Does this sound like you? You grow a bountiful garden all summer. You enjoy the fruits and vegetables of your labor and you end up with extra to preserve. So you freeze, dry and can some of the excess. But after the growing season ends, you completely forget about your hard-earned resources. Don’t let your preserved harvest go to waste. Here are three simple steps to use up your preserved foods!
It happens to all of us. The vegetables get hidden in the freezer and eventually develop freezer burn. Maybe you didn’t need quite so many canned tomatoes. The fragrant herbs you dried got pushed to the back of the cupboard. And before you know it the new garden season rolls around and it’s time to begin processing the new produce. So out with the old.
I have struggled with this problem for a number of years. Food can just get lost in my freezer and when I finally get around to the annual defrost I end up discarding some of the produce that I worked so hard to prepare. A few years ago, I came up with a plan to help prevent this, because I hate to waste all of that nutritious food.
There are a lot of benefits for using up your produce before you have to throw it out. Here are a few reasons why you want to make the effort now to use up last year’s harvest.
Benefits of using up your stored produce…
- You are going to save money. If you have a freezer full of food then using it up will save you money at the grocery store. This is especially beneficial during the winter and early spring. During these colder seasons, the cost of fresh produce is a lot more expensive. So save yourself some money and incorporate the fruits and vegetables you have into your meals.
- It’s a good idea to clean out your freezer and pantry in preparation for the new growing season. You will need space to store this year’s produce. It’s easier to use up the freezer stash slowly rather than have to deal with it quickly just before you need the free space.
- The produce you grew is going to be more nutritious than the produce being shipped hundreds of miles to your store. You know how the food was grown, what was used in the growing process and the care you took to harvest and preserve it.
- It will take less time to prepare meals because the produce is already partially prepared…washed, cut up and ready to go.
With all these benefits, we don’t want to see any of our preserved foods go to waste. I want to help you to make a plan to use up all of last year’s wonderful harvest. Follow these steps to start using your produce today.
3 Steps to use up your stored produce…
Step 1: Assess your stores
Take some time to determine what you have available. Did you use my Summer Produce Tracker last year to keep track of your harvest? If so, you can pull it out to get an estimate of what you prepared. I find that if I make a list of all of the food I stored, and then mark the food off as I use it, I have a pretty good idea of what’s left in the freezer.
If you didn’t keep track of your frozen or canned produce, you will need to take a physical inventory of your freezer and pantry. Spend an hour digging through your stash to see what you have available. You will want to track your frozen produce, canned items, and your herbs. Make a list as you go of all the “frozen assets” and pantry supplies.
Step 2: Plan your meals
Once you have a list of all of the frozen and canned supplies stored, it’s time to decide how to use them. So take your list and determine what food you can make for each serving of produce available. Brainstorm ideas for foods that your family will enjoy. Find recipes that will use it up so that the food doesn’t go to waste. By the way, you can also include store-bought food items in your list as well.
Here are a few ideas to get you started using this harvest you preserved from your garden…
Vegetables…
Tomatoes :
- Add frozen, chopped tomatoes to spaghetti sauce, vegetable soup, minestrone soup or to chili.
- Puree tomatoes and add to your tomato-based sauces.
- Use the tomatoes in casseroles such as lasagna and enchiladas.
- Make homemade salsa with tortilla chips.
Green Beans:
- Add to soups or stews.
- Make green beans as a side dish.
- Defrost and marinate your beans in your favorite Italian salad dressing. Use in a pasta salad or on a veggie tray.
Summer Squash:
- Saute onions and garlic. Add chopped tomatoes and allow to cook to a sauce consistency. Add in shrimp, squash, and basil and cook until done. Serve over angel hair pasta.
- Add to soups such as minestrone.
Eggplant:
- Make a vegetable saute.
- Time for Eggplant Parmesan.
Winter Squash:
- Bake in 350-degree oven and top with butter.
- Puree and use to thicken soups.
- Make creamy Squash Soup.
Peas:
- Mix into Chicken Pot Pie.
- Use in a 7 Layer Salad.
- Add snap peas to Beef Stir-fry.
Miscellaneous Vegetables:
- Corn-on-the-Cob can be served as a side dish or cut off the cob and sauteed with red bell pepper.
- Bake a corn casserole.
- Onions, peppers, etc can be used in soups, stews, and stir-frys.
Fruits…
Apricots/Peaches:
- Make a cobbler or pie for dessert.
- Make small batches of jam.
- Stew them with a little cinnamon as a side for your breakfast.
Berries:
- Bake a mixed berry cobbler or pie.
- Use in fruit smoothies.
- Cook as a warm compote to serve over pound cake or ice cream.
- Make berry syrup for your waffles.
- Add to yogurt for a fruit parfait.
Apples:
- Make homemade applesauce or apple butter.
- Bake into Turnovers.
- Saute with cinnamon and nutmeg for a warm side dish.
Pumpkin Puree:
- Go ahead and make a pumpkin pie, who cares that it’s not Thanksgiving.
- Bake pumpkin bread or muffins.
- Make pumpkin butter for your biscuits.
- Make pumpkin pie bread pudding.
Rhubarb:
- Bake a Rhubarb Raspberry Pie.
- Make a batch of Rhubarb Sauce.
- Add chopped rhubarb to your favorite muffin recipe.
Step 3: Implement Your Plan
Now you have a record of what’s been hiding in your freezer and pantry. And you have a list of ways to use up your produce. So it’s time to put it into action. We want to add these foods to our actual meal plans to get them on the dinner table and used up.
As you create your meal plan this week try to include at least one of your menu ideas each day. So when you make Saturday morning waffles, add some frozen blueberries to the batter. For Sunday dinner, bake a peach pie. Monday might include a side of green beans and bacon. Tuesday you can add pureed tomatoes to your taco filling. Wednesday, serve corn on the cob with your grilled chicken, Thursday add dried herbs to your brown rice, and on Friday you can bake butternut squash alongside your pork roast.
Slowly but surely you will work your way through your preserved foods when you make an effort to use them up. By the time summer is here your freezer will be easier to defrost as you make ready for the new year’s harvest. You work hard for all the produce you have grown and preserved. Don’t lose it because you forget or it gets buried.
Keep your list handy and work consistently to use it up. You will feel better about your meals and you will save yourself some time and money.