No! Thank goodness, because I just learned how to cook it correctly this week. My mother-in-law came down and taught me and I feel like I have learned something very important. Here in Alabama okra is abundant and grows very well. And it bears for a long long time.
So I have been cutting and freezing okra this week. I cut it and then freeze it on a cookie sheet and then package it.
I wanted to take this summer and really begin to learn about food prep and food storage-especially my freezer and ways to make it work for our family. I am still learning by reading other's blogs, but also just by thinking through what I have and how to make the most of it.
For example-my goal is that no food goes to waste around here. I am tired of cleaning out the fridge and having to throw food away. That is just wasting Mark's hard-earned money and my work. I have so far to go in this, but this week I really noticed a difference in my thinking.
I had one piece of small steak that was left over from Labor Day. I had okra, leftover green beans, and just enough peas to not be able to do a whole side dish with. So, I cut the steak into very very small pieces and divided it into three gallon-size freezer bags. I then divided the peas, green beans, and okra into the bags to make veggie soup mix. I wrote on the bag to add tomatoes, corn, and pasta and there you have three meals for my family made out of leftovers.
Another example, I had some leftover rice. Not really enough to use for another meal, but too much to add to the chicken scrap bucket. So, today I am making a chicken-rice soup in the crockpot with two left-over chicken breasts and carrots and celery. I have used carrots and celery this summer more than I ever have because I found you can get them at ALDI for 69 cents a bunch.
At ALDI yesterday they had chicken fried rice packets for 99 cents a piece. I bought three and am going to add some leftover pork I had instead of the chicken. I could not buy the rice, the carrots, and the english peas for 99 cents so I just bought the packets.
So, I want to encourage you to just think. I have wasted so much food before. It makes me cringe. If anyone else was wasting that much money at work they would get fired. I don't think there is any danger of getting fired around here, but I want to do better.
What creative things do you do in the kitchen to not waste food or all your hard work?
Today I am linking up at Laura's.
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