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10 Kitchen Tips For The Leftover Lover

10 Kitchen Tips For The Leftover Lover

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If you hate to waste food, then it probably infuriates you when you do all you can — package, seal and store — and your leftovers still go bad. Here are 10 essential kitchen tips for the leftover lover that will keep them tasting fresh.

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

Blanch your veggies

If you blanch your raw vegetables before freezing them, you’ll keep the sugars in the vegetables from turning into starch, so the veggies will still be really flavorful when you defrost them.

Source: Simplifiedsaving.com

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

Freeze brown bananas

Not all is lost when your bananas turn brown! Freeze them, and puree them in a blender. They’ll taste just like banana sorbet. You can also defrost them later to put into banana bread. They freeze best out of their peels. Also be sure to only freeze fully ripe or over-ripe bananas.

Source: Simplycanning.com

Flickr.com
Flickr.com

Freeze produce on a tray

To keep your frozen produce from turning into a giant clump of colorful ice, spread the produce out on a tray and freeze it first, before bagging it. Once it’s frozen, you can consolidate it into a large ziplock bag or Tupperware.

Source: Howtogardenadvice.com

Flickr.com
Flickr.com

Revive tortilla chips

There’s still hope for nachos tonight, even with that stale bag of chips. Just lay down the chips on a paper towel in the microwave and they’ll become crispy and crunchy again.

Source: Kitchendaily.com

Sccl.org
Sccl.org

Put your leftover salad in a jar

If you make a giant salad but don’t manage to finish it all, put the leftovers in an airtight sealed jar. Most of the dressing will drip to the bottom of the jar so lettuce will wilt less, and it will last in the fridge for up to a week.

Source: Chicagonow.com

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

 

Freeze soup bouillon

Making a good bouillon is an art, and a bit time-consuming, so it’s a shame to throw leftover bouillon away. Don’t! Pour the remainder into an ice cube tray, and defrost it for cooking later.

Source: Thekitchn.com

Flickr.com
Flickr.com

 

Cut sandwich crusts later

If you’re making a large batch of sandwiches but might not finish them all, leave a few with the crusts still on. Once the crust is cut off, the edges of the bread dry up quickly. Leaving the crust on will keep the bread moist and fluffy in your leftover sandwiches.

Source: Ellenskitchen.com

Pixabay.com
Pixabay.com

Store meats on a plate

If you’re going to store meat in your refrigerator, first put the meat on a dish. This will catch any blood that might escape from the meat and contaminate your refrigerator.

Source: Illinois.edu

Pixabay.com
Pixabay.com

Store asparagus in ice water

You can store asparagus for up to two weeks in your fridge without it going brown. Just stand the stalks up in a jar of cold water with the tips pointed up and slightly out of the water to catch air.

Source: Alwaysorderdessert.com

Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia.org

Make your own dried cherries

Cherries can be pricey, but it’s hard to get through a big bag of fresh ones before some start to go bad. If you can’t eat them all fresh, put the leftover cherries on a tray in the oven at a very low temperature for about six hours. You’ll have a dried fruit snack by the end of the day.

Source: Kitchendaily.com