MILWAUKEE (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- As social isolation and social distancing become the new normal, this likely means less trips out of the house, including to the grocery store. 

Sharon Hope is a full-time chef for Marquette University.  She also volunteers for the college’s Neighborhood Kitchen.  It provides food to those in the community who need it.

“If people have food, then you can get through the worst situations better,” Sharon says.  “If you share your food, it will come back to you.”

Sharon is a big proponent of making food last by being resourceful and utilizing what’s already in your pantry and fridge.

“It's about not wasting,” she says.  “When you see something getting soft, you need to use it.”

Sharon’s talking about the apples and pears she used in her most recent apple/pear. crumble.  They were a couple days away from needing to be thrown away.

“I planned on making something else, but instead I did this,” she says.

She also used the last of a box of cereal for the crumble.

“These are Frosted Flakes because that's what we had,” Sharon says.  “Sprinkle it on top instead of bread crumbs because you might not have any bread.

Sharon says any kind of crunchy cereal will suffice.  Crispy bagel bits also work.  The crumble also consisted of honey, sugar, cinnamon and corn starch.

“It's always that little bit left in the bottom of the box you don't know what to do with and you want to rho it out, but that’s money,” Sharon says.

The crumble bakes for 45 minutes.

Sharon also made a puttanesca with items she already had on hand in her own house.

“Onions, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, garlic, and I like to sprinkle some oregano too.” 

She says any kind of pasta will suffice.  She added olives and chickpeas.

“These are just vegetables I had on hand, but you can put anything in here,” she says.  “You could put ham in here, you could put chicken in here, some people put fish in here.”

Sharon says many leftover items, or extra items can also be frozen.

“You can freeze cream cheese, sour cream, milk, almost any vegetable,” she says.  “If you have a serving of roast beef left, or chicken left, put it in a bag and freeze it.”

Sharon says be sure the milk container is not completely full because it will expand.  She also advises against freezing zucchini. 

You can find all of Sharon’s ideas and recipes on the Neighborhood Kitchen Facebook page.