Spaghetti Sauce - Save It Series - 2

 

Waste Not: Everything-But-the-Veggie-Drawer Spaghetti Sauce

This is a favorite waste not, want not situation of mine—spaghetti sauce!

Who doesn’t have a veggie drawer with things that are coming to that decision of toss or use?

If I’m busy and I know I’m not going to get to something in time, I’ll take it and pop it in the freezer until I find the time to make this. You can keep doing that until you have enough to make a batch.

The tomatoes I used this time actually weren’t going bad at all. They were just too abundant at the moment, so I put them in a gallon freezer bag, just like they were, and tossed them in the freezer.

What Went Into This Batch

Today I had frozen sweet peppers—the stragglers that somehow get overlooked even when you look in the veggie drawer—onions that were needing used, green pepper, mushrooms, basil and carrot sticks.

And really, the only prep for this was removing the stems and anything non-edible.

I loaded everything into my air fryer. Mine is a Ninja 6-in-1, so it can hold quite a bit like this. If you are doing yours in the oven, I would use a sided pan, because these vegetables are going to release juices and you want all of that goodness for your sauce.

I roasted mine for, gosh, about 40 minutes, checking and stirring along the way. I was trying to get a little char on some of the vegetables, but just a light one.

I also threw in about ½ jar of spaghetti marinara sauce that I had made last week.

Turn It Into Sauce

When everything is finished, let it cool a little and then load it into your food processor. You could also use an immersion blender.

Blend it all together and it makes a really flavorful spaghetti sauce.

And every batch is probably going to taste a little different because it depends on what you have that needs to be used!

Use It for More Than Spaghetti

This sauce can be used just about any way you would use a tomato sauce.

Sometimes I will use it in stuffed peppers, meatloaf, meatballs, maybe even in a lasagna—or just use it the regular way over spaghetti.

Nothing Went to Waste

This saved me from throwing out anything.

Even the scraps that were non-edible—the stems, ends and pieces I removed—went into the compost pile.

From this month's save, I got a good quart for the freezer and about 2 cups for the refrigerator, ready for a quick something for someone.

That is really the whole premise behind these Waste Not posts.

Before something goes into the trash, I try to ask:

Can I use it? Can I freeze it? Can I turn it into something else? And if we can't eat it, can it go into the compost?

Sometimes that veggie drawer that looks like it needs cleaning out is actually dinner—or several dinners—waiting to happen. And we all know that is where the $$$$ can go in the garbage fast. 

Let’s Connect

Have an idea?
Share it in the comments, and always thanks for stopping by. 

Till we meet again

love and find joy in your day 

Louise

Sourdough Bread (or any bread)- Save it Series 1

Waste Not: Homemade Sourdough Bread Crumbs

I’m going to start sharing some of the little tips and hacks I use around here to stretch a meal, stretch the budget, stretch the groceries—well, you get it! Mostly, I just hate seeing good food go to waste at the end of the week.

Today’s Waste Not tip is bread crumbs.

Sourdough Bread — or Any Bread!

About every 2–3 weeks, I gather up all of my sourdough bread heels and any pieces of bread that didn’t get eaten. You can really do this with any kind of bread. I just wouldn’t mix a bunch of very different breads together unless you know you like the flavors combined.

I cut all of the leftover bread into small pieces or cubes.

Another Option — Make Croutons!

This is also the perfect point to turn some of those bread cubes into homemade croutons.

Just toss the cubes with a little olive oil and whatever seasonings you like. Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper are all good choices. Then put them in the air fryer and cook until crispy and browned, stirring or tossing them around as they cook.

These are best eaten freshly made, and they are wonderful on salads or soups.

So before you turn all that leftover bread into bread crumbs, you might want to steal a handful and make croutons for dinner!

Back to the Bread Crumbs

For bread crumbs, I don't put anything on the bread at this point—no oil, butter or seasoning.

I put the bread pieces in my air fryer and cook them until they are completely dried out and crispy.

Keep an eye on them! Check often and stir or toss the pieces around so everything dries and browns evenly. You want the bread nice and dry before turning it into crumbs.

Once it is done, I spread everything out on a sheet pan and let it cool completely.

Now Make Your Bread Crumbs

Once cooled, everything goes into my food processor.

I usually divide mine into two batches:

Plain Bread Crumbs:
Nothing added. I leave these completely plain so I can season them however I want when I use them.

Italian Bread Crumbs:
For the second batch, I add some Italian seasoning from my seasoning drawer and process it right along with the crumbs.

And that’s it!

This time, all of those bread heels and leftover pieces gave me about 1½ quarts of homemade bread crumbs—from something that could have easily ended up in the trash.

How I Store Them

I put my bread crumbs into clean, dry mason jars. Then I use my little vacuum sealer attachment for mason jars—or, as I usually call it, my “air sucker outer thing” because I can never remember what it’s called! 😂

I vacuum seal the jars and label them with the date.

For us, I make an amount we can use within about a month. I always make sure the bread is completely dry and the crumbs are completely cool before putting them into the jars.

One Less Thing to Buy

It may only be a container of bread crumbs, but these are the little things that add up.

I already bought the flour and ingredients to make the bread. We ate the bread. Then instead of throwing away the heels and leftovers, I turned them into something else I would normally have to buy.

Bread → meals → leftovers → croutons or bread crumbs → another meal.

That’s what I mean when I talk about stretching the grocery budget and wasting as little as possible.

Nothing fancy. Just using what we already have.

And I think I’m going to start sharing more of these little Waste Not things I do around my kitchen. Some save a few cents, some save a few dollars, but over time—it all counts.

Let’s Connect

Have an idea?
Share it in the comments, and always thanks for stopping by. 

Till we meet again

love and find joy in your day 

Louise