15 Bottom-of-the-Jar Tips to Make Your Grocery Budget Stretch Further

You work hard to earn your grocery cash, so when you're down to just a little bit of something, make your food budget stretch by turning your last drop of honey, jam or even peanut butter into a totally new recipe!

And even better — every one of these recipes is made right in the jar, so you have less to clean up later. You're welcome.

1. Bottom-of-the-Jar Bloody Maria

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Have leftover jarred pickled jalapeño slices? Try making this Bloody Maria cocktail — it's like a Bloody Mary, but it's made with tequila instead of vodka. And, who wouldn't want to sip their cocktail straight from the jar, are we right?

2. Bottom-of-the-Jar Bourbon Bee's Knees

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This cocktail is basically like a bourbon sour with honey. Fresh lemon juice, honey syrup (so easy to DIY — just pour boiling water into your honey container and shake), and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

3. Bottom-of-the-Jar Spicy and Tangy Chicken Marinade

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This glaze could be used for literally any kind of protein you can think of. Cook your favorite flavor of preserves (Rach uses plum for this recipe) with water, garlic, ginger, honey, Tamari sauce and a little sriracha for some heat.

4. Bottom-of-the-Jar Whipped Cream

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Did you know that you can make whipped cream in a jar? Live and learn, folks. Here's the surprisingly simple way to do it. Using the jar of jam that’s running low, fill it with very cold whipping cream about ⅓ of the way, a pinch of salt and a tiny bit of confectioners sugar. Pop the lid on it and shake it for about 2 minutes.

5. Bottom-of-the-Greek-Yogurt-Jar Chicken Marinade

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Have a little pickle juice left? How about some Greek yogurt? Great! Now mix those together with hot sauce, salt, pepper and olive oil and shake it all together. Now you have a tangy marinade for chicken.

6. Bottom-of-the-Veggie-Drawer Chopped Salad

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Hey, it happens. You bought a bunch of produce for your meals throughout the week, but there's still a lot left over. Chop it all up and turn it into a salad. Add a bit of protein by adding grilled chicken or steak! Dress it with a little olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper and call it a day.

7. Don't Toss Away the Ends of the Bread Loaf! Try This Instead:

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In the video above, one of our genius viewers has a great tip for using up the end pieces from a loaf of bread. Use them instead of paper towels to drain fried meat on!

8. Don't Have Long Matches? No Problem, Here's a Solution:

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Sometimes lighting candles with a short match can be a pain. A neat trick is to light the tip of a piece of raw spaghetti and use it as a long match. Ta-da!

9. Our Adorable Viewer's Clever Bottom-of-the-Jar Tip

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It's the pickle jar that keeps on giving. The next time you finish a jar of pickles and have leftover pickle juice, reuse the juice to make more pickles! Start by peeling and slicing up some fresh cucumbers. Then, place them back in the jar with the leftover pickle juice. Seal the jar up and let the cucumbers marinate in the juice for a few days in the refrigerator. Soon enough, you'll have new pickles to enjoy that you made yourself.

10. Bottom-of-the-Jar Honey Bear

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With a little bit of honey, you can make a sweet and tangy honey-dijon dressing. Pour some hot water into the honey jar to help the honey dissolve. Then, add a little whole grain mustard (or regular dijon), champagne wine vinegar and some fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper and shake it up!

11. Bottom-of-the-Jar-Peanut-Butter

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Turn a dollop of peanut butter (or any nut butter you have on hand) into an Asian-inspired peanut sauce. Pour some hot water into the peanut butter jar to thin it out a little, tart rice wine vinegar, Tamari sauce, toasted sesame oil, freshly grated ginger and garlic. Put on the lid and shake it up.

12. Sour Cream Bottom-of-the-Jar

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Whenever you buy sour cream, chances are you hardly ever use the entire container. Don't throw it away (unless it's gone a little too far south for you). Turn that little bit into a dressing for pierogies. Yum! Thin it out with a splash of half-and-half or whole milk, grated seedless cucumber, lemon zest and juice, dill, salt and pepper.

13. Bottom of the Raspberry Jam Jar

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Turn a couple of tablespoons of raspberry jam into a dressing. Here's how: add a little dijon mustard to the jam jar, then red wine vinegar, and fill it up with EVOO. Not only is it a great salad dressing, but it also makes a great dipper for chicken.

14. Bottom-of-the-Jar Hot Pepper Jelly

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Hot pepper jelly can become chicken salad in a snap. Add hot water to the jar to loosen it a bit (see a trend here with the hot water?), chopped cilantro, pickled jalapeños, olive oil, hot sauce, lime zest and juice. Shake it up and pour it over shredded chicken. It's perfect for a zesty lunch!

15. Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce

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What's better than caramel sauce on your ice cream? Peanut butter caramel sauce! Take whatever leftover peanut butter you have and mix it with caramel sauce (obviously), hot water and a splash of orange liquor… you know, for fun. Have at it!