I make an ever-evolving salad dressing out of the last dribs of mustard, honey, and ketchup bottles by tossing in some vinegar and oil, plus salt, sugar, and maybe some soy sauce or ginger depending on the current balance of the mix. When yet another bottle of something gets emptied, I transfer the current dressing to it, top off with vinegar/oil, and shake!
Leftovers: 6 Money Saving Ideas for Those Bits at the Bottom of the Jar
We all have them. Those little bits of good stuff left at the bottom of one jar or another that we don't want to really throw out, but don't know what to do with. Here are six great tips for scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak.
Pesto
Slosh around some chicken stock or water in the jar to get out all of the pesto clinging to the inside. Dump it in with your chicken soup and add a splash of lemon or white wine to take it from hum drum to high end.
Orange marmalade or other citrus preserves
Put in a little vinegar and shake to loosen all of the preserves. Then add a touch of corn starch and water and shake like crazy. Add in some additional orange or lemon juice if needed for a great sweet and sour stir fry sauce on the cheap.
Extra tomato sauce or paste
When you have leftover paste or sauce in the jar or can, slosh around some water to get the last of it out and toss in with your slow cooker pot roast or beef and vegetable soup. It will round out the flavor and provide extra tenderizing support for those cheaper cuts of meat.
Mustard
Got a little in the bottom of the jar? Dijon with a little mayo and horseradish makes a great meat condiment or sandwich spread. Also, adding a little vinegar and honey can make an awesome vinaigrette for dinner salads.
Extra Italian salad dressing
The thick stuff at the bottom of the jar can be stretched with vinegar and a bit of water for a great budget chicken marinade.
Peanut butter
Use a miniature rubber spatula to scrape out every last bit of peanut butter. Then try a ginger peanut salad dressing, or a small batch of blender sauce to accompany tonight's dinner.
Related Readings:
- How to Use that Lone Can of Fruit
- Saving Big with Ice Cube Trays
- Save on Cleaning Costs with Bar Soap
- Stylish Ideas for Soup Garnishes
Do you have any hot tips for scraping the bottom of the barrel with jar leftovers? What are your secret ways to save pennies where it doesn't necessarily show?
Best of Wise Bread
great suggestions! I usually use water to wash out remaining bits and use it in stew or soup (savory) and for bread/muffins (sweet things).
Zengirl
my dad used to make 'milkshakes' for us from the last jam bits. just add a little milk and shake like crazy. my little brother and i used to fight over who got it.
i still make 'milkshakes' when i'm done with jam (tho no more sharing).
thanks, dad, for turning frugality into something fun!
Great ones, guys! Thanks for keeping the ideas flowing.
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When I make a cake, I take the last bit of frosting and make little sandwiches with graham crackers and freeze them. It's what my mother always did, and freezing really seems to be the trick here. Frozen treats are just more fun.
I liked the suggestions for using the last bits of anything in "empty" jars. My suggestion is not really about last bits of guacamole or sour cream, as I usually don't have leftovers of these. Avacados are very expensive; ready-made guacamole, like Wholly Guacamole and similar brands, is also expensive. But I love it!! I have found that I can extend either homemade guacamole or ready made by adding inexpensive sour cream and a sprinkle of lemon peper seasoning. Low fat sour cream also works very well and cuts the calories of this treat. This is great on crackers, pita pieces, or chips.
When making potato salad recently I finished up the mayonnaise. No matter how assiduously I scraped with the spatula, some mayo remained.
I added a very small amount of the milk to the jar and shook it. Not to make a mayonnaise milkshake (eewww), but to add to the dressing for the potato salad. It made it a little easier to toss with the potatoes and eggs.
Amy Dacyczyn of "Tightwad Gazette" fame used to shake the milk in the jam jar and freeze the results in popsicle molds. That actually sounds tasty; next time I finish up a jar of my homemade blackberry jam, I'll make something like the sorbet bars that sell for $4 or $5 a box.
I just tried this last night after reading this article. I used up the rest of the minced garlic (the kind that comes in a glass jar). To get what remained, I added some olive oil, shook it up, and was able to pour out the last bits onto the potatoes I was roasting. Excellent!
I use the "add liquid to jar and shake" technique with tomato sauce and vodka. The vodka gives spaghetti sauce an extra kick. Yum!
The potato roasting with garlic bits and vodka sauce sound like fantastic ideas ladies, thanks!
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I've found that if I take a solid ingredient from the recipe I'm making and put it in the can or jar and then shake or stir, the solid acts as sort of a magnet to the liquid. When using canned spaghetti sauce, I'll take some of the noodles and put them in the can and then stir it around and then pour out. The sauce sticks to the noodles and really cleans the can out. Or if I'm making potato salad I add some of the potato chunks to the almost empty jar of mayo and do the same. It's amazing how much product you can squeeze out of an almost empty container. And sometimes you just don't want to add any extra liquid to your recipe.
The solid bits strategy is a good one, particularly if you don't happen to have any extra rubber spatulas kicking around. Thanks for sharing your idea.
Check out my various projects and services at Itinerant Tightwad. I also have a monthly education newsletter.
tks for all the tips that was great reading and i will use some of these ideas. They are great! You cannot have to many ideas when it comes to being frugal
I love to add peanut butter to my oatmeal in the morning, but when the jar is low, I just put the oatmeal in the jar and eat from there.
These are great ideas- I especially love the spaghetti sauce and peanut butter ideas- every little "bit" helps!
Take that food grinder, and grind together oatmeal and almonds. To this add grated orange peel and some fresh yogurt (which could also be made at home). Debt Management . The end result is not a new dessert or some sort of breakfast cereal. What you have is a beauty product. The oatmeal and almonds are exfoliants for removing dry, dead skin. The yogurt / orange part of the mixture is very effective in softening and nourishing.
