggies. It's a positive reminder that we're eating right!

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~ mama abroad

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I find myself taking some of my entree and putting it into a bowl for my lunch at work before I even serve dinner - that way it's already packed and ready to go and I have no excuses to go buy lunch!!!