What’s a frugal trick you’ve chanced upon recently?
I accidentally semi-reinvented the “trencher”. Basically, in medieval times, food would be served on a slab of bread and that would kinda be the plate. Or, you know, bread bowls for soup and the like.
I have an air fryer, and I’ve learned I can line the basket in a large flour tortilla, and it generally keeps whatever I’m cooking/warming up from getting the pan too dirty aside from some easily knocked-out crumbs.
I hate washing things, and I hate wasting paper liners, so it lets me cut down on those, and I can just eat the tortilla.
I see your great idea and raise it with the “lose it” concept…
Have an end of a bread loaf you don’t know what to do with? How about the crumbs left over in that bag of cereal or nuts? The next time you make oatmeal, just add them to the pot (cutting up the bread beforehand of course).
Losing it like this makes breakfast more interesting and make use of the (yes minucule) stuff that might otherwise be thrown away.
If you made too much rice the night before, you can throw that in with the oatmeal, too.
Oh man too much rice is a tip in itself.
I now always make to much rice. Having just a little bit left is a bit of a pain or I throw it away but if I purposely make too much rice then I have a simple lunch with some seaweed tomorrow, or a nice fried rice for dinner in the next week, I can fry it as a side with some cheese. Congee. Rice is super duper useful and having some cooked means a lot simpler a meal or 2 always.
Rice goes with almost everything. I always make “too much” and use it over the next two days. If I don’t feel like having some as a side dish, I make rice pudding and have it for desert.
Left over rice is a great excuse for me to make stir fry. It reheats just fine in the microwave in a covered bowl. A bag of frozen veggies, A sauce I can throw together pretty quickly from ingredients I already have, and a chicken breast or two or some tofu.