Thrown Together Meals
A few posts ago I mentioned that a savings strategy was eating unconventional meals- meals just thrown together, though nutritionally balanced, with whatever we had on hand. Here's a few recent meals to end the month if October.
Bung It Chili: Canned tomato and assorted beans from freezer, miscellaneous vegetables to use up with lots of spices, just thrown in crockpot and forgot until people were hungry. Picture is horrible but couldn't be bothered to retake. The clump in middle is still frozen black beans.
Seasoned rice with; mashed acorn squash, sweet potato wedges, and steamed carrots.
Black bean, pepper, onion, and diced potatoes in the last two tortillas, folded burrito style and grilled. I had a can of Pace cheese sauce lingering in the pantry, heated and poured over.
Thai chili tuna on leftover brat ( hotdog) buns topped with sliced Colby cheese with cottage cheese and fruit.
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| Salad plate-that's why it's heaping. |
Haloumi flatbread pizza (crust recipe used), topped with leftover canned diced tomatoes, "getting there" fresh tomatoes, thin sliced zucchini, last of a bag of spinach greens, chopped, last of an onion, and chunks of haloumi cheese, bought several months ago when it actually was in Trader Joe's and dated to be used by end of October.
Hot dish: You may say casserole, but we in Minnesota call the combination of a starch, a protein, a binder, and any other mix ins, "hot dish". This one was the remains of three types of pasta ( elbow macaroni, penne, and rotini), a creamy home made white sauce flavored with chicken juice drippings saved and froze, last of leftover chicken, deboned, with bits of assorted leftover cooked vegetables and variety bits of cheese including Colby, provolone and goat cheese. We steamed a bag of broccoli on the side.
No awards for these meals and no one is looking for these in a cookbook. They were satisfying for us and several yielded leftovers for lunch for one of us the next day. Importantly, bits of food that might have gone in the garbage were used up and I pushed grocery shopping out a bit. I know some say that I'd have spent the same on groceries but staying out of stores curbs impulse buying. Shopping less frequently keeps me focused on items on my list that I intended to buy.
Sounds good. If it fills you up and you like it - that is all that is important.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of unconventional meals here as its a great way to save money.
ReplyDeleteWe had an unconventional leftovers meal last night - leftover homemade ratatouille, the same of smoked haddock kedgeree, served with a baked potato. Filling and tasted good and got rid of 2 containers of leftovers from the freezer.
ReplyDeleteWe've been wrapping up leftovers at our house as well. I was planning to have leftover pizza for lunch today, but I see that Nick's study group polished that right off last night. I was a fool for thinking it would survive in the fridge. ;-) (Hawaii Planner)
ReplyDeleteLately, it seems most meals are thrown together. I rarely look in the refrigerator because bending even a bit hurts. Tommy will come and tell me what needs to be eaten, then we eat it. That is our meal planning lately--look, see, eat.
ReplyDeleteHot dish, casserole, pot pie, call it what you will, just don’t call me late for dinner! Frankly, I feel especially satisfied after a meal which uses what’s in hand. Saturday after dinner I simply tipped the leftover slow cooker pot roast and gravy in a baking dish, added a drained cans of corn, topped it with the leftover mashed potatoes, and popped it in the refrigerator for Sunday’s dinner. (During football season, DH likes to eat in front of the games, and galling as I find it, I do try to accommodate him.)
ReplyDeleteYour meals look lovely!
(Meg B.)
DeleteI make these kinds of meals also. Depending on what they are, they usually end up as mish-mash soup or stir fry. They are mostly pretty good!
ReplyDeleteLove it. We do some "thrown-together meals" as well, especially when I am eyeing the fridge and thinking we gotta get through some leftovers. No food waste here if we can help it!
ReplyDelete