The Bluebirds are Nesting...: The Vicky Challenge. 9th May, 2016. Scraps!

Sunday, 8 May 2016

The Vicky Challenge. 9th May, 2016. Scraps!

Welcome to the Vicky Challenge! I hope you had a good weekend. Thank you for all your encouragement last week. I had a restful weekend and feel ready to take the bull by the horns again!

I hope you had a lovely Mothers day too! The girls put on afternoon tea for me. It was beautiful!

My Vicky Challenge last week included:

I colour changed a pair of winter boots. They are in good condition and look great. I think this probably saved me around $200 as now I have scrapped plans to buy some.

My side of the road Ficus tree would have to be worth $100 at least. Its made my back courtyard look lovely!

I made all the work lunches $100.

The fish Andy caught were $27 a kilo in the shops and he caught 3 kilos = just over $80 worth!

I made a big batch of chicken soup. This fed everyone plus some frozen for later.

I cooked a giant pot of spaghetti sauce. It provided meals and frozen meals.

(I am not sure the savings to say for those... but these things mean we never get take away)

I made three dozen cornbread muffins. As muffins are at least $3 each here I will say $90 (after costs)

And I took apart my handheld vacuum as it wasn't working properly. Following the directions on how to take it apart and clean inside I did all this step by step and it worked! So I saved there over a repair man for sure.

It is well over $500 in savings. I will fine tune that a bit before writing my total into my book. I do that so I can add up each month and ultimately get a total for the year!

I hope you also found ways to save and get ahead. Last week so many of you had testimonies of how getting ahead has helped you to stay afloat in hard times, help others, pay off mortgages and is making an absolute world of difference. Almost all of it is achieved bit by bit. It is the small things that add up!

Each week we are trying to come up with new ideas! We want to see how much our efforts save and add to the family budget and position but also learn more and more so we can build on that.
This week our extra savings subject is scraps! Ok, that doesn't sound wonderful but people throw out so much food that they consider to be scraps or waste.

A common thing that we have left over is bread. I tend to freeze bread so these days I have less leftovers but I used to have many. I wrote a post ages ago called "Never waste a slice of bread!" One of the loveliest things you can make is Bread and Butter Pudding. I make this as a cake. It looks beautiful, slices nicely and is yum. It is served warm with cream. It also uses up jam as I always have plenty of that.

I will let you read bread ideas at the above link. And the recipe for this Pudding is there too.

I have a cooking show I love and learn from. I could see that in a commercial kitchen nothing is wasted. It would not be viable to waste food. Every peeling, stalk, bone, oddment goes into something. They are amazingly inventive on how to use everything.

Stock is probably the number one way to use every bit of left overs. I have only been regularly making stock for a year or so. Now I love to make it! And then it is the base of many soups which is another wonderful way to use up every last piece of vegetable, meat, herbs etc.

I make my stock in the crockpot. I have a colander that fits inside the crock pot and that I pack with whatever I have no hand. At the end of the day I just lift this out and it is self strained. However you do it doesn't matter. Long slow cooking extracts the goodness and flavor.
Aside from soups stock is great to cook your rice in! Stock or bone broth is full of nutrients. I think of it as a cheap way of making vitamins! If you think of it that way imagine not buying vitamins and instead using everything you can to add nutrition to your home cooking? Pouring water from veggies down the drain is pouring vitamins down the drain and then we go out and buy vitamins!

At home I do not peel potatoes, carrots etc I just scrub them. Many things have most vitamins and minerals in the skin. But if you do peel them they can go into your stock. The stems from the bunch of parsley go in too!

I keep and use all celery tops. They make the best stock ever! I freeze it too, fresh, if I have too much at one time. It just goes from the freezer into the next batch of stock or chicken soup.

Broccoli stems go into soup. You often get a lot of stem. I keep it all. If I am not making soup yet I just freeze the whole bit in my "future soup" bag in the freezer. This bag fills up faster than you think. Soon you have the makings of a big pot of soup.

You could also slice it in a stir fry, grate it in a zucchini pie etc.

The bones from your roast or ham can all go into wonderful stocks. To make baby food I usually get a lamb shank or other sliced through bone with some meat on it and add loads of veggies. This is so nourishing! I reported before that I costed this out and compared to store bought baby food. My crockpot full of baby food would be $70 in jars from the store and I can make it for about $5. I think homemade is better too.

Vicky saves her pumpkin seeds and grinds them for her chickens. I feed them to our parrot!

Of course there are also other ways to put scraps to use. If you have chickens then nothing really ever goes to waste, or a worm farm or a compost bin. They are all great as well.

Patsy at A Working Pantry has a Facebook group. Each week she has a challenge of coming up with 100 ways to use something up. This is a great source of ideas for all kinds of leftovers. And things! The other day it was 100 ways to use ice-cream containers!

Now over to you! I want to see how many ways we can come up with to use up scraps. We have some serious savers here just trying to get ahead. (wisely) And we have some families experiencing hard financial times. Food going into the bin is money going into the bin! Food prices seem to just be going up and up. So if you can help with this it might really help someone and will certainly help me.
I am amazed at how many new tips I have from you all that I am now using and wonder why I never thought of! Ways to use scraps and left overs can add "free" meals and so much goodness.

Have a great week! xxx

33 comments:

patsy8 May 2016 at 18:16
Annabel, we ate leftovers for 3 meals this week and then I took the leftover hamburger and hot dog buns that were leftover from the leftovers and turned them into bread crumbs. We can save so much by NOT wasting our leftovers.
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Jane8 May 2016 at 19:16
Annabel I like to use left over cooked veges in a frittata. This is basically a crustless quiche. My children used to love to take this in their lunch boxes to have cold. We used to throw in any cheese that was coming to the end of its used by date. This included cream cheese, so it was an eggy, vegie, cheesy delicious slice.
I have a worm farm and worm towers in my garden. We don't have much in the way of vege waste but what we do have goes to the worms. If I have a lettuce going to seed, and I am not saving the seed, it goes over the fence for the neighbours chooks and eggs come back this way. Works well for both of us. We make soups and stocks and freeze our bread as you have mentioned. When there is a glut of fruit or veg it is made up into sauces, jams and chutneys or it is given to friends and family. We believe in sharing the abundance. I will take extra seedlings to school for the kids school garden and I also take extra produce and leave it for the staff to take home.
I started to write about using fabric scraps but decided that your post was about food scraps.
Your Mother's Day afternoon tea looks lovely. Your girls showed you how much they appreciate you with their efforts. I spent Saturday with my Mum and daughter. We helped Mum purchase a tablet and then gave her some lessons on using it. Bluey took me out for lunch on Sunday. Her bought me a Bunnings gift card, he knows me so well, and enough chocolate to last several weeks. I am feeling quite spoilt myself.
Have a lovely week.
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Anonymous8 May 2016 at 20:19
I spend a lot of time and effort using up little bits of this and that from my pantry and cupboards. I have found it is worth my time. It helps so much with the grocery budget. I am going to use my "use-it-up" skills a lot this summer, as money is going to be the tightest it has been since we we in our early years of marriage.

The thing I have going for me now, are the years of experience and the things I've learned along the way. I know I can make it through this tough time, and have confidence that it can be pleasant.
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Anonymous8 May 2016 at 21:50
Dear Annabel, I loved your post today and the subject reminded me of your fridge pizza, I made fridge pizza the other night with lots of bits and pieces or scraps if you like.i also think scraps can be things other than food. I use scraps of paper and ribbon in my crafting sometimes, some people use scraps of fabric or wood or wool etc. my vicky challenge this week included: 3 meals from my parents $21, lemons from my parents garden $3 , I saved on taxis by going out with mum and Dad $30 approximately, I had my front yard tidied up of leaves for free , a saving of approx $50 , I also had my front gate fixed by the same young man ( from the housing department) a saving of approximately $20, I went to high tea for Mother's Day with mum, my sister and nieces and I won second prize in the raffle , about $100 worth of goodies , so $100 savings . A friend sent me 10 cards she made for me to use $50 , some die cut shapes $5 and some stickers $8 and two bars of her handmade soap $10 . I had subsidised cleaning $36 savings for two hours cleaning compared to a cleaning company. A neighbour helped me change my SIM cards over in my iPad when I was having trouble opening the compartment , saving me about $30 if I had to get a it expert to do it. I made savoury muffins and rolls and saved $3 per muffin x 15 = $45. I also shopped at Aldi today but haven't worked out my savings yet so
I might add that next week asI usually shop on Wednesdays.i think that is it this week Annabel so a saving of approximately $408 . Have a great week Annabel Love BarbW.
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Anonymous8 May 2016 at 22:53
Hi Annabel!
What a lovely tea! I bet that was really nice. I can honestly say that there is very little waste here. Little bits of meats and veggies and small chunks of cheese we make omelets with. When I make bone broth the veggies and meat gets made into dog food or every now and then cat food. The bones get rinsed and go to the compost. Egg shells get crushed and put in chicken food or compost. During garden season onion and garlic pieces get put into a bucket of water to steep for a natural bug spray. There is nothing wrong with getting your money's worth of something and the little things do add up! Each and every one in the long run.
So for my savings this last week I used gift cards that I earned and bought things that was needed like new gotchies for my men. Cat supplies like litter and canned food using coupons of course. I got 4 boxes of matches to add to that stockpile and packs of batteries. 3 dozen eggs from my chickens $6. Rick is fixing mowers and things again since it's that time of year again. I made $50 cleaning, but oh boy! Why things can never just go smoothly for me I'll never know! Between almost spitting coffee out of my nose and trying to not make faces I don't know how I got through it! I really get myself into things let me tell you! I have been doing busy work and going through make up and sock drawers and dvd's and things like that. And one thing though. I still have just tons of dinosaurs! Rick wanted me to get rid of them all since we have boxes and boxes of them. They were Todd's. I told him nope! I made a vow that after having those darn things all over when he was little and buying so many of them I have kept every single one and when Todd has kids every single one is going to his house with his kids and he gets to see what I went through! Mama's revenge! LOL! I hope everyone has a wonderful week of savings!
XOXO
Vicky
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Mrs. Kelley Dibble9 May 2016 at 02:59
H, Annabel:

SCRAPS
-- I turn fabric scraps into small yo-yos. I stitch them to paperclips and paperclip these tiny gifts to a recipe card, a book gift, drop several inside a greeting card, attach them to gift ribbon. Yo-yos make great quilts and are adorable as clothing or hairbow embellishments. And just think: what would've been thrown away becomes a beautiful quilt!
-- Last week I used leftover chicken breasts and a grilled steak to make Crock Pot Fajitas. I rubbed my Mexican food seasoning (chili powder, cumin and oregano leaves) into the meat pieces. Then I dropped those into the Crock Pot, added liquid and sliced onion, bell peppers. It cooked until tender. I shredded the meats and separated them on a platter with the caramelized vegies, serving this with warm tortillas, toppings like salsa, sliced black olives, shredded cheddar and sour scream, homemade guacamole and taco chips. Wow! My hubby loved them and I will definitely make these again.
-- Throw your crochet or knitting yarn scraps outside for the bird's nests.
-- Cut up your husband's old, worn undershirts into rags.
-- I rip the selvages from fabrics. Selvages make delightful shabby chic gift ribbon.
-- Mother uses the crumbs in chips to garnish casseroles, browning them on top in the last several minutes of baking.
-- My mother-in-law makes a great bread pudding with dinner roll scraps.
-- Tonight's leftover French bread makes tomorrow's delicious French Toast Casserole served with butter and pure maple syrup.
-- Layer into jars leftover cake pieces, fruit or jam, pudding and whipped cream. Refrigerate. Sweet little desserts for two.
-- I have begun saving all fat rendered from cooked meats and poultry. I fried hamburger the other day and used the hamburger grease two days later to flavor cooked green beans plus a dash of fresh ground pepper. I normally use bacon grease but didn't have any. Old cookbooks taught to save chicken fat. Melted, drizzle it over vegies or rice as it cooks, etc. You really could use it in savory cooking like oil or butter.
-- Fill celery stalk scraps with peanut butter. Great snack! Just did that today.

*hugs*
Kelley~
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Anonymous9 May 2016 at 03:40
Hi Annabel!

SCRAPS! Hmmmm!!

In Vicky style, rinsings from pots and dishes (water only added) go into the dog's dish. Some scrapings are cleaned up with bread for the dog, also. He loves it!!

I take notice of older friends who put onion ends (I've used rotten whole onions) in the ground, knowing that they'll grow edible onion shoots that are claimed to be better than 'eschallots! I like them (& no sprays!) Some grow pineapples from the tops. I recently tasted one that Dad grew like this. It was beautiful! My pumpkin seeds go out in the scrap layer to keep dust down on the soil. Some take off when rain arrives, and we've had beautiful, sweet Kent or Jap pumpkins this way. I've noticed that, when the bower birds are out of blue things to take from our place, onion skins start making their flights in bower bird beaks!! Cuttings of mint (once I've used the leaves) are planted, as are shooting sweet potato sections, since their leaves and growing tips are useful as a steamed vegetable, and they could grow more sweet potatoes, too! When we had someone's homegrown watermelon recently, I kept some seed, as Jane would likely do.

Then there are foods already growing around. They should not be overlooked. A good growth of native warrigal greens can steam so beautifully, in the water left on them from washing, in a hot toasted sandwich! It's like spinach.

Olive oil from making chips can be recycled in an olive oil lamp! It's much cheaper than candles, burns cleanly, and, with a floating wick, easily burns all night!

Of course, I'm going to learn which scraps are worthwhile for dyeing wool, someday soon!

I am thinking, also, that old, old jam and old yeast can be used in fruit fly traps after winter.

I wonder if Patsi's list of uses for ice cream containers includes a source of blue pieces for bower bird nests?!! They'd love them!!

If there is a crop of passionfruit with healthy skins in the seasons ahead, I'd like to try the old recipe for passionfruit skin jam - using the soft pulp that comes away from the shells during cooking. Apparently, watermelon rinds are a resource, also.

Phew! This is fun, Annabel!

How are we saving money this week? We've written ourselves a strict shopping list, and two days in advance! We're happy with that!

Enjoy your efforts,
Rachel Holt

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Anonymous9 May 2016 at 04:38
Hi Annabel,
Mothers day was lovely, smaller in number this year just my Mum, 2 brothers, Mr E, Mandy(daughter) and Grandson, but this also made catering easier than usual :)

The girls have learnt well from you Annabel the afternoon tea looked lovely.

I set the our table in a very "Annabelesque" way white cloth, white hand embroidered supper cloth on the angle ( it had been made by Mum's mum for her glorybox a couple of my other grandmothers crystal water glasses (luckily I don't fret if everything isn't matchy matchy haha) white rose buds on the top of the mud cake i'd messed up the icing when trying to put it on the cake stand so that improvisation worked beautifully,(mud cake is the only dessert DGS will eat :)
we has roast chicken(had two in the freezer) with stuffing under the skin, used up last old bread and fresh herbs from garden and a couple of rashers of bacon, scalloped potatoes honeyed carrots peas and beans gravy made from the pan drippings, pavlova eggs from the chooks the last of our strawberries, 1/2 pack raspberries and 2 nearly soft kiwifruit diced recipe was ex MIL's so all the important female influences in our lives were with us at the table so to speak.
but what ended up was the leftovers, oh my this week we will be having Chicken Soup made already, Thai Green chicken curry L/O Peas and beans, chicken and all the rest in the pantry, and probably a chicken and veg pasta bake, I had a brie and quince paste and a tasty cheese for a platter but we didn't even touch it the other food was so yummy that I have wrapped it up to have later in the week.
also with mum's present she didn't want any fuss - so how do you get round that - I made a large heart shaped rocky road with dark choc and wrapped it in a roasting bag with large hot pink ribbon, dove soap was on special and a cherry ripe $1.00 individually wrapped in pink tissue and also hot pink ribbon and piece de resistance 9 eggs from our chooks -drew happy smiley faces on them put them in a n open box with flowery serviettes and again the roasting bag and hotpink ribbons they looked amazing she was thrilled. so savings this meal for us all even if we said $25.00 per head I think I only spent $30.00 the balance we already had and food for the rest of the week is catered for.
Sorry I've rambled on this much the next posts will be shorter.
Cheers, Bevo xx
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Lana9 May 2016 at 06:31
Happy Mother's Day! Your tea with the girls looks wonderful!
Hubby knows me well and bought me a Sweetheart tomato plant with small heart shaped tomatoes. Also, lunch with our daughter and her family was a treat.

I got some lists together and saved a ton at the grocery stores with sales and coupons. Lately I have just been shopping at Aldi but we were getting low on some other store items so sales and coupons allowed me to restock. I spent $17.58 and saved $120!

My favorite use up the scraps meal is lunch for me when we have a spoonful of leftover mashed potatoes and some stale bread. Put a little oil in a skillet. Add the potatoes and tear up a slice or two of stale bread. Break two or three eggs over top and stir and fry together. Salt and pepper to taste. This sounds strange but it is delicious and is one of my favorite lunches.
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Teresa9 May 2016 at 11:01
What a lovely tea your daughters prepared for you, Annabel! And good work on savings, too, everyone. Such good ideas.

In terms of savings, in the past few days I have saved $17 on health and beauty needs using discounts and store points, $20 on a thrift store rewards card (which allowed me to purchase a silk potted lemon tree, Christmas candle, set of cards, decorative and large vase, and a new mailbox for about $3 and change!). I have also made gluten free cornbread, plus a huge batch of spicy lentils that have so far given us three meals with three more awaiting in the freezer. And I am also saving ever so small amounts of interest by paying off my student loans early. But those little bits will add up to a huge amount someday soon!

In terms of scraps, I am tickled to be able to share what my daughter and I did this spring (in USA): two forgotten potatoes were sprouting in the cupboard, and rather than throw them out, we dug two small holes and planted them next to our back patio. What do you know, we now have huge potato plants! As soon as they flower, we will have (free) organic and home-grown potatoes, from scraps. What fun!

Blessings everyone! Teresa

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Anonymous9 May 2016 at 16:20
There are so many great ideas here. What a helpful, interesting post. I'm getting better at using all left overs. It saves so much money when we can use something small for a whole other meal. Left over roasted veges can become breakfast/brunch here. Pan fried in butter, until crispy and served with an egg, what we call Bubble and Squeak. I also like saving bread to turn into crispy cases (buttered and then put into muffin trays and baked in the oven), in which I can put a spoonful of curry or casserole in, instead of pastry. Left over milk and rice can become creamy rice puddings. I enjoy trying more and more, because often these sorts of meals become my favourites. Thanks Annabel. Love, Bridge
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Mimi10 May 2016 at 15:31
Dear Annabel, as always a post full of love and abundance. A true joy! When I hear the word 'scraps' I automatically think of fabric and crafting scraps. I can't tell you how many times I've fashioned a small softie toy, a heart pillow to hang on a doorknob, a keytag, a pencil case, gift ties, or new jewellery out of so called 'scraps'. It drives my poor husband crazy that I won't throw these things away, but in each pile of potential throw-aways, lies the equal potential for treasure, I think :) Your Mothers Day sounds lovely and clearly the girls have learned well from your gentle touch. Love, Mimi xxx
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Lorax11 May 2016 at 05:11
Just a small thing....I poach chicken breasts just in water. Sometimes I use the resulting liquid in soup but mostly I make Chickeny Ice Blocks for my dog because I poach more pots of chicken than I can use the water from for we humans. In summer they are a delight after the dog has been for a walk, when she is all hot and bothered. They cost nothing, just a by product of poaching chicken for our salads, and are a great treat for the Hairy Hound. I do the same with any bones, often there will be a small amount of meat that boils off the bones but the water makes great ice blocks for the dog.
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Anonymous11 May 2016 at 06:47
Dear Annabel, This is a timely post, as I am trying to stretch things as best as I can more than ever. Before anything goes into the trash, I ask myself if there is any other use for it. I have a compost pile so most fruit and vegetable scraps go there, but I would like to try and make stock, as that would stretch things further and be nutritious.
Things like used coffee grounds are excellent in the garden. I just throw them into my compost pile, paper filter and all. The same with tea bags. I think I have seen used grounds also used in soapmaking or for exfoliating.
Egg shells also end up in the compost pile, but a friend of mine uses the shells as seed starters. She carefully breaks her eggs in half, lets the shells dry out, fills them with potting soil, and plants her seeds. I think this is a great idea.
Rachel mentioned planting onion scraps, and I have done the same with lettuce (even from the grocery store) successfully. Just plant the base, and the lettuce will keep producing leaves!
I save my bacon grease for cooking, frying, and baking. When I cook beans, I like to add a ham bone.
This week, I have started savings small scraps of food that I can't use in leftovers (like gristle or fat from meat, or leftover scrambled eggs). At the end of the week, I should have a small bowl of this and I will add it to the dog's food. That is one less scoop of food I will have to give her.
For my savings, I did the usual laundry and cleaning at the ranch. We took a trip to the city and I purchased groceries and craft supplies on sale, and we avoided eating out by timing our trip after a big lunch at home. I received two more bottles of free honey, paid a bill in person, and returned a shirt that was the wrong size for my husband. My FIL invited us over for a meal one evening, which was nice.
Also, I started signing up for free samples a few weeks ago and they have started arriving! It is exciting to find these in the mail. I took Vicky's advice and order only from manufacturers to avoid junk mail. So far so good. I also have a separate email account that I use to sign up for things like this so that my personal inbox is not flooded with offers. This also helps avoid the temptation to buy things since I hardly ever check the mail for that address.
I know I am a little late to post, but I hope everyone is having a good week! Mine has been a little crazy, but we are doing fine and have a lot to be thankful for. With love, Kelsey
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Leslie McKinley12 May 2016 at 13:44
Glad you had a wonderful Mother's Day. Your girls are so thoughtful. It is funny that your topic is on scraps. I was challenged to use up scrap yarn on a baby blanket. Just crocheting stripes of blues, grays, pink and brown. It is looking lovely! My main savings was baking spiced nuts and snack mixes for thank you gifts. Making our mothers' handmade paper weights. Baking all our bread. Making our own lip balm. I repainted a curb-side dresser that my husband found. My husband did well with allot of curb-side finds: metal shelves, plywood and 2x4's for our addition and 2 nice suitcases (one that my daughter will use on her missions trip next month). So we enjoyed a total savings of $209.50 this week. This includes a cheap trip to the city so my 12 yr. old son could spend birthday money. Besides his errand, we enjoyed a picnic at the park and an afternoon at the library. This is a large library that offers many events and play areas.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Blessings,
Leslie
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The Bluebirds are Nesting...

The little birds...

Sunday, 8 May 2016

The Vicky Challenge. 9th May, 2016. Scraps!

33 comments:

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