In the Tightwad Gazette there is a hilarious sketch of the "tightwad refrigerator," with all the componants labeled. I laughed because I definitely could relate to a lot of the items. Here are the ones that I often have in my fridge:- a month's supply of eggs (Harris Teeter has 2-1/2 dozen for $2.97)
- cheap fruit like bag apples and oranges
- cheap veggies like carrots, celery and cabbage
- apple with one bite missing (toddlers!)
- a child's glass of juice with 1/2" remaining (toddlers!)
- leftover corn chowder for husband's lunch at work
- bulk-purchased yeast costing a fraction of the type sold by the packet (I have the small jars right now, but my friend just told me how much cheaper it is at Sam's Club, so she's going to get me some.)
- stacks of bulk-purchased sale margarine (well, butter in our case)
- homemade refrigerator dough, ready for use
- absence of soda in the six-pack, juice packs, and packs of individual serving-size pudding and applesauce
To this list I would add:
- miniscule amounts of leftovers in plastic containers, since I won't throw away even a teaspoonfull
- store brand yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, mustard, and other condiments
- refrigerated cookie dough for Christmas cookies, purchased after Christmas on clearance with a coupon
- dinner for the next two nights prepared all at once, since it seems like a waste to only make enough for one meal
- absence of bagged, prewashed salad (have you noticed my pet peeve? :-)
The ones from the book that I didn't have in my fridge included:
- reused apple juice jugs containing grape juice from concentrate, mixed milk, and saved vegetable broth for use in soups (we don't really drink much juice)
- reused margarine tubs containing leftovers (don't use margarine)
- homemade salad dressing and BBQ sauce in reused bottles (I need to experiment with making more salad dressings from scratch.)
- bottle of homemade pancake syrup with 1/8" remaining (I'm not sure we eat enough of this to make it worth making from scratch.)
- meat drawer rarely used for meat (my husband does eat some cold cuts for lunch)
- a reused Baggie of thawing pumpkin puree, made from a 2-day-old jack-o-latern, to be used in breakfast muffins (okay, I do draw the line somewhere . . . )
Anyone have anything else to add to the "Tightwad Refrigerator"?
freezer meal thawing in the fridge, maraschino cherry juice or pickle juice after the items were eaten (You can use them in something. I use the cherry juice in a fruit dip recipe.)
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