WASTE NOTes

Get it? WASTE NOT, but these are my waste NOTES. Ok, whatever, so it's not that creative word-wise... keep your snide comments to yourself. :)

During the past few weeks, I have renewed my efforts to be more thrifty and less wasteful, most notably in the food arena. Although I am also guilty of saving extra napkins handed out at drive-thrus, along with ketchup, bbq, and sugar packets...

I have rescued several food items from ending up in the trash pail this week.

1. A cup of over-ripe strawberries was converted to strawberry jam. A quick and easy recipe with no sure-jell or preservatives, to be used up within the week.

2. Thumbprint Jam Cookies, and I used the strawberry jam (above) for the centers. I haven't made these cookies since my 20s, and I LOVE these, so now guess who's eating them all? Thank goodness the recipe only made 2 dozen.


3. Chicken paprikash leftovers (slow cooker recipe) that I felt lacked flavor converted to chicken soup. I was without noodles in the pantry, so for the first time in my life, I made my own homemade noodles. (I added 2 tbls. milk to the noodle recipe.) This chicken soup recipe was by far, hands down, the best chicken soup I've made in my life. (I didn't put celery in mine.) The noodles were very, very yummy, and the soup was so deelish and flavorful. Since it had the flavorings from the paprikash, I am sure the next time I make this soup it will taste slightly different, but hopefully just as good!


4. Corn tortillas past the expiration date recycled into tortilla chips. A lil melted butter with chili powder brushed on them, a lil salt, cut into triangles and cook at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Next time, I'm going to add a bit of cayenne pepper for more spice.


5. A few slices of leftover meatloaf used for sandwiches, and also as a side with some spaghetti today. Take several slices and pour spaghetti sauce over, add some shredded cheese and parmesan cheese, and cook at 350 for approx. 30 minutes.

Non-food item waste not
Instead of using a dryer sheet which is loaded with synthetic chemicals, I put a few drops of lavender essential oil on a cloth and threw it in the dryer with my bed sheets and blankets yesterday. I bought some lavender essential oil last year and never used it, so I think this qualifies as "waste not". Ummmmm, did my sheets ever smell good!

So this is my new mission and creed for 2009, wherever possible, WASTE NOT! I will admit that my dedication to this philosophy has been fueled by my lack of a job, but I want to continue my newfound passion even when I have a job. Just think of the money I can save! :)

Smart Mouth Broad hosts "Money in the Bank", a collection of
money saving ideas from bloggers far and near. I'm going to link
my WASTE NOTes to her MIB posts. Check out HER blog
for even more links to money saving ideas to help you
save $$ in our crappy economy!