10 Kitchen Tips For The Leftover Lover
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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