HOW TO... Preserve your lettuce a little longer

The problem with buying for just two people is that it can be difficult to get through all your perishable food items before they, well... perish!  Therefore, any tip that can extend produce's life just a little longer is worth trying in my book.  And that's how this unconventional trick came about.

How to Make Your Lettuce Last Longer

After washing your lettuce and shaking the excess water, place them in a clean pillowcase (cotton is best).  Pat dry and place it in the refrigerator in your produce drawer (if you have one).  The cotton will help the lettuce last longer than a plastic bag.  Strange, but true!  

Try it out!

HOW TO.... Make your own (easy!) homemade bread crumbs.

If you're like us, it can be hard to use a whole loaf of bread before it starts getting stale.  That's why I love this easy recipe for making your own delicious bread crumbs.  It saves you money and prevents that unused bread from going to waste! 

Making Homemade Bread Crumbs with Leftover Bread

{Source}

1. Store any old or unused slices of bread in a large plastic bag in the freezer.
2. Once the bag is 3/4 filled - full, take it out of the freezer and cut the bread into large chunks. 
3. Pulse the bread chunks in a food processor until it is fine.  (If your food processor is as small as ours, you will have to do this in several batches!)  
4. Toast the crumbs on a baking sheet (with a rim) for 4-6 minutes on 350 degrees.  Toss once while cooking.

Use for meatballs, a coating for meats, or as a casserole topper!  

(The crumbs will last for up to 6 months in the freezer if you don't use them right away.)

{From Real Simple - visit at www.realsimple.com}

Keeping Track of What's In Your Freezer

Keeping your freezer stocked with options is essential for having supplies for an impromptu dinner and for storing premade dough, leftovers, fruit for smoothies, and much more.

Over the summer I stocked our freezer with kale, tomatoes, and other veggies from our garden.  I also used it for saving meats from Ben's family and for storing meals I made ahead for busy nights during the upcoming semester.

Since that time, I've found it helpful to keep track of what we have in our freezer so that I know what I have to work with, and so that I don't overbuy.  I started by using a piece of notebook paper with a list of our freezer's inventory and hung it on our frig.  When we used something up from the freezer, we just grab a sharpie and cross it out.  This method worked but got a little sloppy with the quick scrawling and crossing out here and there.

Instead, I have begun to use this freezer inventory template from Organized Home.  It helps me to keep stock of what's in our freezer more neatly and visibly.  For each number of an item we have, I fill in the boxes with a small dot.  Once we use a serving, I cross out the box.  Once all servings of an item have been used up, I cross it out completely with a thick black marker.  Eventually, I'll start a new list to keep a clean record of what we have.
                                                                                                                            

Before

After

You can download a printable version of this freezer inventory for yourself here.

For more on organization for your kitchen, check out the tools at the 

Organized Home blog.

HOW TO... Store leftover tomato paste.

You've made those recipes that call for only 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and then frustratingly, the rest of the can is left to sit in the frig or likely, end up in the trash.  

An easy solution to storing tomato paste to extend its storage life so it doesn't go to waste?  

Freeze it.

And the easiest way to do this is by using ice cube trays.  Not only does it minimize the mess - it provides you with tablespoon-size portions to grab the next time you need tomato paste for a recipe.  

It's an easy trick:

Freezing Tomato Paste

1. Use a tablespoon measure to scoop the paste 

into each section of an ice cube tray.

 

    

    2.  Pop the tray into the freezer.

    3.  When the cubes are solid, transfer them to a
plastic freezer bag and store in the freezer.  

    4.  When you need a serving of tomato paste for a recipe, you can grab the paste and add to recipes without thawing first. 

    * For a variation, you can mix a tsp or more of pesto into each cube before freezing.  

Enjoy!