It’s Friday Guys! It’s time for …
No Waste Tastes Great
Those who follow the blog will know that on a Friday I take a little time first thing to strip down the fridge and perishables cupboard, clean it, take note of anything that needs replenishing, return any items back to the fridge leaving what needs using up on the counter.
If you want to know more about my Friday routine – check out this post
So what is sitting in anticipation on the counter today?
What will I conjure up as my No Waste Tastes Great recipe this Friday?
In no particular order:
2 Free Range Chicken Breasts
3 White Potatoes
That’s pretty much all that needs using up – Hurrah!
Into my Standard Slow Cooker Lil’ Bill (yes I name my slow cookers:-)) I pop some frozen vegetables including mushrooms, the chicken and potatoes diced, one can of condensed low fat/salt mushroom soup and I top up with hot water. Pop Bill on for at least 6 hours, and tonight’s meal will be a slow cooked chicken and mushroom casserole. Never made it before – but with slow cooking it’s hard to go wrong!
(I have popped back in the fridge 10 eggs with at least another 7 days of life in them – they’ll get used up next week. The ham went back in for lunch tomorrow. Apart from that I have a tub of Bailey’s double cream which needs using by Monday – so I will make a bread and butter pud Sunday and use that in the recipe and as an accompaniment, one yoghurt and some cheese – all still in date)
Since starting No Waste Tastes Great last year, I have only yet had one week where there was nothing to use up. The plan is that on a Friday if the fridge and cupboard is bare that the Hubby and I get a takeaway (Friday Night is Date Night at Chez Wright). The Kids who will have had a hot meal at lunchtime get a meal rustled up from freezer and store cupboard ingredients.
How’s your fridge looking? Anything to use up? Got any tips? Need any inspiration? Please do share in the comments below………………………
Beautiful! I feel like condensed soup makes everything delicious – in the slow cooker, even more so I would think! Have a great day, Jo!
Soup is so simple! I love it! Have a lovely day to R (I miss calling you that haha!) Jo
Beautiful! I feel like condensed soup makes everything delicious – in the slow cooker, even more so I would think! Have a great day, Jo!
Soup is so simple! I love it! Have a lovely day to R (I miss calling you that haha!) Jo
Beautiful! I feel like condensed soup makes everything delicious – in the slow cooker, even more so I would think! Have a great day, Jo!
Soup is so simple! I love it! Have a lovely day to R (I miss calling you that haha!) Jo
Yum! That dinner sounds great Jo. And that is the CLEANEST refrigerator I’ve ever seen. Seriously. I’ll bet your bathrooms are spotless too. 🙂
Oh Jenny how that made me laugh! It’ll make the Hubby laugh even harder. I hate housework…. so much so that I avoid doing it at all costs. It has to be simple for me to even partake – hence the simple bicarb wipe down weekly. Funnily enough I am going to send a photo of my family bathroom to Tanja over at Minimalist packrat (she has a spotlight for house piccies), as we had our bathroom renovated just 6 months into discovering minimalism – and boy can you tell! So easy to clean… Jo
Yum! That dinner sounds great Jo. And that is the CLEANEST refrigerator I’ve ever seen. Seriously. I’ll bet your bathrooms are spotless too. 🙂
Oh Jenny how that made me laugh! It’ll make the Hubby laugh even harder. I hate housework…. so much so that I avoid doing it at all costs. It has to be simple for me to even partake – hence the simple bicarb wipe down weekly. Funnily enough I am going to send a photo of my family bathroom to Tanja over at Minimalist packrat (she has a spotlight for house piccies), as we had our bathroom renovated just 6 months into discovering minimalism – and boy can you tell! So easy to clean… Jo
Yum! That dinner sounds great Jo. And that is the CLEANEST refrigerator I’ve ever seen. Seriously. I’ll bet your bathrooms are spotless too. 🙂
Oh Jenny how that made me laugh! It’ll make the Hubby laugh even harder. I hate housework…. so much so that I avoid doing it at all costs. It has to be simple for me to even partake – hence the simple bicarb wipe down weekly. Funnily enough I am going to send a photo of my family bathroom to Tanja over at Minimalist packrat (she has a spotlight for house piccies), as we had our bathroom renovated just 6 months into discovering minimalism – and boy can you tell! So easy to clean… Jo
Jo these are just such great posts! Dinner sounds great; our minimalist newbie housemates are still huge food shoppers we’re trying to help them with this whole food waste thing but its a challenge some days. Sometimes opening the fridge and finding it stuffed is more overwhelming to me now and I have more trouble than when all I find are a few simple ingredients. Thanks for the ongoing inspiration. How is the slowing down vs. doing more thing going? Have a great weekend! 🙂
Choice isn’t always a good thing! Particularly when it comes to food, it can cause overeating – as the body craves variety. Good luck with converting them to a minimalist fridge. I’m still aiming to slow down further! Will be popping across to Ha Nui Loa later to get some more inspiration! Have a great weekend Jo
You’re right, it’s the choice factor for them, it’s also an outlet as they aren’t shopping as much for other things. I guess you could say we are helping to wean them off of the need for shopping, slow going, but worth it! Too much in the house has also come to mean (for me) that if they just bought fish, we’re eating fish while it’s fresh so as not to waste. When it comes to certain food items I don’t mind the trip to a market if it means what we planned for, that sounds good, will be consumed. It’s a process. Enjoy a pop-over when you can, have some great lighthouse pics up (amongst others) this week. Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
Gena, your thoughts about a stuffed fridge being overwhelming (and having less trouble when there are fewer & simpler ingredients) clicked a lightbulb on in my head! No wonder that the more groceries I have, the less I know how to get them used up! It’s hard to see everything at once to think about what needs used first, what goes with what, etc.
This is where my small fridge is a winner – very little storage means I can’t overbuy or cram in… When we first moved in three years ago I dreamt of a free-standing large US style Fridge/Freezer – now I am quite content with my simple and small one – Jo
Jo these are just such great posts! Dinner sounds great; our minimalist newbie housemates are still huge food shoppers we’re trying to help them with this whole food waste thing but its a challenge some days. Sometimes opening the fridge and finding it stuffed is more overwhelming to me now and I have more trouble than when all I find are a few simple ingredients. Thanks for the ongoing inspiration. How is the slowing down vs. doing more thing going? Have a great weekend! 🙂
Choice isn’t always a good thing! Particularly when it comes to food, it can cause overeating – as the body craves variety. Good luck with converting them to a minimalist fridge. I’m still aiming to slow down further! Will be popping across to Ha Nui Loa later to get some more inspiration! Have a great weekend Jo
You’re right, it’s the choice factor for them, it’s also an outlet as they aren’t shopping as much for other things. I guess you could say we are helping to wean them off of the need for shopping, slow going, but worth it! Too much in the house has also come to mean (for me) that if they just bought fish, we’re eating fish while it’s fresh so as not to waste. When it comes to certain food items I don’t mind the trip to a market if it means what we planned for, that sounds good, will be consumed. It’s a process. Enjoy a pop-over when you can, have some great lighthouse pics up (amongst others) this week. Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
Gena, your thoughts about a stuffed fridge being overwhelming (and having less trouble when there are fewer & simpler ingredients) clicked a lightbulb on in my head! No wonder that the more groceries I have, the less I know how to get them used up! It’s hard to see everything at once to think about what needs used first, what goes with what, etc.
This is where my small fridge is a winner – very little storage means I can’t overbuy or cram in… When we first moved in three years ago I dreamt of a free-standing large US style Fridge/Freezer – now I am quite content with my simple and small one – Jo
Jo these are just such great posts! Dinner sounds great; our minimalist newbie housemates are still huge food shoppers we’re trying to help them with this whole food waste thing but its a challenge some days. Sometimes opening the fridge and finding it stuffed is more overwhelming to me now and I have more trouble than when all I find are a few simple ingredients. Thanks for the ongoing inspiration. How is the slowing down vs. doing more thing going? Have a great weekend! 🙂
Choice isn’t always a good thing! Particularly when it comes to food, it can cause overeating – as the body craves variety. Good luck with converting them to a minimalist fridge. I’m still aiming to slow down further! Will be popping across to Ha Nui Loa later to get some more inspiration! Have a great weekend Jo
You’re right, it’s the choice factor for them, it’s also an outlet as they aren’t shopping as much for other things. I guess you could say we are helping to wean them off of the need for shopping, slow going, but worth it! Too much in the house has also come to mean (for me) that if they just bought fish, we’re eating fish while it’s fresh so as not to waste. When it comes to certain food items I don’t mind the trip to a market if it means what we planned for, that sounds good, will be consumed. It’s a process. Enjoy a pop-over when you can, have some great lighthouse pics up (amongst others) this week. Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
Gena, your thoughts about a stuffed fridge being overwhelming (and having less trouble when there are fewer & simpler ingredients) clicked a lightbulb on in my head! No wonder that the more groceries I have, the less I know how to get them used up! It’s hard to see everything at once to think about what needs used first, what goes with what, etc.
This is where my small fridge is a winner – very little storage means I can’t overbuy or cram in… When we first moved in three years ago I dreamt of a free-standing large US style Fridge/Freezer – now I am quite content with my simple and small one – Jo
I need to get into a creative mindset rather than thinking I need to follow a recipe (which always seems to require another trip to the grocery store). This is especially true for baking supplies that I rarely use. I just cleaned out my baking cupboard and the things I had to throw out almost made me cry. If I had just added that coconut to some muffins or pancakes or even a stir-fried meal! Your use-it-up Fridays have been a great inspiration this way, so thank you.
Hi Jo – One idea is to not do a shop one week, and to use up as much as you can. I do this occasionally. Or I do a significantly reduced shop and then trawl the cupboard etc and use up lots of dried foodstuffs. This week I so far have done a shop at the farm and bought the basics and the plan was to do another shop – but so far it looks as though I can improvise. For example I have made some Italian dough from flour and yeast I have in the cupboard, I am going to make the garlic bread instead of buying it. If you are going to do a recipe then choose one with few ingredients, or as I do omit or change some ingredients – it really won’t make a huge difference. When I cook Ham in Cola – you are supposed to use black treacle – then get landed with the tin forever as you try and use it up. I use golden syrup or honey instead (whatever is in the cupboard) – who can tell the difference? I don’t tell anyone 🙂 Jo
Good tips – will give them a try this week and see how it goes – thanks Jo!
Jo H.
I need to get into a creative mindset rather than thinking I need to follow a recipe (which always seems to require another trip to the grocery store). This is especially true for baking supplies that I rarely use. I just cleaned out my baking cupboard and the things I had to throw out almost made me cry. If I had just added that coconut to some muffins or pancakes or even a stir-fried meal! Your use-it-up Fridays have been a great inspiration this way, so thank you.
Hi Jo – One idea is to not do a shop one week, and to use up as much as you can. I do this occasionally. Or I do a significantly reduced shop and then trawl the cupboard etc and use up lots of dried foodstuffs. This week I so far have done a shop at the farm and bought the basics and the plan was to do another shop – but so far it looks as though I can improvise. For example I have made some Italian dough from flour and yeast I have in the cupboard, I am going to make the garlic bread instead of buying it. If you are going to do a recipe then choose one with few ingredients, or as I do omit or change some ingredients – it really won’t make a huge difference. When I cook Ham in Cola – you are supposed to use black treacle – then get landed with the tin forever as you try and use it up. I use golden syrup or honey instead (whatever is in the cupboard) – who can tell the difference? I don’t tell anyone 🙂 Jo
Good tips – will give them a try this week and see how it goes – thanks Jo!
Jo H.
I need to get into a creative mindset rather than thinking I need to follow a recipe (which always seems to require another trip to the grocery store). This is especially true for baking supplies that I rarely use. I just cleaned out my baking cupboard and the things I had to throw out almost made me cry. If I had just added that coconut to some muffins or pancakes or even a stir-fried meal! Your use-it-up Fridays have been a great inspiration this way, so thank you.
Hi Jo – One idea is to not do a shop one week, and to use up as much as you can. I do this occasionally. Or I do a significantly reduced shop and then trawl the cupboard etc and use up lots of dried foodstuffs. This week I so far have done a shop at the farm and bought the basics and the plan was to do another shop – but so far it looks as though I can improvise. For example I have made some Italian dough from flour and yeast I have in the cupboard, I am going to make the garlic bread instead of buying it. If you are going to do a recipe then choose one with few ingredients, or as I do omit or change some ingredients – it really won’t make a huge difference. When I cook Ham in Cola – you are supposed to use black treacle – then get landed with the tin forever as you try and use it up. I use golden syrup or honey instead (whatever is in the cupboard) – who can tell the difference? I don’t tell anyone 🙂 Jo
Good tips – will give them a try this week and see how it goes – thanks Jo!
Jo H.