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Well...we're officially into Week #2 (technically Week #3) of our 'Low-Spend September' and, thus far, it's going great!
I'm managing to keep up with menu plans and am still finding that most of the meals that I prepare are making enough for more than one meal...generally it's enough for two...sometimes more...BUT...most of the meals can be frozen and worked in later, so I guess that's okay. In the long run it saves time and energy (not only utility-wise, but my own, as well)! 😆
The biggest problem I'm having is...as I use small amounts of grain and turn them into breads, I'm refreezing major portions of the finished product to be used as accompaniments to meals further down the road and, as a result, on one hand my freezer space is going down a little at a time (a cup of cracked wheat here or a half cup of rolled oats there); then, suddenly, it is filled to overflowing with cut and portioned loaves of rustic oat and wheat bread, rolls, and muffins. 🍞
To make matters worse (if you can call it that), the tomatoes in our garden are coming on like gangbusters! Every few days I'm adding a few more bags of frozen tomato puree to the freezer. At present our freezer is level full of bread and tomatoes! LOL! Perhaps I should make a lot of breaded tomatoes! 😃
(I soooo hope my cousin is reading this! His mom used to make breaded tomatoes a lot when we were kids and he absolutely detests the thought of them! LOL!) 😆
And don't get me wrong...I am NOT complaining! We are blessed to overflowing and we know it. Sometimes I'm just not sure how to handle the overflow and I don't like to waste ANY-thing!
For example, I'm going to be working a special event out of town on Saturday, so I cooked Saturday night's ham and beans and cornbread today so that, all we have to do when I get home Saturday night, is reheat.
I divided the 9- x 9-inch pan of cornbread into 8 pieces and separated them into four freezer bags (that's four meals worth for me and my husband) and I cooked a pound of pinto beans.
I seasoned the beans with salt, pepper, and a small amount of ham. When the beans were tender I divided them into three containers (one to be used Saturday night; the other two later on). When I got done dividing the ham and beans, I had a full quart of delicious, savory bean broth left over. It would have been so easy to just dump it down the sink, but I couldn't. Instead, I saved it. What flavor it will add as a base to a soup on a chilly autumn day or to any recipe calling for vegetable broth! 🍁
We live in such a wasteful society today and, sometimes, it's hard to remember and implement the old way of doing things.
"Waste not, want not!"
That's what the old-timers used to say...and they were right. Everything that we use up and don't waste is one more thing that we don't have to want for or spend money on.
Goodness! I kind of got off track there, but...since I'm on a soapbox...I may as well end this post with this...
Does anyone out there have any tips or stories to share on how your family "wastes not, wants not"?
Until next time...
~Rebecca
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