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
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