What do you do to stretch your foods? I add white rice to rice mixtures, (Like white rice added to boxed rice pilaf). I add more crackers to the meat loaf. I add extra macarroni noodles to my homemade mac and tuna... What do you do?
If I make casseroles with meat. I use about 1/2 the meat suggested. My grandmother used to crumble bread into her hamburgers. She learned to do that during the lean times to make the ground beef go further. Her burgers were so good, too!
I do things like...cut the meat up really small (for stir frys/stews etc). It makes it look there is more. For things such as pasta + sauce, I bulk it up with a few veg (an extra zucchini, left over mushrooms...whatever needs to be used up) Sometimes I add more of the cheaper staples such as potatoes, couscous , rice or pasta. We have virtually no food wastage here (any left over bread becomes either garlic bread for the next night, croutons or last night the remaining bread became bread and butter pudding)
I add rice and noodles. When making casseroles I put a layer of mashed potatoes on top or make a breading and put it on top. My guys are growing dudes that require a lot of food so I have to come up with economical ways of making "filler"! That's the cheap way of getting one's belly full. We do have oldest ds on a protein supplement that is added to his morning milk. It adds 250 calories to his milk, 58 grams of protein and oodles of other nutrients. He has lost 14 pounds, is 6 ft tall and too skinny.
I add a lot of extra side dishes when say the roast isn't very big. The kids are still on the "little side" so when there isn't a lot of the chicken or pork chops if I cut it up for them it goes further. I can get 4 servings for the kids from 3 pieces. when there is left over roast beef I always make vegetable beef soup (even if I freeze the cut up beef for a different week)--that also makes a quick meal. with 3-4 chicken breast halves I can make chicken & dumplings. (I make rolled dumplings)
Snort! Hahaha You rock! All of these ideas are awesome! Keep them coming! We did a pot roast tonight. Meat Potatoes Carrots Mixed veggies (Bag of corn, peas, etc) And salt free seasonings. We cook it all in a baking pan larger than a cake pan, covered in spices and alluminum foil at about 300 for about 2 hours. Served on a plate with the meat sliced, the potatoes and carrots and veggies on the side and a slice of buttered bread. Tomorrow, there will be rice cooked. I use any left over juice to flavor the white rice. The meat will be diced and the remaining veggies will be added with the meat to the rice to make a "Dirty Rice" type of meal. Any remaining potatoes get mashed and stored into a resealable container for a quick grab out of the fridge. (I may eat the potatoes for a snack, or something. There is never a lot of potatoes left after the roast, but I do not want to toss them out...) Anyway, that was just for today and tomorrow. Love the ideas!
I add veggies either within a casserole-type or similar mixture meal, or as sides to something else like pork chops or steak. We eat a lot of beans. :lol: One of my favorites is to make a meatloaf (mine has corn and tomatoes in it, as well as plenty of crackers - a 13x9 pan with only 1lb meat), and then to make spaghetti from the leftovers.
I roast a whole chicken and we eat from that one night, (with a starch and a veggie) the next day I pick the bones and boil the bones with the drippings and the insides to make good broth. I then add a large bag of German Spaetzle Noodles and lots of carrots and celery, the chicken and good spices and make a rockin' chicken soup that is dinner and at least one lunch. Three meals from one chicken. Not bad!
We try to have a few no meat nights once a week. I have been buying a lot of turkey lately since it has become more readily available at the supermarket, ground turkey, sausage turkey, link turkey. Its cheaper and a lot better for you. I also compare shop with a price book on different stores to see where its cheaper to buy it especially items I usually buy every other week. I do a lot of coupon clipping We have no waste here either. Left overs are eaten if not given to dogs, chickens or compost. I am trying my hand at more gardening this year. Sam
My cousin puts bread crumbs in his hambugers to add a little extra flavor. We have done that. When we have a chicken & noodle recipe I add frozen veggies to the mix to get more from the meal. My lil one asked for 3 helpings last nite & ate almost all of it!!! We used left over turkey for pot pie, ham for potato soup, my hubby likes to put the leftover turkey cheese dogs in his eggs. Ranchermom, we do a lot of ground turkey, turkey & turkey dogs!!! I'll have to dig up my kraft recipe that is with rotini & red sauce (a spaghetti in one pan sort deal) Very good!!!
one of our favorites with leftover chicken...is I cut it up *each quarter breast* in half again, then slice; cook up some basmati rice; throw in some lefftover carrots...toss with cheddar cheese. my family devours this! another family favorite is leftover fajita meat thrown in rice; or I take the fajita meat and it becomes chili leftover mashed potatoes become baked mashed potatoes; with sour cream and cheese added in. or I use the potatoes as a topper for shepherd pie
I am always looking for ways to stretch the meals out farther.... I joke with dh that there will always be a pot of beans or rice on the stove if they're still hungry. My cousin has 3 teens at her house, and there is always a rice cooker on....they buy rice in the 50# bags. I need to do that. We eat a lot of rice here, but even more potatoes.
