Make it stretch seems like an odd title for a food blog. Today I want to talk to you about how to make your food, and ultimately your dollar, go farther. There are so many ways to take one meal and turn it into another. All you really need is your imagination (and possibly a strong stomach).
Let's start with your basic pinto beans. You make a pot of beans.. after a meal store your beans. The reason will come shortly. Save your cornbread too.
You make some spaghetti. Don't mix your sauce and your pasta. Reason to come shortly.
You can combine your spaghetti sauce and your beans, add some bell pepper, onions, chili powder, and cumin and turn those two meals into a pot of chili.
You can also take the beans and some chili and turn that into a mexican dish.
Sloppy Joe's can turn into spaghetti, then turn the spaghetti into chili.
Take some mashed potatoes leftover. Start a pot of potato soup (using less potatoes than normal) add the mashed potatoes and it becomes a creamier potato soup! Mashed potatoes can also be used to make potato pancakes. Or... mix with cheese and herbs, roll into balls dipped in flour and deep fry for a crispy potato ball.
The cornbread. I save my cornbread in the freezer throughout the year. It is great to thaw out and re-use for another pot of beans. It is even better to save up and use for stuffing.
This is a start for how to stretch your food. Think about some of the main ingredients in different dishes and which have the same flavor type. Adding one or two simple ingredients can change the dish to make something new. Doing this will help keep your family from getting bored with the same ol leftovers and really helps to stretch that ever shrinking dollar.
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