Leftover Ingredients
Most, if not all of the recipes use portions that are smaller then the size you can buy at the local grocery store. I like to use pint size canning jars instead of plastic containers to save the remainders. Using cans over plastic containers has one major advantage in that you can see what’s in them. I usually have a jar of diced or whole tomatoes and a jar of pureed Chiles en Adobe in the refrigerator. Coconut milk is another one where you’ll never use the whole can. I haven’t tried using smaller jelly jars yet, but they would work well. I prefer to use canning jars instead of a collection of leftover jars. I know I get a good seal with the canning lid and I like having only one size lid to keep track of.
Smaller amounts that I don’t plan on using end up in the freezer in a plastic bag. If I’m not sure I’ll remember what it is, I’ll write it (and the date) on the bag. I find this is especially important when I pre-portion and freeze sausage. It’s impossible to tell a 4 oz piece of kielbasa from smoked sausage!
Hard to find Spices
Almost all of the spices I use in these recipes come from my local Stop and Shop. I’ve started looking in the ethnic food section for my spices as they tend to be much cheaper then the ones on the “spice aisle”. For those that I can’t find there, I recommend the Savory Spice Shop.
