If we’ve ever met in person or on Instagram, you know that I REALLY hate food waste. I work really hard to plan our grocery hauls and weekly menus in a way that reuses as much produce and protein as possible.
That having been said, our fridge is an absolute disaster right now.
We threw a couple of pretty large get togethers back to back and we have quite the leftover menagerie. As I was rummaging through this week, I found some softening bell peppers and some frozen leftover black beans and turkey burgers and decided to make what has been dubbed Use It or Lose It Chili– because it was use the veggies or lose them to the compost pile and say bye bye money!
So if you want to turn your left overs into this
or this
You will need:
~1 lb of protein– ground beef, turkey, or chicken will work. Also shredded chicken or pork
2 12 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1-2 onions of any color
1-2 peppers of any color or persuasion
Chili powder, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, ground mustard, salt, and pepper. Use what you’ve got, guys. Seriously.
Beans– canned, pre made, your choice.
THIS IS PRETTY FREE FORM GUYS, JUST QUIT THROWING FOOD AWAY.
I won’t bore you with the details of how I made the chili, but I will tell you the process should look like so:
We decided to reward our frugality with loaded French fries that night and they were the stuff of legends.
I suggest lots of hot sauce and some fresh red onion.
The best part was that I had some leftover grilled sweet potato halves and we got to have chili loaded sweet potatoes for lunch the next day.
I froze the rest of it for a lazy night sometime in the near future.
Now it’s your turn! What are your go-to recipes for reducing your food waste?
Can’t wait to hear your You It or Lose It tips!
XO,
K