journal - thrift kitchen

Thrift Kitchen: Sneaking in the Veggies

{spaghetti with ground turkey and pureed zucchini} Jason is pretty picky about his veggies–not too chunky, not too soft, not too uncooked. Bah. What a pain. When I make spaghetti, I love to fill it with veggies so it’s a nice hearty meal. But if I do, then he won’t […]

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Thrift Kitchen: It’s a wrap!

My favorite way to reinvent leftovers is to literally wrap it up. We always have flour tortillas on hand for this very reason. Add to the torilla a little hummus or dijon mustard or dash of olive oil + some mixed greens or chopped spinach + your favorite cheese (feta, […]

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Thrift Kitchen: No Hassle Housecleaning

House cleaning is a hassle. Period. And no book will ever change that. Period. That being said, reading No Hassle Housecleaning by Christina Spence left me feeling like  cleaning could be less of a hassle than it currently is. I’ve been working with the fly lady system of housecleaning for awhile […]

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Thrift Kitchen: Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

More than any other cookbook, I’ve been grabbing for my Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook. It is full of delicious recipes that never disappoint. So far in the last two weeks of cooking we have tried Biscuits a la Focaccia, Sweet Potato Black Bean Hash, Drunken Beans, and Spicy Broccoli […]

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Thrift Kitchen: Packing those Lunches

Brown bagging it can save you a ton of money + help you eat better. It’s a two for one deal you just can’t beat with pre-packaged or eating out meals. Since brown bagging it as a kid there have been many great break-throughs in the lunch box department. I […]

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Thrift Kitchen: Canterbury Potato Leek Soup!

I love potato soup. I think it’s actually one of my favorite soups. When I was in Canterbury, England back in 2002, we went to this castle with a gift shop/restaurant thing. They served, I kid you not, the BEST potato leek soup. Ever since then I’ve been trying to […]

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Thrift Kitchen: Spinach Lasagna Done Right

Over the course of my life I have tried many lasagna recipes. Think of Garfield the cat’s love of lasagna, that’s me. Ever since I was a kid. And spinach lasagna is my favorite. A few weeks ago I finally tried my hand at my own recipe for lasagna. You […]

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Thanksgiving Leftover Pick-Me-Up

It’s always great going home for thanksgiving. My parents pack up and freeze loads of yummy food for Jason and I, and his parents do the exact same thing. The end result is that our freezer is filled with turkey, packets of stuffing, sweet potatoes, and a bunch of other […]

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How To: Herb Bundles

Making bundles of herbs to dry is a great way to both use up leftover herbs and use up little scraps of wire and ribbon. Not to mention they are really pretty around the house, smell wonderful, and nicely dried can be wonderfully delicious in any meal. We had quite […]

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Thrift Kitchen Recipe: Chili Again!

I love chili so much! It starts as a nice warm yummy meal in a bowl and ends as chili dogs on buns. Yum yum yum. Last week I made a chili that turned out so delicious. I wasn’t really in the mood for cooking, or for going to the […]

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Thrift Kitchen: Visiting the Local Orchard

My favorite activity during the fall is going to the apple orchard, hands down favorite. No contest. I look forward to it every year, am filled with childhood glee while there, and delightfully filled with joy when home again — drinking apple cider and eating baked apples. We are really […]