I've never been good at editing the objects in my life. I have a whole cast of characters in my head that work to keep my "save everything" mindset. There's Mr. "You know you paid good money for that. You don't want to take a loss on it." And there's old Mrs. "Dearie, you might need that some day. You'll feel just awful if you get rid of it and find you need it later." And then of course there's Miss "But I l-i-k-e my stuff!"
I am outwitted in my own mind by my own voices. I am stuck saving nearly everything.
This extends to the kitchen even. If you are definitely and decidedly minimalistic, perhaps you'd better shut off the screen now. I'm about to show you a few things others would for sure toss.
Here's the fat that I trimmed from some beef earlier this week.
And here's the liquid from the bottom of a pan of meat-vegetable-rice stuffed cabbage rolls for Tuesday's dinner, about 3 tablespoons worth.
And here's a soup that was made from leftover Sunday's sausage pasta to which I added lentils and vegetables for Monday's dinner. It was then "enriched" further with leftover pizza sauce for Tuesday's lunch. It's now been enjoyed for a couple of days.
Okay, so how will this all get used?
I'm currently rendering the beef fat. I'll end up with cracklings (like bacon bits in texture), that I'll freeze to top soup and sautéed leafy greens. The fat will be poured into a custard cup to cool, and then that disk of fat will go into the freezer to use in cooking.
The liquid from the stuffed cabbage rolls will be added to the leftover-leftover soup (so it's now leftover-leftover-leftover soup), and eaten today for lunch. Final decision. No take-backs. This soup has got to go! Fortunately I have a very willing lunchtime participant in my game of "eat the leftovers," my husband.
Tomorrow I'll take another look at the leftover foodstuffs in the fridge and see if I can A) part with something, or B) recycle them into a new meal.
How about you? Do you take a minimalistic approach to keeping leftovers, or are you very maximalistic, and save everything? Is there a place where you draw the line and say, "this can't stay?"
I love your humor. Thank you for this. For your question, I like to say I've got a good balance in this area. But really, I think I'm more maximum in what I save to use later.
ReplyDelete--SB
Hi SB,
DeleteI think what matters is that you use the leftovers or bits that you save. I bet you're more balanced than you think. Thanks for sharing!
As with many things in life, my philosophy is "moderation in everything". I understand where people are coming from on each end of the scale, and I don't think there's a right or wrong to anyone's perspectives.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI don't think there's a right or wrong, either. But it's interesting to see where other people fall on various topics, including this one. I appreciate your input, Kris.
Hi, Lili,
ReplyDeleteI abhor food waste so I’m very much in your camp. Like many, it has been a big adjustment from cooking for eight (five if whom were sons with the accompanying appetites) to it just being for my husband and I. But I think I’ve finally found ‘the groove’. I still cook ‘big’ but we spread those meals over several days. That frees me from main dish preparation every day. I average making 2-3 main dishes a week and alternate the leftover menu, also freezing meals for the future. I’m also fortunate to have chickens who love those little bits that don’t find a ‘new life’ in my kitchen!
Have a blessed week with your family! Conni
Hi Conni,
DeleteI can only imagine what cooking daily meals must have bee like for you when it was eight! It sounds like you've found a real blessing in cooking for two as opposed to eight. Your chickens sound delightful, Conni! Thank you for sharing your experience.
I do not like food waste, but I am not as vigilant as you are. I worry when I recycle leftovers into something else, that they will get too old before the new dish is finished. It's all in the timing. I do use leftovers in other dishes, but tend to err on the side of caution with how old something is. However, we don't mind leftovers here and will eat them several days in a row, so food getting too old doesn't happen very often.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteYes, there;'s always that possibility that recycled leftovers might have part that is past its "still good" time frame. I try to get us to finish things off in time. But things come up, someone gets sick, or a container gets pushed to the back of the fridge.
It sounds like you and Ward have what works for you figured out. Thanks for sharing!
I also hate food waste, however, some things just get shoved in the back and/or I forget to use them. I really do scour through my fridge regularly, but items like bacon grease and some sauces that I make escape my memory when I'm pulling meals together.
ReplyDeleteWould you give some details on how you make cracklings? I apologize if you have already written a post about it.
Hi Ruthie,
DeleteMy thought is if we're making an effort not to waste food that we're really doing pretty well. According to an article put out by Utah State University, Americans throw away 31.9% of the food they purchase. My guess is your own household food waste is much, much less than average. But I'm like you, sometimes something gets pushed to the back and forgotten until it's too late.
Here's a post I wrote about making cracklings:
https://www.creativesavv.com/2025/08/rendering-meat-fat-in-pictures.html
I store them in the freezer once made, then I can take out a tablespoon or two as needed. If you bake a ham at the holidays, ham fat makes the best cracklings. But we use (and like) the beef ones, too.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Ruthie.
Now Lili, how can the Mr., Mrs., and Miss live in your head when they definitely live in mine full time! I think the key to saving/reusing food is to be vigilant that it gets used quickly and to know that you have a plan of how you will use it. My mother called these kinds of leftovers dibs and dabs. My husband knows not to question why I’m saving that mushroom cream sauce that I cooked with those chicken breasts (it will be thinned out with more milk or cream, have some different herbs added to it and become a sauce on pasta).
ReplyDeleteWhen you have this mindset I don’t think it’s limited to food. I’m the same way with jars, leftover scraps of wood, fabric, plastic containers (I can turn that into a mini-greenhouse for seed starting), etc. No, I’m not a hoarder, I’m just someone who knows that one day I’m going to need a piece of 12” long 2x6 board on one of my many building projects 😉. Annie
Hi Annie,
DeleteYou made a very good point above, that being vigilant in using those leftover bits quickly. If I wait to long, I forget about it. I try to plan how I will use the leftover stuff as I'm ;putting it away. It helps to have a plan.
I admire your enthusiasm for building projects. My husband and I are trying to get up the nerve to make some improvements on our kitchen pantry. There's this part of me that keeps thinking we'll do a poor enough job that it will bother me for years to come. If we do this project, it will be this winter. Your experiences are motivating me to try. So big thank you!
Lili, I absolutely looove building, home improvement, fixing things, small changes, big changes. If you want to share your thoughts on your pantry I’ll be happy to offer suggestions. Sounds like you need a phase plan. Instead of tackling it as a BIG project perhaps you can do it in phases. Do phase 1, see how comfortable you are with that work, then phase 2, etc. Keeps you from becoming overwhelmed or too intimidated to even start. It also helps financially. I’ve done improvements in phases using available funds as I go. Much better than shelling out a lot of money all at once. There was a project where I planned big, bought everything up front, and it literally took me a couple of years to get it finished (a completely gutted master bathroom). I had boxes of floor tile, an expensive shower door, vanity, toilet, mirror, light fixtures, etc. sitting in my bedroom forever. The vanity in its box turned into a catchall and the shower door in its box on the floor became my new shoe holder, along with plumbing supplies, paint sample cans, tile saw. I was still working full time then and only had weekends to DIY. There were things I ended up not using but couldn’t return because I had waited too long. Break your project down into phase 1 or step 1, step 2…and it’ll be easier. Annie
ReplyDeleteHI Annie,
DeleteI've been thinking I could start on just the initial part, like a phase. My husband and I have actually talked about doing this first step ourselves, then seeing how comfortable we are with this work. I have written up plans for the work needed. There's one part that isn't straight forward. We have a pocket door into the pantry. One length of shelves to be built will butt against the pocket door wall, which means we can't anchor the shelves on that end into that wall. So I'm thinking of building an end panel/free-standing return to butt up against the pocket door wall and carry the load of the end of each shelf. But I need to think that part through a bit more.
Thank you for your encouragement.
Lili, you can purchase a heavy duty metal strip with slots that are made to hold shelf brackets. You would attach the metal strip to the wall, hook in the shelf brackets, and that could be your support for the shelves on that end. Annie
ReplyDeleteThank you, Annie. We have these sort of shelves in a closet. I hadn't thought to use one set at the end up against the pocket door. Thanks!
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