we all have little tricks in the kitchen to stretch out our food budget.
today I'm looking to expand on items we might use . that others might not think about.

like maybe using the left over pickle brine left in jars, to soak cucumber slices in.

olive juice mixed with soy and olive oil for salad or pasta dressing,

does any one wish to share item's you re-purpose, that most people generally toss out. because it's just habit?

I keep the Jalp juice to add sliced pickles & onions to it in order to have spicy Jalp pickles..

Pickle juice- put sliced onions & cucumbers in the left over juice~~ if you like add some cherry tomatoes cut in half....


This is not repurposing but helpfully on making a few items last longer in the fridge....

Celery Stalks, Bell pepper & Cilantro- wrap in foil they will last for a couple weeks this way.. I even add a couple paper towels for the moister and change about once in between..

Lettuce - use a plastic bowel with a lid you can seal, put paper towels on the bottom and then on top of the lettuce. It will last at least 2 weeks this way.. When you take the lettuce out of the plastic wrap hit it down on the counter where the core is then grab the core and remove it.. This helps the lettuce to stay fresh longer..

Bread instead of buying loaf bread if your single try buying hamburger buns instead. Less waste unless you eat a lot of bread..

Items like Cheese and summer sausage even tho I buy the smaller summer sausage I never eat it all before it goes bad so I cut it in sections and vacuum seal & freeze the rest so I can take out a section at a time to use with no waste.

It never fails...If I buy a ham I have to trim it to make it fit in the cooker.
I always buy the bone in ham (can't stand spiral hams) so I can freeze the bone for soups and stews.

I've found if I cut the ham trimmings thin, I can use it for bacon instead of buying that expensive processed stuff.
I love ham & eggs in the AM and those midnight ham & cheese sammiches are ta die for.

I also buy sirlion & rib roasts in doubles. One for a roast and the other to cut up for kabobs, stew meat or fajitas. Precut kabob & stew meat is insanely expensive. All ya need is a sharp knife and semi-frozen meat. Cuts like a charm.

You can save bundles when you choose to cut things yerself instead of buying the precut lazy-way stuff.

Even living single its sometimes best to buy in bulk (if you have freezer & storage room).

Doing it yerself is not always best. Sometimes you want the speed and convience prepped food gives ya. I can't bake breads worth a damn but I buy that frozen bread dough in a three pack and I have fresh bread with that homemade smell and taste whenever I want it. Just gotta follow some simple instructions.

Here's a tip I tell people about their cars.

Always turn off all the electrical switches and let the car run for a min before you shut it off for the day. Especially in cold weather.

Starting a cold engine requires more electical amperage than normally starting a warm engine.
CCA is cold cranking amps and your battery is rated for the NORMAL cca your car needs when its new.

As batteries wear and cars wear it gets harder foir the battery when you start it. Turning off all the switches and letting it run for a lil bit puts your battery ant a full charge and when you start it the power isn't going to running all those things you left on. It goes to start the car.

Most cars have an electric fuel pump now. Most are some type of fuel injection.
When you turn your key the fuel pump has to charge the fuel lines. If you listen carefully you can hear it and hear it shut off.
Waiting for the fuel pump to finish cycling allows your car to start much easier because the engine has enough fuel for that initial rich mixture needed for a cold engine (used to be ya had ta pull the choke cable).

4whl disc brakes (screw-pin adjsted) adjust by applying the parking brake.
Rear drum brakes (cable adjusted) adjust by backing and stopping sharply.
You will get more life from your brakes if they are kept in adjustment.
As a rule of thumb, if your brake pedal is still firm but low (longer push to apply) the brakes probably need adjusted.

If you have the same size windshield wipers you can save money by replacing the driver side and moving the old driver side one to the passenger side.

LOL tom, while helpful.. I think it might be a little ff topic info for a recipe and cooking thread ;-)
I recently had a large jar of quartered artichoke hearts. that I bought. I used the seasoned oil marinade left over by refilling the jar with straw mushrooms. they came out really good after a couple days in the fridge soaking. I then steam fried them using the same oil marinade along with a steak. ad then poured some still left in the jar on my salad.
this is something a lot of people would have just drained off, when they used the artichokes.

Bread that got a little older is good for French Toast.

you can also crumble it and season it with bullion, and use it as stuffing. ;-)
instead of buying the pre boxed stuffing mixes.

left over taco packs are great for cooking with. use them for stuff like seasoning ground beef for taco nights , home made nachos, or even an extra kick to spaghetti/pasta dishes.

I love making croutons out of stale bread! Cut into cubes, toss with butter or oil and your seasonings of choice, bake until hard and lightly browned! Another favorite is to buy fresh herbs from the store and then put them in water by a window. I chop and freeze maturing growth and let the rest grow to add fresh to whatever I need it for or continue to let grow and chop! It works maybe a little too well with green onions but I’ve done it with cilantro and parsley and have been pleased with the results.

I invested in a meat grinder. Red meats (beef) are not good for you but white meats (chicken breasts) are. The boneless skinless breasts are $2.28/lb where I live. Ground chicken is over $3.00/lb. and has rosemary extract included which detracts from the flavor of the chicken itself. I now make my own chicken burgers. In a short time the savings will pay for the investment.

I learned to sew eons ago but never put it to use.

I have my mom's old school sewing machine from the '70s. Relearning how to sew will be beneficial. Clothing can be mended or recreated for another use.

(Shouldnt have donated an oversize navy and white Clemson sweatshirt. It could have been made into a cool couch pillow.)

making some chicken bone broth today. using rotisery chicken carcass.
used a pair of shell pliers to crack the larger bones
put them into a pot with 1 quart of water. some dried onion some left over green bell pepper (with seeds) and a crushed clove of garlic.put the pot on to boil. for a half hour, strain into a mason jar with a spoon to channel heat pull out spoon set with canning lid, tightly, allow the cooling heat to create the vacuum seal.
save for soup stock for when ever you need it.