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

Shrimp Alfredo Over French-Cut Green Beans

 

Hello, friends!

Some meals come together almost by accident and end up becoming instant favorites. This one started as a craving for something warm and creamy — but without the heaviness of pasta. It’s quick, cozy, and perfect for days when you want comfort food in a lighter, portion-friendly way. The best part? It tastes like a treat while still being simple enough for a busy night.

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Family Recipe: Shrimp Alfredo Over French-Cut Green Beans

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: ~20 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 lb medium shrimp (about 24–28 shrimp; raw or pre-cooked)

• 2–3 tbsp olive oil

• 2–3 cloves garlic (minced, or 1–1½ tsp garlic powder)

• Salt & pepper, to taste

• 4 cups French-cut green beans (fresh, frozen, or canned—heated through)

• 1 cup Alfredo sauce (jarred or homemade)

• ¼–½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, for topping

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Instructions

1. Prepare the shrimp
   Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shrimp.

   • For raw shrimp: cook 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pink and opaque.

   • For pre-cooked shrimp: sauté 2–3 minutes just until warmed through.
     Season lightly with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

2. Prepare the vegetables
   Heat the French-cut green beans until hot (steam, microwave, or sauté).
   Transfer them to a bowl and toss with the Alfredo sauce until coated.

3. Assemble the bowls
   Divide the creamy green beans evenly among 4 plates or bowls.
   Top each portion with about 6–7 shrimp.

4. Finish and serve
   Add Parmesan cheese and a crack of pepper to each serving.
   Serve warm.

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How I Made Mine (Personal Notes)

For my bariatric portion, I kept it small and simple. I sautéed 6 medium shrimp with a little olive oil, garlic, and salt. Then I warmed 2 oz French-cut green beans, tossed them with 1 oz Alfredo sauce, and placed the shrimp on top with a sprinkle of Parmesan and pepper. It was creamy, cozy, and just enough.

Always and most importantly — thank you to my family and friends for all the love and support that has carried me this far. I will be back for me in the days ahead. This is just the beginning. 💛

Let’s Connect

Have an idea?
Share it in the comments — I’d love to hear what’s working for you during your different phases 💛

Till we meet again

love and find joy in your day 

Louise

Sour Dough Discard - Pizza Edition - Come Back to Eating at Home

 

Happy Easter, Happy Spring, Happy Lent, Happy Passover.

I hope that included us all. 

I have been religiously tending to a sour dough starter. There are weeks I may keep her in the fridge and then there are times, I feed her daily. I seem to not be able to time myself to make a complete sour dough loaf. I have tried a few times and they turned out great. With my time line however the discard is my favorite part.

Sometimes, I will let it collect, so that I can make more of things with it.

Today I did not, I made a pan pizza. Straight from the discard.

Taking a skillet, mine was non-stick, note, I have seen it done, in a hot cast iron and put into the oven. I chose to try it this way. It worked and was so delicious and super easy.

My pizza today, was Greek inspired, I only used feta, mozzarella cheese and canned mushrooms. Next time if I have on hand it will be some spinach, onion and some Greek olives. Yum, right.

I do not use a base sauce, preference is just because, I like to put either a laughing cow spread on it, or today, I just sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese.

So let's get to it.

Sour Dough Discard - Pizza Edition

Greek Inspired

Stuff to gather:

Sour Dough discard (as much as you want to use as a pizza, my pan was 8 inches) 

Olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pan)

Mozzarella Cheese (this gave it light base of cheese flavor, so the feta stood out and the seasonings)

Feta Cheese

Mushrooms 

Seasoning (  I used the Cavendar's Greek low salt seasoning. )

*optional toppings to complete the Greek theme, kalamata olives, spinach, onion, and even wait and make a Greek inspired salad and put a little on the warm pizza slice. 

The putting together:

1. Put oil in the pan, making sure it all gets covered.

2. Pour in your discard, when I did mine the oil made it easier to spread out. 

3. Start with the cooking on low, like a pancake, then I waited for a few bubbles, then flip.

4. Put a slight sprinkle of cheese (or if you prefer a sauce, you could spread a little alfredo if you like)

5. Then your toppings. Seasoning. Cover for a few minutes, it helped my top melt and warm through. then Uncover to finish crisping up the bottom. 

  *at this point if your pan is oven proof I guess you could do that to melt the top more, but I found covering was just enough.

6. Check your bottom, and it will start to brown, and get nicely crispy.

This was so fast, and so yummy. Just what I was craving. I love the taste of the Sour Dough, it makes a slightly tangy note. 

As I was flipping this, I realized this could be really versatile, this could have been a nice wrap for a Greek Gyro, or a chicken shawarma wrap. So ideas for the future.

I am trying to commit to sharing at least once a week, keeps me grounded and actually keeps us as a family committed to eating better and eating at home. 

My wish for you is to always find a way to live your best life.

 If you try this always feel free to drop a comment, I would love to have your feedback.

Also if you have a craving, send it in a comment and I will see what I can figure out for us to try.

Thanks again for being part of my community.

Be the Light in Someone's Day

Be back soon.