Garbage Day-use it up before it goes bad! Broccoli!

Today I had some broccoli that was about to go rubbery. I always have tons of free cheese in my freezer, plus I usually buy too many eggs. So………..broccoli & cheddar fritatta!

 

I just googled for recipes until I found one that I liked, was easy, and had ingredients that I have on hand. I skipped the red onion.

Ingredients

  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 small red onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
  • 2 cups chopped cooked broccoli
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar (2 ounces)

Separate 4 of the eggs, putting the whites into a medium sized bowl and discarding the yolks. Add the 4 whole eggs and 2 tablespoons of water to the whites and whisk well.

In a medium ovenproof nonstick skillet heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and a few turns of pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables in the skillet covering them evenly. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let cook until the egg mixture has set around the edges but is somewhat liquid in the middle, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Place the skillet under the broiler about 2 inches from the heat until the surface is set and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or the egg mixture will become tough.

Cut the frittata into 8 wedges and serve.

This recipe was originally published in September of 2010, when I was still on Blogspot. Got it out, dusted it off……good as new!

Garbage Day: Re-Purposing Newspaper

I get the paper for the coupons. I rarely actually sit down and READ the newspaper. What a novel idea that would be! Sometimes I feel guilty about all that paper that goes to waste so I try to find ways to re-use it.

Here are somethings I do with my newspaper –

Use it in place of paper towels to clean mirrors and glass – works awesome!

Wrap a gift in it – I use cartoons for kids’ gifts and baby shower gifts. Use the section that interests the person who gets the gift – sports for the sports fanatic, etc.

Wrap fragile things in it. My mom always did this when we moved (and now I do)

Shred it and dye it for a unique Easter grass.

I have seen people shred it and use it in place of cedar chips for small pets – not sure if it is safe or not. Research before you try it.

Line planter pots with it. I remember my mom use to put several layers in the bottom of a pot  when adding stones for drainage before the dirt was added.

Place it in a photo frame with a slightly smaller photo over it for a cool matted look. Adds a statement without costing more money.

You can also ball it up and put in a jar with other small objects for a unique accent piece.

Make a newspaper garden – who knew?

What great tips do you have for using your newspaper….besides reading it?

Garbage Day repurposing food-Ham!

Today is garbage day, that day when I clean out the fridge and hopefully don’t waste too much food. Many consumer agencies report that Americans waste anywhere from 10%-40% of what we purchase! That’s unreal! If we use it instead, just think, instant savings on your grocery bill.

Although none of us probably has any ham to toss just yet, thought I’d find some ideas now so that we’re not throwing it away after Easter. Plus, if you take a look at some of these recipes now, you can pick up the needed items at the supermarket, in anticipation of your leftover ham.

Potatoes au Gratin or Scalloped Potatoes with Ham (that one is from the Food Network and we’ve made it, it’s good!)

Ham and Cheese Bake

Ham & White Bean Soup

Cubano Sandwiches

Rachael Ray’s Ham & Cheese Mac

Click to see recipe. This is one of my family's favorite dishes, a staple in our recipe repetoire.

Check out the Simply Potatoes in the refrigerated section of your supermarket. I’ve made these,and they were yummy! They’d be a nice side dish to ham, if you want to just eat the ham as a main course meat again. And click on the photo for one more recipe.

If you don’t want to be bothered with a recipe–maybe a quiche or a frittatta is what you need. My simple recipe for that is 6 eggs, half a cup of milk, and I use my electric beaters to beat for about 30 seconds. From there, you can add anything into it. A quiche has a crust, a frittatta does not. Good time to use up pie crusts if you have any. But I toss in cheese, meat, veggies, whatever I have as leftovers and will go together. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

Omelettes, hot ham & cheese sandwiches, cold ham sandwiches, dice it up with some cheddar and top a baked potato. There are lots of things to do with ham, don’t let it go to waste. The only thing that I don’t think works is freezing cooked ham. It gets a weird texture.

Good Luck. And now I’m hungry!

Dinner on a Budget: Stirfry

You know it is a busy week ahead of you and whether you are a career woman/wife/mom or a stay at home mom, your days go a little crazy sometimes. Make life easy on yourself with these easy tips.

Buy your meat on sale and re-package it in ziplock bags with your favorite marinades and stick them in the freezer. Pull it and put it in the refrigerator 1-2 nights before you need it and dinner is that much easier. Yesterday morning I pulled a package of chicken breast (approximately 1#) that I had cut into stir fry pieces and froze in 1/2 bottle of Wegman’s Teriyaki marinade.

Keep rice, rice noodles and/or ramen noodles on hand. Another thing I like to do is stock Easy Rice. 

Steam a bag of vegetables from the produce department. My favorite is Eat Smart’s Stir fry veggies and at $1 this week I had a very affordable meal.

I sautéed half an onion in a little bit of oil and added the meat and marinade. Once the chicken was almost cooked through I added the steamed (in the microwave) veggies and my rice noodles, which I had cooked in boiling water for about 10 minutes.

Dinner was ready in 30 minutes and we had a well-balanced meal with veggies, protein and the debatable starch. 

Plus clean up isn’t too bad since one pan is non stick, the veggies came in a steamer bag, and the rice noodle pan is super easy to clean up.

How much did dinner for 5 cost?

Chicken – sale 1.49#
Wegman’s marinade – FREE with a coupon
Veggies – $1
Rice noodles – $0.45

One child is still hungry – have an apple or some baby carrots.

There are so many variations to this meal. You can use beef, pork, vegetarian. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand. In the past we have had stir fry made with frozen corn and peas.  Authentic stir fry? No, but it is thrifty and tastes good.  The best part is it doesn’t need a lot of meat – you just cut up a pound or less and it works. You could also go a little pricier and throw a handful of shrimp in. I just make sure whichever ingredient is my main ingredient – the vegetable, meat or starch – is the amount my family usually eats in a meal.