By Haley Bridges
Happy Earth Day! Today is the day we need to celebrate the Earth and all of the wonderful gifts it provides for us.
We do not think about how we impact the Earth but for one day it would be great if we could all do one small thing to show how much we care about the place we live. You can even start and end with it happening in the kitchen. You will be amazed at how even cooking can make an impact in the environment.
Instead of buying food today try using the leftovers you have in the fridge or the food that you have already previously purchased. However, if you do buy food today make sure you are more aware of where it is coming from, try to buy locally and make sure you know what farm it is coming from.
If you have leftovers from your meal try coming up with a good way to get rid of it instead of just throwing it out, whether it is taking it to a food shelter or keeping it to make compost out of, there is always a way to make use of extra food.
There are many clever recipes to use for your leftover food. Whether you have pasta or ham or mashed potatoes you can always make something new, from ham soup to pasta bake to mashed potato pancakes.
If you need help getting started or have no idea how to use the leftovers you have should check out this site to get fabulous ideas on how to reuse your food http://greatist.com/health/leftovers-meals-healthy-recipes
Do something good today, be kind to our Earth, make something delicious out of the food you already have and be thankful that we live in such a beautiful place.
Here is a recipe I love to use when I have extra pasta and sauce in my fridge! The best thing about this recipe is you can add anything you have from vegetables such as tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini to different proteins such as shrimp, sausage or pepperoni. As long as you already have it you can use it!
Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- Pasta (whatever you have)
- All of your leftover sauce (if none you can use butter or olive oil or check out the recipe below)
- Any cheese you have in your fridge
- Sausage or meat (if you have it)
- Basil (dried or fresh, only if you have it)
- Garlic salt
- Pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Mix the pasta, sauce, most of the cheese and seasonings into a glass baking dish
- Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling
There you go, a simple, easy and delicious meal that you can make with leftovers!
If you don’t happen to have sauce lying around here is a easy recipe to make your own!
Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- Tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- White wine (optional)
Directions
- Cut up the tomatoes
- Add olive oil and garlic to a sauté pan
- Add tomatoes, sauce and white wine to pan
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until sauce has thickened.
Happy Earth Day!
