‘Tis the season for lots of planning, shopping- and budgeting! With the holidays coming up and all the spending many of us do, it’s important to make and keep a budget and make sure nothing goes to waste!

This includes food, of course. I’m sure I’m not the only one guilty of buying produce with every intention of using it- and then someone gets sick or we have a hectic day or we eat the same dinner two nights in a row, putting me behind on our dinner meal plan or you have tons of extra celery because you only needed 2 stalks or whatever crazy thing happens and inevitably, you have stuff in your fridge with no specific plan that needs to be used up before it goes bad! I love using Cook’n to help me find recipes for using specific items- that search feature is so handy!

It’s also handy to have a few smorgasbord meals in mind for those times when you just need to really clean out the fridge/pantry and want to get rid of stuff in one or two meals! Here are some base meal ideas that are great for using up ingredients and helping you to reduce waste and save money!

• Salad Bar. I love a good salad bar. They’re tasty, delicious, nutritious- and it’s a FABULOUS way to use up produce! Chop up leftover peppers, celery, carrots, mushrooms, cooked meat, hard-boiled eggs, and all the other random things you need to use up and make a cute little salad bar in your own home! I’m always amazed at how much more salad my kids will eat when we do a salad bar- being able to put it together by themselves just makes it more exciting, I guess!
• Baked Potato Bar. Here’s a heavier option that’s perfect for cold fall days! A baked potato is basic and the perfect base for anything! Again, chopped veggies and meats are a great topping, but you can do more than that! Top a potato with leftover chili, soup (broccoli and cheddar would be delicious!), cooked spinach or any other cooked vegetables that need to be used, shredded cheese, even sauces and condiments! I feel like you can pretty much put anything on a baked potato!
• Pasta. A can of marinara or alfredo from the grocery store and some cooked noodles and you’ve got a great base for so many produce leftovers! Get creative with the meat and veggies you add to the pasta- don’t be afraid to experiment a little in the name of using up ingredients!
• Soup. There’s a lot of soup recipes out there- and many of them can easily be adapted by adding a few extra ingredients! Add leftover zucchini to your corn chowder. Extra celery and carrots are great in chicken noodle soup or almost any other soup you can think of. Add leftover chicken to baked potato soup. Add peppers to chili. Seriously, the sky’s the limit!
• Fruit Salad. You don’t need a recipe for this. Chop up any fruit that’s getting too ripe and needs to be used and toss it with a little something sweet! Strawberry yogurt is delicious, honey and lime, a sprinkle of brown sugar and/or marshmallows for fun- you’ve got an easy side or dessert that’s helping you use up the fruit that’s still laying around!
• Leftover night. I know some people are just grossed out or opposed to leftovers, but I LIVE for leftovers! If you tend to have a lot of leftovers in your fridge, designate one night a week as leftover night (or even a lunch!) and everyone eats any leftovers in the fridge! Easiest dinner ever! And a good one to do before grocery shopping to make sure you have plenty of room in your fridge for whatever you bring home.

Just a handful of ideas, but all effective in making sure you use up what you’ve got on hand and reduce waste and food costs! Are there any other meals/dishes you’d add to this list? Share with us in the comments below!

    Camille Hoffmann
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
    Email the author! camille@dvo.com