Waste not, Want not?

10 years ago

After re-organizing my pantry and doing an inventory of all of my canned goods (400 jars and climbing), I got to thinking about some inventive ways of using my bounty. It looks lovely sitting on the shelves, but ultimately, it's there to be eat, not just to look at!

I have been thinking about "out of the box"....or maybe in the case of canning, "out of the jar" uses for some of the basic canned goods. Many of the jams would make good bases for sauce, and of course, tomatoes are super versatile. The pork tamale filling is great in an enchilada casserole, on nachos, or just heated up with some onions and cilantro and mixed with rice and beans. And of course, there is the yummy soup that can be made from Annie's salsa! :-)

What are some of the inventive or unusual things that you have done with your canned products? Creative preparation, or perhaps re-purposing something that didn't turn out like you expected, or that the family didn't really care for?

I've also had some fun with minimal waste on the prep end too. Zested the lemons that I juiced for the strawberry lemonade, then dehydrated and powdered the zest. Toyed with the idea of making some pectin with the pith, but ran out of time. When I made my tomato sauce, I just washed the tomatoes really well, cored them, and ran them through my Vita-mix....no peeling needed. No compost piles allowed in this development (need to find out about a tumbler....), so I like to minimize the amount of stuff that is wasted. Any ideas on that end are welcome, too!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

uaskigyrl
10 years ago
I make a sausage and marinated sweet pepper dish that is a wonderful winter dish served over rice with my marinated sweet pepper.

I also will use pie filling in an upside down "pancake" casserole. Layer pie filling in the bottom of a casserole, whip up some pancake mix, pour it over the pie filling, bake, voila...upside down "pancake" casserole! I've also assembled it the night before and then thrown it in the oven the next morning. Actually, this has become the main way I've used up pie filling...seems to go faster than actual pie! lol

I use marmalades for bastes and jams in my morning oatmeal.

I mix my canned fruit in with plain yogurt and pickles in salad!
dgkritch
10 years ago
Whiz salsa in the FP for enchilada sauce.
Salsa, ground beef and rice makes a quick Spanish Rice.
Tomato sauce and beef broth for a soup base.
Jam used to fill bar or thumbprint cookies.
Jam or jelly in yogurt. Or as a glaze as mentioned.
Applesauce can replace part or all of the oil in muffin recipes.
Jam or jelly mixed with cream cheese for cake frosting.

Deanna
Related Professionals
Ballwin Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Milwaukee Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Mitchellville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bergenfield Landscape Contractors · Camp Verde Landscape Contractors · Damascus Landscape Contractors · Dixon Landscape Contractors · Euclid Landscape Contractors · Pine Hills Landscape Contractors · Siloam Springs Landscape Contractors · St. Louis Landscape Contractors · Vancouver Landscape Contractors · Murfreesboro Roofing & Gutters · Thousand Oaks Roofing & Gutters · Lakeland Driveway Installation & Maintenance
gmgdvm
Original Author
10 years ago
Ooooohhhh....Deanna, the jam/cream cheese mixture for cake frosting sounds delicious! I'll need to give that a try.

And the pancake casserole sounds good too...I make a killer apple crisp or cobbler with my pie filling, but the pancake mix idea sounds super easy.

Great ideas! :-) thanks
kai615
10 years ago
I am famous in my house for tossing a can of tomatoes in EVERYTHING. If you ask me everything could use tomatoes. If it has tomatoes, extra tomatoes is better.

Marmalades make great cookies and toppings to pound cakes.

I also use applesauce in place of oil in any baking recipe.

My creole sauce that came out of the jar with absolutely no kick became a marinade for chicken that my kids love.
gmgdvm
Original Author
10 years ago
Can never have too many tomatoes as far as I am concerned :-) I use them for lots of things, and usually run out just before tomato canning season starts again. Chili, soup, curry, pasta, etc, etc, etc....never need to worry about finding uses for tomatoes!
ruthieg__tx
10 years ago
some salsa in a jar of black beans over rice...salsa in any beans actually...I make carrot jelly and use it in my carrot cake or any kind of bread like banana bread for a special touch...just cut back on the sugar...I use lots of my can goods. salsa and jellies on fish when I cook it...and in combination with each other...obviously I use them in soups and stews etc etc