Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...Your FOOD!

Tonight I proclaimed that our supper was recycled. My husband instantly gave me a look of horror. He thought maybe I was dumpster diving, which apparently he thinks is horrible but I think is acceptable. I have not gone dumpster diving for dinner so he was safe. 

Instead what I did was re-purpose leftovers into a new meal, in this case pasta sauce. This is a great way to reduce food waste, and keep food boredom from setting in. Some in the cooking world call this "cook once, eat twice". This is a wonderful strategy for busy parents, or in my case a tired pregnant mom. Recycling your leftovers into a new meal can save money by stretching out smaller amounts of food or filling them out with a cheaper food. While we certainly would have eaten the rest of this pasta sauce on pasta as leftovers rice is much cheaper for me to purchase than gluten free pasta which I need for two family members. 

 This week I got a very good deal on green peppers at a small, local grocery store. I had planned to make a southwestern stuffed pepper with them using some spicy ground chicken mixture from earlier in the week.  I decided that last night's pasta sauce would be even better and to save the spicy meat to make chili. 

Here is how it went down

First my slow cooker was greased lightly with coconut oil

I set a pot of brown rice on to cook while I did the rest of the prep work. Here is the method I use for fool proof brown rice. 

The peppers were cut in half. I remove the membranes with a metal measuring spoon, a melon baller is another great tool for this. 

  

When the rice was cooked I mixed rice, leftover sauce, and some extra salt and pepper together until I liked the consistency. The sauce was just an onion, 1/2 a green pepper, a large box of sliced mushrooms, 1/2 pound of grass fed ground beef and 2 jars of pasta sauce with some extra seasoning and a hint of pepperoni. 

I stuffed the peppers with the mix and placed them in the slow cooker. I poured on some leftover crushed tomatoes and a tiny bit of water. I put this on to cook for a few hours on low. 

When the peppers looked nearly done I topped them with parmesan, mozzarella and a few slices of pepperoni. You will notice 2 peppers in the corner with no cheese. These are for my daughter who is allergic to dairy, eggs and gluten. I was VERY careful to make sure no cheese got close to her peppers. Sometimes I will use a smaller slow cooker to keep hers apart from the others. In this case I felt there would not be a problem. 

The peppers cooked until the cheese was melted. Here is the finished product. I ate two and they were great. For anyone who cares this is a Trim Healthy Mama cross over meal. 

Up next: Recycled Chili