Chattavore

What I ate, plate by plate.

10 Easy Tips for Reducing Food Waste

These ten easy tips for reducing food waste will help you use up more food and throw out less, saving money and keeping a cleaner kitchen in the process!

a photograph of a bunch of carrots and a pile of whole artichokes on a counter

If you are like me, one of the biggest stressors in your kitchen is how much food you throw in the trash (or compost, or garbage disposal). Food is not cheap, and food waste both in the home and in the restaurant and grocery industry is a very real concern. Reducing food waste may not be as difficult as you might think, though. Here are 10 easy ways that I have found to cut down on how much I am throwing out.

  • Make a meal plan and grocery list

When people tell me that they don’t meal plan or shop from a list, my standard reaction is disbelief. I have been writing at least a “suggested” meal plan and shopping from a grocery list for 17 years, and I can’t imagine how I would ever get from one end of the grocery store to the other with items to actually create a meal if I didn’t. Not only will meal planning and writing a list help you to know what you’re cooking/buying, it will keep you from buying things that you don’t need.

  • Only buy what you need

This may sound obvious, but I think that buying things that we don’t actually need is a huge source of food waste. I know that it is here in my house. So many heads of lettuce have gone to a watery grave because I bought them thinking “yes, I’ll serve salad every single night with dinner!” but failed to actually incorporate this into my plan.

If you stick to your list and only buy the things you need, you’ll cut way down on this. I’d much rather make a quick stop at the grocery store to grab something I didn’t get than to throw away something that I bought and didn’t serve before it turned into slop in my fridge.

  • Plan for leftovers

Again, I hear so frequently that people don’t eat leftovers. And I get it…it can be hard to eat the same thing more than once, and some things just don’t taste as good on the second day (or the third). I can say with complete certainty, though, that no other strategy has saved me as much food waste as planning for leftovers. 

Sometimes we will freeze our leftovers, and other times we will eat them the next day or a day or two later. I also frequently plan leftovers that can be “repurposed” into something else (e.g. grilled chicken could become chicken tacos). Those are my favorite leftovers. If I am planning something that I know will not taste good on day two, I’ll try to only make enough for one meal or I’ll freeze it immediately (sometimes that helps to stave off that weird day two flavor).

  • Don’t fall for the “buying in bulk” trap

There are some things that I always, always buy in bulk: coffee, paper towels, toilet tissue…

There are other things that I would never, ever buy in bulk: cheese, produce, anything with an expiration date that probably shouldn’t be ignored

My point is this: only buy in bulk the things that you know you can use before they are no longer worth using. Savings on bulk items only count if you don’t throw those items out before you can use them. If you know that your family will eat a bag of 6 avocados from Costco before they turn into little leathery footballs, by all means, go for it. But if not…back away. Slowly.

  • Buy canned or frozen vegetables

Now, I’m not going to lie and tell you that there are not vegetables that I only prepare from fresh. Have you ever eaten a canned potato? I rest my case.

However, there are some vegetables that I buy almost exclusively canned or frozen. For anything that doesn’t require a fresh tomato, canned tomatoes are the way to go. As for corn, green beans, peas, artichoke hearts…I frequently buy those things frozen. Consider what your use for them is going to be. If I am serving something on its own, I’ll often purchase fresh. If it’s going in to a soup, casserole, etc., frozen is almost always just as good.

  • Don’t always buy fresh herbs

Like lettuce, fresh herbs frequently meet a watery, slimy demise in my fridge. It’s rare that I use them up before they start to turn…it just happens so quickly.

I have really gotten into the “lightly dried” herbs and herbal pastes such as those produced by Gourmet Garden (this is not sponsored, I just really love their products!). I have not had any issues so far with not using those up before they go bad. Obviously, another option is to grow your own herbs…and how can you go wrong with that (unless you are a terrible gardener, like me)?

  • Make small batches

There are two people that live in my house. Therefore, I know that if something is (a) not likely to get eaten before it is no longer edible; or (b) easily freezable; that I should probably not make enough of said item to serve eight people.

I have become a master at making small batches. I won’t lie, I have even halved a single egg before. That is taking it to a bit of an extreme, but hey! I didn’t waste anything (well, except maybe half an egg…oops)!

For us, turning a huge recipe into a smaller one or only baking a few cookies or brownies not only cuts down on food waste, it keeps me from having baked goods or other treats staring me in the face begging to be eaten.

  • Share with friends

If you are just dying to make something that you know cannot be produced in a small batch but there is zero chance you are going to eat it all, give it away! Chances are that you know someone who would appreciate a meal that they didn’t have to cook from time to time. I like to keep some extra containers (Rubbermaid Take-Alongs are perfect) that I don’t care if I get back or not specifically for this purpose.

  • Freezer friendly foods

Whether you are talking about meals that you prep ahead, freeze, and remove from the freezer just before cooking, or foods that can be cooked and frozen to be pulled out later for a quick, no cook meal, freezer friendly foods are one of my favorite things!

One of my latest loves is Instant Pot freezer meals, where I can throw a bunch of things in a container (again, the aforementioned Take-Alongs are perfect), stick the container in the fridge, and either thaw it before throwing it into the Instant Pot or just dump the whole frozen chunk of food in the Instant Pot (see my vegetable beef soup!). They make my life so much easier!

I also love to freeze small packages of cooked and shredded meat, taco meat, and soups. I frequently freeze breads as well, because we often do not eat an entire package of bread before it gets stale (or sometimes moldy). America’s Test Kitchen says that bread stays much fresher if you freeze it than if you put it in the refrigerator!

  • Meal prep

This is my other new love. I have toyed with the idea of meal prepping for some time now, but I just began doing it in earnest a few weeks ago and I have to say, I’m never looking back.

It’s a great feeling to grab a lunch from the fridge in the morning and know that it is healthy, delicious, and you didn’t have to throw it together in a frenzy the night before. I don’t prep my dinners to the point of putting them in individual containers, but I do prep as many ingredients as possible ahead of time. This means that I don’t have to chop ten different vegetables while I am verging on hangry and have fifteen other things I need to get done as well. I am much more likely to actually cook the meals that I planned than hit the drive-thru, order a pizza, or make a grilled cheese if the ingredients are prepped and ready to go.

Another piece of this is that I look in my fridge every week at the ingredients that are already in there as I determine what to make for the next week. I actually used up an entire bag of carrots for the first time in I can’t tell you how long…and my fridge has never been so clean. I’m not even joking. It’s a great feeling!

On those last two notes, keep your eyes peeled for tons more meal prep and freezer meal ideas coming up on Chattavore!

What are your favorite tips for reducing food waste in your kitchen?

*Photo by David Vázquez on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup (Freezer Meal Version)

This Instant Pot vegetable beef soup is easy fall comfort food! Directions to make it a dump-and-go Instant Pot freezer meal and it’s great for a weeknight!

a close-up picture of a bowl of Instant Pot vegetable beef soup with cornbread crumbled on top and a plate of cornbread in the background

Click here to save this recipe on Pinterest!

Almost Fall!

You guys, fall is coming! I mean, I’ll be 100% honest – it probably won’t actually feel like full-blown fall here until December because that’s how Tennessee rolls – but in just a few weeks the calendar will say that it is fall.

Fall is officially my favorite. I mean, I love spring, because spring signals that summer is just around the corner. Fall, though, really does something to me. The cool breezes, the leaves changing colors and falling off the trees, the feeling that the only thing to do on a Saturday evening is eat popcorn in front of a horror movie. For many, it’s also the Friday night lights and the roar of the crowd at a college football game.


a photograph of frozen vegetable beef soup in an Instant Pot with an empty storage container in the foreground

Fall Food

And then there’s the food. Apples and pears, caramel, tailgating snacks, warm casseroles…and soup.

I eat soup year-round, how about you? I just love soup so much that I really don’t care if it’s 95˚ outside. I get it, though…some people don’t want their dinner to make them sweat even more in the summer (kudos to my AC and ceiling fans!).

Vegetable Beef Soup

Vegetable beef soup will forever and ever make me think of two things: my grandmother and my elementary school cafeteria. It was one of the few foods that I ate at school, and something that I always savored when my grandmother made it.

Her vegetable beef soup was always made with ground beef, not with chunks of beef. It always had potatoes, carrots, corn, peas, green beans, tomatoes…and pasta. Yep, pasta. She would throw in a handful of tiny alphabet pasta shapes, which I always thought made the soup so much fun. Alas, I could not find tiny alphabet pasta shapes, so I skipped the pasta altogether. And, of course, I made it in my Instant Pot.
a photograph of a ladle full of Instant Pot vegetable beef soup being scooped out of the Instant Pot

Instant Pot Freezer Meal!

My Instant Pot vegetable beef soup is also a freezer meal! Lately I have loved have a few dump and go Instant Pot freezer meals in my freezer. You literally unmold the food from the container, sauté it in the Instant Pot to start the thawing process, and pressure cook it as normal.

The assembly process is just as simple. You throw a few ingredients into a round freezable container, lid up, and freeze. No excuse not to make dinner on a weeknight now!
a photograph of a bowl of Instant Pot vegetable beef soup with a spoon and an Instant Pot in the background

My Instant Pot vegetable beef soup has the following ingredients, and you can even use as many frozen vegetables as you can get your hands on (I used frozen green beans and peas, and would have added frozen corn if I’d had it):

  • ground beef
  • canned diced tomatoes
  • carrots
  • green beans
  • celery
  • onion
  • green peas
  • potatoes (I add these just before pressure cooking)
  • water
  • Better Than Bouillon (which I keep in the fridge because I so rarely use up a container of beef broth)
  • Bay leaf

This freezer meal soup took minimal effort to put together on a weeknight. Serve it with cornbread or a grilled cheese sandwich for comfort food at its finest!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love and Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!

Click here to save this recipe on your Instant Pot, Soup, and Freezer Meal Pinterest boards!
an overhead photograph of a bowl of Instant Pot vegetable beef soup with cornbread crumbled on top and a plate of cornbread in the background

Yield: 6 servings

Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup (Freezer Meal Version)

This super comforting vegetable beef soup can be made fresh in your Instant Pot, or you can make a dump-and-go freezer meal out of it! Either way it's easy and delicious.

20 minPrep Time:

30 minCook Time:

50 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon (if you prefer not to use this, you can use low sodium beef broth)
  • 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 2 carrots, scrubbed and diced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, scrubbed and diced
  • 1 cup green beans, cut (I used frozen)
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 1 cup frozen corn (not pictured because I forgot to buy it!)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • water
  • 1 cup diced potatoes (I used tiny Yukon gold potatoes that I quartered)

Instructions

  1. Brown the ground beef in the Instant Pot or a pan. If using the Better Than Bouillon, you can add it after the ground beef is cooked and stir to combine well.
  2. Dump the ground beef into a 64-ounce round freezer safe container (the one that I used was a little smaller than this and it worked but the lid was about to pop off! The store did not have bigger ones the day I bought them).
  3. Add the canned tomatoes (do not drain), carrots, onion, celery, green beans, peas, corn, and bay leaf. Add 2 cups of water (or beef broth, if not using Better Than Bouillon). Cover with the lid, add a label, and place into the freezer.
  4. To cook the soup: run warm water around the outside of the bowl to loosen the frozen soup from the container. Place the soup in the Instant Pot.
  5. Turn the sauté setting on and add a lid (I have an Instant Pot glass slow cooker lid but you could just use a regular pot lid as well). Heat the soup on sauté for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has thawed. Add two more cups of water (or beef broth, if not using Better Than Bouillon) and the potatoes. Press the cancel/off button to turn off the sauté function.
  6. Cover with the Instant Pot lid and set the vent to sealing. Select the manual or pressure button. Make sure the pressure is set to high and set the time to ten minutes. Once the cook time is complete, allow the Instant Pot to depressurize naturally for ten minutes. Manually release any remaining pressure. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
  7. To bypass the freezer step, simply add all of the ingredients to the cooked ground beef in the Instant Pot and follow the directions in step six.

Notes

The cooked soup will also freeze well, but potatoes get a little mushy in the freezer. If this bothers you but you would like to freeze your leftovers, you can leave them out.

Tags

Allergy
gluten free
dairy free
egg free
soy free
wheat free
peanut free
seafood free
treenut free
sesame free
mustard free

Nutrition

7.8.1.2
564
https://chattavore.com/instant-pot-vegetable-beef-soup-freezer-meal-version/

a picture of a bowl of Instant Pot vegetable beef soup with cornbread crumbled on top and a plate of cornbread in the background

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (Oven or Air Fryer)

These hot ham and cheese sandwiches can be baked in the air fryer or in the oven and make for one of the quickest and easiest dinners ever! Easy clean-up, too!

a close up photograph of an air fryer hot ham and cheese sandwich on a sheet of aluminum foil with a can of seltzer in the background

Click here to save this recipe on Pinterest!

Hot Ham & Cheese

You know those days when you just can’t even? You know…the days when cooking sounds like something completely out of your wheelhouse but leaving the house to go get takeout sounds pretty terrible too?

I know that some of you might live in a place where good delivery is pretty easy to come by but this is not my reality here in the Chattanooga suburbs. It’s pizza or bust…or figure it out yourself.

That’s where these hot ham and cheese sandwiches come in at my house. These have it all. They’re super simple to make, absolutely delicious, and require less clean-up than a drive-thru bag. I promise.

Easy Clean Up!

I throw together the sandwiches each on their own individual sheet of aluminum foil, wrap them up in the foil, and bake them. We eat them off of the foil so we don’t even have plate to wash – we just crumple up the foil and toss it. So. Easy.

These hot ham and cheese sandwiches can be baked in the oven or the toaster oven, or, if you have one, in the air fryer. No matter which one you choose, they take less than ten minutes to bake and less than fifteen from start to finish.

They’re also super-versatile. Don’t have ham? Okay, do you have turkey? Roast beef? Chicken? You’re good to go. You can use pre-sliced cheese or slice your own, or throw on some grated cheese. Buns or sliced bread? Doesn’t matter. Use what ya got. Serve with chips, pretzels, or some raw vegetables and you’re golden.

a photograph of a hot ham and cheese sandwich with a sliced tomato and a glass of seltzer in the background and a yellow grape tomato in the foreground

I guarantee you that you are probably going to have everything you need to make these:

  1. Bread (I like onion rolls but you can literally use whatever bread you have – sliced bread, pitas, whatever)
  2. Lunch meat (ham, turkey, roast beef, chicken)
  3. Cheese (sandwich slices, grated cheese, or slice your own off of a block)
  4. Condiments (I use mayo and mustard)
  5. Any extras you’d like (if I have a few extra minutes I will throw on some bacon…if I have a lot of extra minutes I might make some caramelized onions…but if I am making these right before we want to eat, I don’t bother)

And there you go. Hot ham and cheese sandwiches are my go-to last minute easy dinner. And I don’t know about you, but with school starting back I’m going to need these in my back pocket! Check out my recipe index for more easy recipes!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate and The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

a photograph of an air fryer hot ham and cheese sandwich with a sliced tomato, a can of seltzer, and a glass of seltzer in the background and a yellow grape tomato in the foreground

Click here to save this recipe to your Pinterest air fryer and easy dinner boards!

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (Oven or Air Fryer)

5 minPrep Time:

10 minCook Time:

15 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

  • 4 onion or kaiser rolls
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 12 ounces thinly sliced deli ham (you can use other deli meats, such as turkey or roast beef, if preferred)
  • 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional but highly recommended)
  • 4 sandwich size slices cheese, your choice of variety (I used Gouda)
  • handful of your choice of potato chips
  • sliced tomatoes (again, optional but highly recommended)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven or air fryer to 350 degrees.
  2. Tear 4 sheets of aluminum foil large enough to wrap a sandwich. Place each roll on a sheet of foil and split the rolls open.
  3. Divide the mayonnaise among one cut side of each roll and the mustard among the other cut side of each roll. Divide the sliced ham among the bottom halves of the rolls. Evenly sprinkle one crumbled slice of bacon on top of the ham on each roll and top each with one slice of cheese.
  4. Top each sandwich with the top half of the roll. Wrap the sandwiches with the foil. Be carefully not to wrap too tightly, which will compress the sandwiches.
  5. Bake the sandwiches in the oven for ten minutes or the air fryer for five. Open the foil, remove the top half of each sandwich roll, and top with a few chips and a slice or two of tomato if desired. Replace the top and serve immediately. I just serve right off of the foil for easy clean-up.

Tags

Allergy
soy free
peanut free
seafood free
treenut free
sesame free

Nutrition

7.8.1.2
563
https://chattavore.com/hot-ham-and-cheese-sandwiches/

a photograph of an air fryer hot ham and cheese sandwiches on a sheet of aluminum foil with a sliced tomato in the background and a yellow grape tomato in the foreground

Easy Chinese Chicken (Meal Prep Version)

This easy Chinese chicken from the cookbook 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget is so simple and delicious! Prep-ahead directions included to simplify dinnertime!

an overhead photograph of a bowl of Chinese chicken with broccoli and brown rice

Click here to save this recipe on Pinterest!

100 Days of Real Food

I’ve been following Lisa Leake’s blog, 100 Days of Real Food, since the early days. In fact, I think that I started following her blog around the same time that I started mine, so it was one of my earliest inspirations.

When Lisa released the first 100 Days of Real Food cookbook in 2014, I jumped on it. In fact, I had pre-ordered it so it would be delivered to my Kindle on the day it came out. And when her second book, 100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous, came out in 2016, I was excited to write a review about it. So, of course, when the opportunity came up to review her latest book, 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget, released on Tuesday, of course I couldn’t pass it up!


an overhead photograph of containers with items to make easy Chinese chicken

100 Days of Real Food on a Budget

After Lisa’s family completed the initial 100 Days of Real Food challenge, she heard the voices of readers who pointed out that whole, unprocessed, and organic foods were just too pricy for their tables on a day to day basis. So, she started a second challenge where for 100 days she and her family of four ate off of a grocery budget of $125/week, which she states on her website is less than the full SNAP benefit of $167/week. 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget is a book dedicated to budget friendly “real food” meals.
an overhead photograph of a container of cubed chicken thighs with marinade
Lisa’s books always begin with an explanation of what “real food” is (basically, whole foods and/or packaged foods with five or fewer ingredients) and tips for how to shop for a real food pantry. In this book, she also gives tips in the first chapter about minimizing waste, meal planning, and lowering your grocery bill.

Other chapters in the book include:

  • breakfast
  • packed lunches
  • salads and sides
  • snacks and appetizers
  • simple dinners
  • slow cooker favorites
  • special treats
  • homemade staples.

Each recipe includes a price breakdown showing the cost of each ingredient as well as the cost per serving. Lisa’s prices are based on Publix prices at the time that the book was written, so she didn’t go super-inexpensive with Aldi or Walmart prices but also did not shop at Whole Foods or Earth Fare, which certainly would have yielded much higher prices.
an overhead photograph of a plate of whole wheat flour with cubed chicken thighs
Lisa’s recipes are always approachable. She doesn’t go over the top with fancy dinners that the average person couldn’t (or wouldn’t) replicate at home. She is the mother of two middle school age daughters, so her recipes are also kid-approved. Granted, her kids probably eat more vegetables than the average teens/pre-teens, but she was very candid in the early days of her blog about having a picky eater and gives lots of tips for winning them over.

My favorite feature of Lisa’s books (and her blog) is always the “packed lunch” section. She gives tons of ideas for lunches that are both kid and adult pleasing and don’t involve a sandwich every day (I for one would lose my mind if I had to eat a sandwich every day!). That chapter of this book does not disappoint!
an overhead photograph of a plate of pan fried cubed chicken thighs for easy Chinese chicken
The only (sort of) negative thing that I have to say about the book is that, looking at the cost per serving of some of the recipes, I think that it might still be seen as somewhat cost-prohibitive by a family on a very strict budget. I recognize, though, that this is less of a flaw of her book and more of a flaw of our food system, which sells high-calorie processed foods at a much lower premium, calorie for calorie, than fruits, vegetables, and other unprocessed foods. Still, the book delivers lower cost ways to incorporate whole foods into your diet in an accessible way that can be useful for anyone – even those on a very tight budget – to at least start moving in the direction of eating a little better.

Easy Chinese Chicken

an overhead photograph of the 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget cookbook with a bowl of easy Chinese chicken in the foreground
That leads me to this easy Chinese chicken from the book. It is similar to my standard Chinese restaurant order, sesame chicken, except without the cloying sweetness and the overwhelming bloat I always feel after. I prepped this meal ahead by:

  1. Cutting the chicken thighs into chunks
  2. Mixing the marinade in a jar
  3. Mixing the sauce ingredients in a jar (I deviated slightly from Lisa’s recipe, which directs you to cook the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a pan before adding the remainder of the sauce ingredients, by just shaking everything together in one jar)
  4. Cutting up the broccoli (I cooked the broccoli using the stir-fry broccoli recipe from the book)
  5. Adding the jar of marinade to the container of chicken an hour or so before I started making dinner

an overhead photograph of a bowl of Easy Chinese chicken
Prepping the meal ahead meant that my time from starting dinner to getting it on the table was cut at least in half. I cooked brown rice in my Instant Pot then breaded and pan-fried the chicken while it was cooking. The sauce reduced quickly and I had dinner on the table in about 40 minutes (cleaning up while I went, taking photographs, and getting a few other things done around the house while turning the chicken and stirring the sauce).
an overhead photograph of a small bowl with Chinese chicken, brown rice, and broccoli in the foreground with a larger bowl of Chinese chicken in the background
This easy Chinese chicken from 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget was a delicious dinner and a great way to start my foray into meal prepping! I definitely recommend the book. Follow this link if you would like to get a copy of 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget for yourself!

*I received a copy of this book to review and write about on my blog. I have followed and supported the 100 Days of Real Food blog for many years. As always, all opinions are mine and mine alone!

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This does not affect the cost to you. For more information, please see my disclosures. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Click here to save this recipe to your Pinterest chicken and dinner boards!
a close up picture of a bowl with Chinese chicken, broccoli, and rice, with a larger bowl of Chinese chicken in the background

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite and The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

Yield: 4 servings

Easy Chinese Chicken (Meal Prep Version)

15 minPrep Time:

25 minCook Time:

40 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

    For the marinade
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
    • For the sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used the full teaspoon and it was a little spicy for me)
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
    • For the chicken
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch cubes
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 4 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

  1. To prep ahead: in one jar, shake together the marinade ingredients. In another jar, shake together the sauce ingredients. Cover and refrigerate. Cut the chicken into cubes, place in a storage container, and refrigerate.
  2. At least fifteen minutes and up to 12 hours before you want to cook the chicken, add the marinade to the chicken.
  3. When you are ready to cook the chicken, place the whole wheat flour on a plate and roll the chicken pieces around in the flour to coat completely. Move the chicken to another plate.
  4. Heat the coconut oil in large skillet over medium heat (I used a 12-inch cast iron skillet). When shimmering, add the chicken pieces in a single layer and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove to a clean plate (I did this in two batches), leaving the browned bits in the pan. Do not remove the pan from the heat.
  5. After all of the chicken is cooked, give the jar of sauce ingredients a good shake and pour into the pan that you cooked the chicken in. Stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and reduce until the sauce is thickened. Add the cooked chicken pieces to the pan and stir to coat. Serve immediately with cooked rice and your choice of vegetables.

Nutrition

7.8.1.2
562
https://chattavore.com/easy-chinese-chicken-meal-prep-version/

 

Fried Yellow Squash in the Air Fryer

If you are a huge fan of fried yellow squash but not a huge fan of frying, air fried yellow squash is going to be a game changer! Easy, low oil, low mess!

a photograph of a plate of air fried yellow squash

Click here to save this recipe on Pinterest!

Summer Squash!

Besides a tomato sandwich, there are not many things that scream “SUMMER!!!” to me more than some fried yellow squash. Fried squash is a quintessential Southern summer side dish.

In fact, if my husband liked sliced tomatoes (he is a freak of nature who likes tomatoes when they are cooked but not so much when they are fresh), I could probably simplify my summertime meal planning by putting fried squash, sliced tomatoes, quick Southern green beans, and mashed potatoes on at least a weekly rotation.

I would certainly be happy. But alas, he is not a sliced tomato fan, and so I continue to plan.


an overhead photograph of a plate of air fried yellow squash

Air Fried Yellow Squash!

When I decided to try frying squash in my air fryer, I was sure that the results would be pretty “meh”. I was very, very wrong. Actually, it turns out that I like air fried squash better than pan fried squash. Say what?!?!?!

Yep. Pan fried squash is delicious, certainly, and it’s pretty simple in its preparation – a quick dredge in milk or a milk/egg mixture then a dip into a cornmeal and flour mixture. However, I always find that when I pan-fry yellow squash that I can never get consistent browning on the slices and they are never quite as crispy as I want them to be.

These were not problems with the air fryer. First of all, there was no popping oil everywhere. Since the air fryer circulates the air around the food while you are cooking, everything cooks at the same rate and temperature. There are no limp pieces and no overly browned pieces – everything is perfectly browned and crispy. I am obsessed! I can’t tell you how many times I have already made this air fried squash!

a photograph of a plate of air fried yellow squash

Tips for the Best Air Fried Yellow Squash:

  1. Use the smallest yellow crookneck squashes you can get your hands on. They are the most tender and flavorful!
  2. Give everything a bath in a milk or buttermilk and egg mixture before dredging.
  3. Dredge in a seasoned cornmeal and flour mixture (though I have included suggestions for specific allergies in the recipes notes section).
  4. Spray it down with olive oil spray! You can buy this in a can (like Pam) or you can put olive oil in a Misto or similar sprayer.
  5. Don’t crowd the air fryer. Everything will cook more evenly if you cook it in a single layer…you can do more than one batch if you need to!
  6. Stir frequently to encourage even cooking and make sure that you don’t overcook the squash.

What are your favorite tips for cooking fried yellow squash? Have you made fried squash in your air fryer?

Click here to save this recipe to your Pinterest air fryer, southern cooking, and side dishes boards!

Shared on the Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook and Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!
an overhead photograph of a plate of air fried yellow squash


Yield: 4 servings

About 1/2 cup

460

Air Fried Squash

10 minPrep Time:

6 minCook Time:

16 minTotal Time:

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Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • 4 small yellow crookneck squashes, outside flesh wiped clean
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or milk
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal*
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour*
  • *you can sub 1 cup of cornbread mix for the cornmeal and flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
  • olive oil spray

Instructions

  1. Cut the stem end and the skinny "neck" off of the squashes. Cut them into 1/8-inch slices.
  2. Whisk together the milk/buttermilk and egg in a small (cereal size). Place the slices of squash into the milk and egg mixture.
  3. Use a fork to stir together the cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if using) in a small bowl.
  4. Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees.
  5. Set out a baking sheet. I like to place a cooling rack on it but this is not an absolutely necessary step. Remove the squash pieces one at a time from the milk bath. Dip into the cornmeal mixture and make sure both sides are well-coated (it will be a thin coat, you just want to make sure the whole slice of squash is coated). I like to use one hand to touch the wet ingredients and the other hand to touch the dry. Place the breaded squash pieces on the baking sheet.
  6. Spray the squash on both sides with olive oil spray. Place the squash in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook for 3 minutes then stir and cook for another 3 minutes. The squash should be tender and golden-brown after 6 minutes but if not, stir and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining squash. Serve immediately.

Notes

Substitutions for allergies: corn - plain (not panko) breadcrumbs flour - almond flour dairy - unsweetened non-dairy milk (almond, soy, etc.) egg - omit egg and increase liquid slightly (will slightly impact texture)

Tags

Diet
vegetarian
lacto vegetarian
pescetarian
Allergy
egg free
soy free
peanut free
seafood free
treenut free
sesame free
mustard free

Nutrition

7.8.1.2
561
https://chattavore.com/fried-yellow-squash-in-the-air-fryer/

a close-up photograph of a plate of air fried yellow squash