Spring Clean (Out): Using Up The Larder

Freshening up the Freezer for Spring.

It's that time of year when we start scrambling to make space for the upcoming season. There are 3 bags of tomatoes you still havent processed, half bags of blanched vegetables, the fruit you stowed away last summer is starting to freezer burn. And we wont mention the root veggies sprouting in the pantry. All you know is you have to use it before it goes to waste. Before long, we will be preserving this seasons harvest to be stowed away for another winter, but until then its time for the annual spring clean out.

Utilize Your Veggies:

To many random frozen veggies stuffed in your freezer? The solution is a big batch of minestrone or vegetable soup. Its easiest way to use all the half bags of veggies in one shot. Dump everything into a pot with some stock and seasonings. Add in a can of beans, your favourite pasta of choice and let it simmer. Need more protein? Brown some ground beef and add that in too. You can even make it your crockpot.

Stews and pot roasts are another great way to use up meats and things like frozen carrots or onions and any root veggies you might have in the pantry beginning to shrivel away. Explore different flavours of stews like maple dijon or maple balsamic for a fun twist on a classic.

Have vegetables that to freezer burnt to utilize? Maybe some soft veggies in the back of the fridge that are past their prime? Turn them into stock. You don't even have to chop it. Simply add everything to a pot with water and your favourite seasonings then let it simmer for a few hours. Strain and keep refrigerated for 5-7 days.

Big bag of broccoli or cauliflower you need to use up? Make cream of broccoli or creamy cauliflower soup. Brown some onions and carrots then sprinkle with flour. Chop the frozen veggies and add to the pot. Pour in some bone broth along with your favourite seasonings. Let simmer for a few hours then use an immersion blender to blend smooth. Optional: Add in heavy cream.

If blended soups aren't a favourite in your house trying making a cauliflower or broccoli cheese. Add frozen broccoli or cauliflower to a baking dish. Cover with cheese sauce and bake at 350 for approx 25 mins. Optional: Broil for 2 mins to crisp the top layer of cheese before removing from oven.

Utilize Frozen Fruits:

Maybe you have too many bags of frozen berries hogging the freezer? We have a few suggestions for that too.

The very first thing that comes to mind for most people is jam. Most people don't realize you can make jam without any thickeners or pectin. Bring to a boil with a splash of lemon juice and sugar to taste (more or less depending on how sweet the berries are). Let simmer until it coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, pour into a mason jar and cool before placing it in the fridge. You can do this with almost any fruit that is your freezer including raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries and peaches.

Extra apples can be turned into apple sauce using a crockpot, and if you cook it down even further it makes apple butter.

But it doesn't stop there...

You can add fruit breakfast bakes like french toast, dutch babies and oatmeal. Use it as an opportunity to bake a pie from scratch, filling it with a taste of summer before the season arrives. Smoothies are another great way to use up lots of frozen fruit at one time and you can mix different fruits to create different flavours.

Utilizing Meats:

Don't throw out that meat just yet. I know it might be past its prime but it is perfect for making broth. You do not need perfect quality or cuts for making bone broth. Anything you find that is bordering on freezer burnt can be tossed into a crock pot with water, herbs and spices to create bone broth. Bonus points because it can be canned if you own a pressure canner.

Too much of one protein? Time to get creative. Ask yourself how you can put a creative twist on something you already make. For example, we have an abundance of chicken thighs in our freezer that are usually used for skillet meals, roasting etc. To mix things up we pounded them out, breaded them, fried them and ate them on a baguette with bruschetta and mozzarella. This took something we eat every week and made it more exciting so we could eat it more often and start getting it out of the freezer.

Going back to soups and stews. If you have a tough or cheap cut of meat, slow cook it and turn it into a soup or stew. Slow cooking and serving in a sauce or broth makes the meat more tender.

Stop Wasting Good Food

All across the world people toss perfectly good food because they think its 'old' or simply don't know how to utilize it and instead of getting creative, doing some research or learning a new recipe we toss it away. My goal is always to not only help you reduce your grocery bills by repurposing ingredients but also reduce food waste to help the environment.

Although for different reasons, meals like soups and stews were created originally for this exact purpose of reducing waste. People couldn't afford to waste anything and so they created ways to use every last scrap. They were never meant to be made with specific ingredients you bought at the store fresh that day, in fact that would be seen as wasteful.

The next time you plan to throw out something that might be imperfect ask yourself how it can be utilized instead.