Waste Not...

*I'm doing my Reverb 10 on a special page dedicated to it. Look over there if you're interested in that kind of thing.------------->

No waste not post on the holiday weekend so I have a lot to catch up on.

Last week the only thing that would have made the list was bacon. Sacrilege. It was moldy. I pulled it apart, slapped it into the pan, and then took a closer look when I noticed a furry patch. How could I have possibly wasted bacon? That is a cardinal sin. Was I saving it for something special? Is this my own Egg Nog Dilemma?

I cleaned the fridge yesterday. I found some other things that should have gone a long time ago. They certainly didn't go bad this week. But since I found them this week, they are:

1/2 a loaf of gluten-free bread. This is old. I tried to help my husband solve his acid reflux issues with an allergen-free test. He didn't last long on it. But that is when I discovered my favorite sweet potato and banana breakfast. So I consider it a success even though the acid reflux is still with us from time to time.

A few green onions and carrot slices. These went in the compost bin. They were from Step-Daughter's birthday party. If I mention when her birthday was, you may be afraid to enter my house.


There hasn't been a lot of other waste in this household, unless you count the run to Steak and Shake. Which I do.

On the more successful side of the coin, we have been practicing our three Rs--recycle, reduce, reuse--in a few different ways.

We had a big jar candle that the wick had burned up on. There was still a lot of wax left in it. We went to the crafty store and got a new set of four long wicks for $2.99. I rescued a roasted red pepper jar from the recycle bin. I melted the old candle wax in a water bath, set a new wick in the pepper jar, poured the melted wax in, propped up the wick with scotch tape and a clothespin, and let it set overnight. Trimmed the wick the next morning. (We have enough to make another candle. You can buy the metal things for the bottom separately at the craft store.) Then we got all the residual wax out of the original jar and washed it. Now we have a new candle and a jar to stash stuff in. The best part? Husband (candle-lover, Alexander Hamilton-lover, girl) won't have to spend good money on a new candle for a long time.

We bought a Christmas wreath on sale after the season last year. During Thanksgiving at Parent's I rummaged through old decor. I found some red satin balls, a string of red beads, and an old holly candle wreath. As of this afternoon, we have a new Christmas wreath to hang outside. I just have to scare up a hot-glue gun to affix the holly and beads. Do you have one you want to loan me?

And lastly...remember green bean bundles? Well, the thing about leftover refrigerated green bean bundles is that you're left with a lot of bacon-infused, brown sugar butter in the bottom of the dish. It doesn't look pretty, but in this house, wasting bacon-infused, brown sugar butter is tantamount to dumping a beer on a fancy computer keyboard or busting out a window--maybe you do it, but you don't feel good about it. So when the beans were gone, I saved the congealed melted butter. I had a plan because I had free sweet potatoes. Sometimes the most heavenly dinner is the simplest: baked sweet potato, melted leftover green bean bundle butter, and a biscuit from breakfast. Now that's what I'm talking about.
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Breakfast: oatmeal, blueberries and milk 11 cents
Lunch: biscuits, sausage and gravy, orange marmalade and apple butter 46 cents
Snack: cookies 30 cents
Dinner: sweet potato, green bean bundle butter, biscuit 10 cents

Total: 97 cents