Tonight I will make Chicken Tacos using the last dregs from the salsa jar. One day when rinsing an “empty” bottle to put it in the recycling bin I noticed that instead of truly being empty there was actually a layer of really thick salsa on the bottom. It had not reached its expiration date, nor had it been left out, so that thick layer was still edible, just too thick to easily pour out. I decided to try adding a little water to see if I could create a taco seasoning. My family loved the results, so now whenever I have an “empty” salsa jar I add tacos to the menu.
An “empty” bottle of salsa that at one time would have been tossed into the recycle bin.
Shake it well. Then add it to 1/2 – 1 pound of chicken cut into bite size pieces. Cook over a medium heat until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Use the meat in tacos or taco salad.
You can apply this technique to the last dregs of dressing or jam. I have added a little water to an “empty” raspberry jam bottle and then combined the ‘jam juice” with oil and vinegar dressing to create a raspberry vinaigrette.
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The Book Lady Online says
What a great idea! We use salsa in lots of recipes, but I never thought to check to see if the jar was truly empty. Thanks for the great tip.
AudreyO says
I made a crockpot lasagna last night. We did this with the jarred sauce. We put 1/4 water into the jar, shook and poured the water mixture over the top of the casserole before turning on the crockpot.
Alea says
Thanks for all of the great ideas!
Jane, I am glad that my husband did not see that comercial, because he would definitely drink salsa straight from a bottle if I let him!
Sharinskishe says
I have always done this with catsup/ketchup and spaghetti sauce. I haven't done this with salsa, but will from now on.
If I had seen the commercial, I would have added water and drunk the salsa too. But now I have to add it to the food for everyone and not hoard it for myself. Thanks to your practical tip!
My friend likes to add milk to the nearly empty Hershey syrup bottle for chocolate milk and she also adds milk to jelly and jam for strawberry, grape or ?flavor? milk. Go figure, the things we can learn!!
Thanks for sharing your tip!
Sharinskishe
http://practically-perfect-life.blogspot.com/2009/07/kitchen-tips-fun-and-practical.html
Struggler says
Funny, I quite often do this with shampoo bottles but had not thought to apply the technique to things in the fridge.
The vinaigrette sounds great, thank you!
TammyLee says
Thanks for the tip!
Jane says
That is a really good idea. I also like the idea of the raspberry vinagrette.
Also, I have to laugh that this reminded me of something. It was a commercial on tv where the lady went to rinse out her bottle of salsa & noticed that that there was a little in the bottom & the water loosened it up. She looked both ways to make sure nobody was watching & then drank it! LOL!
The Thrifty Countrywoman says
I really like the idea about the vinaigrette! Frugal Engineers idea sound good too! Always learning!
Jane
The Frugal Engineer says
I do something similar with the last bit of spaghetti sauce in a jar – I mix in some hot water, pour it into a small pan, and add a small can of tomato paste, more water if necessary, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. We use the results for a dipping sauce for breadsticks when we have pizza.