Got some left-over mince? Orange peels? Chicken bones? Waste not, want not! These recipes will have you cooking the way your penny-pinching grandparents always dreamed you would.  

Shepherd’s pie

• 1 finely diced carrot
• 2 sticks finely chopped celery
• 1 peeled and finely chopped brown onion
• Olive oil
• 2 peeled and crushed garlic cloves
• 1 chicken stock cube or 1 tsp stock powder
• Left-over roast meat, minced
• Gravy powder and cornflour for thickening
• Mashed potato
• Butter
• Tasty cheese, grated

Left-over roast lamb or beef can be minced in the food processor to make a shepherd’s pie.

Sauté the carrot, celery, and onion in a little olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and stock cube or stock powder. Add minced roast meat and 1 cup (250ml) water. Cook until vegetables are soft.

Thicken the juices with a little gravy powder and cornflour mixed to a paste in a little cold water.

Pour mixture into a greased ovenproof dish. Cover with mashed potato.

Dot a little butter on the mashed potato, cover with grated tasty cheese and heat in a moderate (180°C) oven for about 20 minutes to melt the cheese and heat through.

Hot tip: Left-over cooked carrots, parsnips, turnips, or swede can be mashed in with the potato to add extra flavour.

Candied peel

• Left-over peel from 1 orange
• 2 cups (440g) sugar to 1 cup (250ml) water
• Melted chocolate dip, to serve with coffee after dinner

Place the orange peel in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Pour off the water and repeat this process to remove any bitterness.

Simmer in fresh water until the peel is tender to the bite. Drain peel. Return the peel to the saucepan with the sugar and water.

Starting over a low heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer until the peel is translucent (this takes a while). Drain the water off.

Spread the peel onto a wire rack to dry, turning as needed. Store the dry peel in an airtight container.

Make your own chicken stock!

• Chicken wing tips, cooked chicken carcases or pieces
• Water
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 stick celery, roughly chopped, including leaves
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• Carrot tops, parsley stalks, wilted vegies in the crisper – including mushrooms, parsnips, broccoli, zucchini, pumpkin, swede, and turnips
• Salt and ground white pepper

Put chicken wing tips, cooked carcases, or pieces that you have saved up in the freezer, into a large pot.

Three-quarters fill with water, bring to the boil, and add carrots, celery with the leaves, onions, and any or all of carrot tops, parsley stalks, and left-over wilted vegies. Use whatever you have on hand.

Bring to the boil, and simmer gently for 3 hours. Season well with lots of salt and ground white pepper.

Strain off the chicken and veggies, cool and then chill in the fridge.

Skim off any fat that settles on the top and either use straight away or freeze in 2 cup (500ml) containers for convenient use in recipes.

Hot tip: You can serve the chicken stock as a broth and add left-over small pasta shapes to make it more substantial.

Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.