Our fridge and freezer have been struggling to keep our food at the proper temperature for awhile now. The fridge is completely bipolar. The top is warm, but yet the bottom few shelves are unusable, because everything freezes.
For months now, we have been trying to squeeze all of our fresh produce into the few middle shelves in the “Goldilocks zone”, which is quite a hilarious sight to see.
This past week, we noticed that our compost (which we keep at the top of the freezer until the bag is full), was not frozen all the way anymore. Things are not looking good for it so far. If there’s one thing that irritates me, it’s food waste. So hopefully we get it resolved quickly, so we don’t have to throw out a bunch of food.
Throughout high school and college breaks, I used to work at Target. One day, I came in to work to a frenzy, and was given the job of throwing out all of the items in a particular section of the fridge. There had been a refrigerator malfunction overnight for one refrigerator, and everything was to be thrown out.
All of the milk was considered spoiled because several cartons were measured as being a few degrees above what is allowed, although still very much drinkable.
It broke my heart to have to throw out such a large amount of milk. While it was an unfortunate experience, the hours I spent carting jugs to the dumpster really taught me the value of conscious consumption. I am always mindful of waste while creating recipes, and try to use leftover ingredients in other recipes as often as possible.
This mindset has definitely forced me to become quite creative. If I can reuse the leftover ingredients in another recipe, why not? One great example is homemade chicken or vegetable stock. I save up my onion skins, carrot tops, and other scraps, and freeze them until I have enough to make a batch of homemade stock.
One super cool trick that I stumbled upon awhile ago is that you can also regrow your green onions from just the roots! It’s super easy, really! Give it a try.
It is a wonderful way to round out a meal like this healthy and simple beauty. Isn’t nature awesome?
One Skillet Mediterranean Lentils (Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Grain Free)
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cup lentils washed
- 4-1/2 cups water
- 1 can olives
- 1 red onion
- 6 oz. feta cheese
- 1 bunch green onions
- 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers
- 10 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp honey
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste I love this Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Bring lentils to a boil in a large skillet, using 4.5 cups of water, Simmer covered, for 20-25 minutes, or until all water is absorbed. You may need to remove the lid towards the end to evaporate the remaining water.
- Chop onion, green onions, roasted red pepper and sun-dried tomatoes up while lentils are cooking.
- Add all dressing ingredients (lemon juice, honey, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper) to a container and mix to combine.
- Once all water has absorbed into the lentils, add in olives, red onion, red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and half of feta cheese, Stir to combine.
- Mix in dressing and simmer until sauce is incorporated and begins to cook down, about 5 minutes.
- Top with remaining feta and green onions.
- Enjoy!
