By Bonny Osterhage
Staff Writer

You get up in the morning to pour yourself a bowl of cereal, add some milk, and then … YEEWW! What is that taste?

You check the expiration date and sure enough, the milk should have been put out to pasture days ago. Or how about scurrying around in the morning making your child’s lunch, only to discover that the bread is as hard as a brick …and what’s that funny green stuff on the side?

Regardless of how careful you are, bad food occasionally happens to good people. We have all found something in our refrigerator that could possibly be the cure for cancer. But while some food is obviously beyond saving, there are some things that, although not fit for their original purposes, might have a little shelf life left if used properly.

Before you toss overripe fruit, stale bread or potato chips, or even slightly soured milk, check out a few of these tips and recipes:

Fruit

One of the biggest problems in our house is overripe bananas. It seems like I throw away more than we eat. However, overripe bananas are ideal for making banana nut bread and some of my Memphis relatives swear they are better for banana pudding. If your bananas are starting to look more black than yellow, give these recipes a shot.

Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups mashed overripe bananas

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine the first five ingredients; stir in pecans. Combine remaining ingredients and add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter into two greased and floured 8-by-4-1/2-by-3-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans and let cool on wire racks.

Banana Pudding

3-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-1/3 cups sugar

Dash of salt

3 eggs, separated

3 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

6 medium overripe bananas

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, 1-1/3 cups sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Beat egg yolks; combine egg yolks and milk, mixing well. Stir into dry ingredients; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Layer a third of the wafers in a three-quart baking dish. Slice 2 bananas and layer over wafers. Pour 1/3 of custard over bananas. Repeat layers twice. Beat egg whites at room temperature until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until blended. Spread meringue over custard, sealing to edge of dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Bread

Here’s another one that makes me crazy. Because we all eat different types of bread at my house, inevitably someone’s goes stale before it’s gone. As long as there is no mold on it, you can use hard bread for many things. One of the simplest is throwing it in the blender for homemade bread crumbs. Great to have on hand! You can also use it to make homemade croutons.

Croutons

Stale bread

Butter, melted

Herbs of choice

Toast the stale bread in the oven until it cuts easily. Cut it into cubes. Mix the melted butter with the herbs of your choice. Coat the cubes in the herb mixture and put them back in the oven. Toast until they are hard. Great for salads.

Chips and Crackers:

Why does it seem like you can never find crackers or chips in the pantry when you want them but whenever you are digging for something else, there they are, in the very back of the pantry … open! Don’t throw them out! Crush them up and use them on casseroles. Here are two of my favorites:

Poppyseed Chicken

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 8-ounce carton of sour cream

1 tablespoon poppyseeds

1-1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers

1/4 cup melted butter

Combine first four ingredients. Spoon into a lightly greased 11-by-7-by-1-1/2-inch baking dish. Combine crushed crackers and butter and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Potato Casserole

1 2-pound bag frozen hash browns

1/2 cup melted margarine

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 8-ounce carton sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

10 ounces sharp cheddar, grated

Topping

2 cups crushed potato chips

1/4 cup melted margarine

Defrost hash browns and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/2 cup melted margarine, salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients and blend thoroughly. Place in a 3-quart buttered casserole dish. Mix topping ingredients and spread over top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and brown about 15 minutes.