Saving on groceries can be as simple as using what you already have on hand. For instance, I've heard a lot of folks say they don't like leftovers. However, if you really think about it, frozen dinners and entrees are nothing more than leftovers that have been packaged for consumers to use.
This is the way I look at leftovers in my kitchen. I call them "planovers", though, because I often intentionally cook double or triple recipes of some things in order to have more for later. Things like spaghetti sauce, breads, and soups come to mind immediately, but I also cook extra quantities of rice so I can have it with the current meal then use more of it later. It's much less trouble to have some already cooked items on hand than it is to cook fresh for every meal.
A good example of this is home made bread. We eat some of it with current meals, then I freeze what's left to use as bread crumbs, bread sticks, and croutons. Of course, you can do the same with commercially prepared bread. Not throwing away the ends of loaves will save you money and will add dimension to your meals.
LEFTOVER BREAD USES
- Use your food processor to mill the bread into fine crumbs. Use this as a coating for oven fried chicken, fish or pork chops. Add the seasonings you like to the crumbs.
- Cube the bread and lay it out to dry or use your food dehydrator to speed up the process. Dried bread cubes are safe to keep in the pantry in tightly sealed zip bags. Use them for croutons by sautéing them in a little olive oil or butter with some seasonings on them.
- Use bread cubes for bread pudding.
- Use bread cubes for dressing.
- Cut the bread into 1 inch strips. Coat with butter into which you've creamed some herbs and garlic powder. Bake until bread sticks are toasty.
- Stale bread slices make great grilled cheese sandwiches.
