Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1183649 times)

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1150 on: January 15, 2017, 08:43:23 PM »
The web turns up all these so called useful ideas but they use one measly teaspoon at a time!! Luckily I found one which suggested pasta and sausages with mint sauce, I guess like pesto. Interesting, will try!

plainjane

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1151 on: January 16, 2017, 04:33:14 AM »
I'm thinking greek (pasta) salad - things with feta, cucumber, tomato?  A marinade for chicken?

Catbert

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1152 on: January 16, 2017, 11:53:01 AM »
I need some ideas for mint sauce. I've got two bottles in the fridge, probably both years old. We rarely eat lamb. It's good on boiled potatoes and veg if you're having a meat and two veg dinner but that's pretty rare too. I've used a little bit of it in yoghurt for a potato salad and a minty dip.

Any ideas for using a large volume of the stuff?

Is it like mint jelly?  Could you do a dessert with it? Chocolate and jam cookies?  Or use it with ice-cream, mint milk shakes? Those aren't exactly healthy options.

I've just realised it might not be something eaten in the US. It's like vinegar and chopped mint, but with sugar added. If you can have balsamic vinegar with strawberries maybe I should try a drizzle of mint sauce with them.

Could you use it as the beginning of BBQ sauce?  Or would that just leave you wondering what to do with BBQ sauce?  Or what BBQ sauce is?

recklesslysober

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1153 on: January 16, 2017, 12:01:19 PM »
Sunday cooking:

baked beans using up all of our dried red kidney beans and some leftover barbeque sauce
quinoa with onion and some sad broccoli
roasted carrots and some potatoes that were starting to sprout

Grocery spending so far:
$71.47

Pantry inventory:
sushi rice
nori sheets
wasabi powder
pickled beets x 3
artichoke hearts
oatmeal
white rice
quinoa
spaghetti
penne
various pasta x 6
ramen
dried chickpeas
dried lentils
canned refried beans x 2
nutritional yeast
prunes

I didn't quite realize how much pasta we have. I'm going to make a big batch of pasta salad this week with the artichoke hearts and some other things from the fridge.

Fridge inventory:
jar of pickles
bell peppers x 6
carrots x 4
apples
lemons
ground flax seeds
chia seeds
hemp seeds
almonds
peanut butter
strawberry jam
butter
miso paste
feta
various condiments - mayo, vegan chipotle mayo, mustard, hot sauce, green tabasco sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, stir fry sauce 

Freezer inventory:
mango
blackberries
cherries
kale
spinach
ground beef
fish
chili
bread

.. I think that's it. I'm going to have to go through and test myself to see what I forgot! ;) My goal is to get to a point where I can easily remember all of the food that we have. 

Tris Prior

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1154 on: January 16, 2017, 12:31:13 PM »
I found a bag of cornmeal in the pantry so made some cornbread yesterday (which is really good with my homecanned strawberry butter). Planning on doing a mushrooms-and-polenta thing today. I've never had polenta so we'll see how this goes.

Now to figure out what to do with the bag of flaxseed. I know you can put it in smoothies but I usually don't drink smoothies in winter. I think I originally bought this for some baked-good recipe that ended up being a failure.

recklesslysober

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1155 on: January 16, 2017, 01:11:48 PM »
I found a bag of cornmeal in the pantry so made some cornbread yesterday (which is really good with my homecanned strawberry butter). Planning on doing a mushrooms-and-polenta thing today. I've never had polenta so we'll see how this goes.

Now to figure out what to do with the bag of flaxseed. I know you can put it in smoothies but I usually don't drink smoothies in winter. I think I originally bought this for some baked-good recipe that ended up being a failure.

I usually use ground flaxseed mixed with water as an egg replacement, or alone as a mixer/replacement for flour/bread crumbs for breading or bulking. If they're whole, you could add them to salads, cereal, yogurt, into baking, or in a chili or stew.   

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1156 on: January 16, 2017, 02:13:04 PM »
Everyone is doing an excellent job!  Way to stay the course.  Things are going well here:

Successfully cooked the old fashioned oatmeal before their end of the year expiration date last month.

Used the remaining 4 nori sheets in sushi last week.

Leftover Alfredo sauce was added to a ground beef and green bean skillet dish.

Chocolate chips leftover from Christmas baking will be added to a banana bread recipe tonight.  There are 3 very sad-looking bananas on our counter right now, LOL.

I'll soak another batch of pinto beans tonight to make the Budget Bytes not re-fried bean recipe.  DH really likes these and you cannot tell they aren't canned.  Plus, they freeze really well.

Also going to make my own taco spice blend tonight.

Freezer proteins were down to 1 chicken breast and 1 LB ground beef before I went shopping last week.

And, regarding my prior posts about refrigerated condiments, I used up one of the jars of cocktail sauce, and the jar of sugar free apricot preserves.  :)  I used several TBS sf strawberry preserves on top of crackers, and some of the soy sauce for last week's sushi.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 02:17:24 PM by MountainGal »

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1157 on: January 16, 2017, 02:42:46 PM »
I'm thinking greek (pasta) salad - things with feta, cucumber, tomato?  A marinade for chicken?

Yep, good idea. I'm thinking wherever I'd use pesto (and that's a lot of things!) I'll use mint sauce. It will convert the dish from Italian to Greek, ta da!

I have beetroot and pumpkin I was going to roast and have with feta. I'll have a mint sauce dressing, awesome.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1158 on: January 16, 2017, 02:46:09 PM »

Could you use it as the beginning of BBQ sauce?  Or would that just leave you wondering what to do with BBQ sauce?  Or what BBQ sauce is?

I have expired shop bought BBQ sauce too!! I thinking I'll use it anytime I use mint or vinegar.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1159 on: January 16, 2017, 02:49:59 PM »
Put the last of the big tub of yoghurt in a little container for husband to take to work today.

He's the only one who eats it, and he's travelling for work from tomorrow.

He's only recently agreed to buying the big tubs (much more economical than the little pots) and so far no problem.

ETA: It's also much easier to use up a handful of nuts or some leftover blueberries - just throw them in his yoghurt for lunch.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 02:52:52 PM by mustachepungoeshere »

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1160 on: January 16, 2017, 04:36:27 PM »
Made a cake out of leftover oatmeal. It's a muffin recipe but I did it in an 8x8 glass pan instead. My big crew eat up stuff so fast that I figured "why bother with muffin tins and papers?" Seems I was right - 3/4 of the cake is already gone!

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1161 on: January 16, 2017, 04:49:57 PM »
Made a cake out of leftover oatmeal. It's a muffin recipe but I did it in an 8x8 glass pan instead. My big crew eat up stuff so fast that I figured "why bother with muffin tins and papers?" Seems I was right - 3/4 of the cake is already gone!

This made me laugh :) I made some Spicy Tuna cakes - which call for cooking in a muffin pan. I am lazy, I opted for pan frying the cakes. That lasted for one batch, then i figured it is too much work to form them into cakes...Spicy Tuna hash for the win!

We've been making a conscious effort to use up our tea supply. Having a cup as an excuse to take a break from work and get up and stretch in the afternoon, and then hubs and I are having something non-caffeinated after supper instead of giving into the temptation of snacking in the evening.

dividend

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1162 on: January 16, 2017, 05:00:08 PM »
Got around to inventorying the freezers.  Most concerning is a whole turkey from several Thanksgivings ago.  Anyone know how old is too old with a frozen turkey?  The only convenience food in there is a few frozen pizzas, a container of lobster bisque, several packages of ravioli and tortellini, salmon and chicken burgers.  Plus a some meat we grilled and froze.   It's mostly meat, bread, shredded cheese, veggies, and some odds and ends. 

My current goal is to eat through enough stuff to be able to consolidate to just the under fridge freezer, so that I can defrost and clean the chest freezer in the garage, which I haven't done in some years.  This will probably require avoiding going to Costco.  :)

I've got a big crock pot full of red beans going, used 2 frozen smoked pork hocks, some frozen grilled garlic kielbasa, a pound of dried red beans, and some wilty celery and questionable green peppers lurking in the fridge.  The house smells good, and I'm drinking a homemade london fog (double strength earl grey, homemade vanilla syrup, and steamed milk) while browsing recipes based on my inventory.  Suggestions are welcome for recipes involving jarred roasted red peppers, penne pasta, canned chickpeas, grilled hot dogs, meatballs, chipotle in adobo, and jams/jellies/creamed honey. 


plainjane

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1163 on: January 16, 2017, 05:14:37 PM »
I have freed up enough room in the freezer to make ice cubes.  We are out of bread crumbs and have moved to matzoh meal.

frugalfelicia

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1164 on: January 16, 2017, 08:00:39 PM »
I found a bag of cornmeal in the pantry so made some cornbread yesterday (which is really good with my homecanned strawberry butter). Planning on doing a mushrooms-and-polenta thing today. I've never had polenta so we'll see how this goes.

Now to figure out what to do with the bag of flaxseed. I know you can put it in smoothies but I usually don't drink smoothies in winter. I think I originally bought this for some baked-good recipe that ended up being a failure.

Let me know how you like the polenta - I made it for the first time recently and was not impressed.

RE: flax seed, you can put it on/in anything. I add a spoonful to my oatmeal, cereal, soups, mashed potatoes, stirfries, on top of salad, etc.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1165 on: January 17, 2017, 12:16:53 PM »

I've got a big crock pot full of red beans going, used 2 frozen smoked pork hocks, some frozen grilled garlic kielbasa, a pound of dried red beans, and some wilty celery and questionable green peppers lurking in the fridge.  The house smells good, and I'm drinking a homemade london fog (double strength earl grey, homemade vanilla syrup, and steamed milk) while browsing recipes based on my inventory.  Suggestions are welcome for recipes involving jarred roasted red peppers, penne pasta, canned chickpeas, grilled hot dogs, meatballs, chipotle in adobo, and jams/jellies/creamed honey.

I'd make an awesome pasta dish with the items in bold.  :)

plainjane

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1166 on: January 17, 2017, 12:33:53 PM »
Let me know how you like the polenta - I made it for the first time recently and was not impressed.

Things I learned about polenta.  Use stock, not water.  Make sure you cook it for longer than it calls for (I had a cookbook say 'until it stops tasting soapy', which was very useful).  Put really good tasting things on top that are adequately salted.  Discover whether you like it better soft or once it is set.

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1167 on: January 17, 2017, 12:47:04 PM »
I just put 4 lb of stew beef cubes in the crockpot and covered it with 2 X half full bottles of BBQ sauce (store bought...gasp! What was I thinking last summer??!!)

Will serve over homemade buns pulled from the deep freeze and cut up veggies.

Wish me luck!

ETA: turned out fine. Had to chop up the beef during last half hour of cooking.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2017, 12:34:40 AM by 1967mama »

DTaggart

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1168 on: January 17, 2017, 01:08:03 PM »
All right! I had another good week in pantry challenge land and cleared out a few jars in the cupboard:
  • Had carne asada Tuesday night, which used up 1/2 the last pack of flour tortillas that has been in the fridge for longer than I'm comfortable admitting. Made a batch of Mexican Rice as a side, which used some of the brown rice stock pile, and froze enough for 2 future meals.
  • Had turkey burgers last Wednesday using some of the homemade hamburger buns I'd made and frozen the prior week. Topped them with some swiss cheese that has been lying around since hubby finished off the last of the lunch meat. On the side we ate 1/2 a bag of Omaha Steak fries. We'll have pretty much the same meal this week, which should finish off the cheese, buns, and fries.
  • Friday night I finally used the last of the popcorn kernels to make popcorn while we watched a movie (The Infiltrator with Brian Cranston... two thumbs up).
  • Dinner Saturday was chicken tacos from the freezer with some of the giant bag of corn tortillas that has also been in the fridge longer than I am comfortable admitting, plus some of the Mexican rice from Tuesday.
  • We were out of bread, so I made a loaf of rye bread which used up 1 jar of rye flour that has been in the cupboard forever. Another loaf this week should finish it off.
  • Ran out of regular milk on Thursday, which I had anticipated, and made a batch of powdered milk to use in coffee and baking instead of buying more milk.
  • Last night hubby went out for Chinese food with a friend so I was on my own. I decided I'd use up an old jar of black beans from the cupboard and make some black bean soup. I was a little worried since they were so old, so I decided to cook them separately before adding them to the soup, and I'm glad I took that route. After soaking the beans overnight (and most of the day yesterday), I cooked them for over 90 minutes and they were still quite hard. I gave up and tossed them and ended up making chicken tortilla soup instead, so I was still able to use all the other ingredients I had prepared. I guess I could have tried simmering them longer and then just freezing them for later if/when they finally got soft, but it was getting late and I just wanted to get the kitchen cleaned up and relax. In any event, the beans are out of the cupboard so I can get on with my life :)
  • Made a batch of granola bars yesterday to snack on this week - I found one last jar of crunchy peanut butter so mixed a bunch of that in, plus flax seeds, and 1 cup of that seemingly bottomless bag of stale puffed rice cereal. Granola bars are awesome for using up random stuff.
  • Made a batch of blueberry pancakes yesterday to eat for breakfast this week. I think I might be on the last bag of blueberries from the depths of the freezer.

I made an executive decision and tossed out the 2.5 jars of Nutella that have been haunting me. I don't like it all that much and it's high sugar and I'm trying to cut back. So after seeing some news articles last week saying that it might contribute to cancer, I decided that was a good enough excuse to just toss it. Usually when I try a new product I'm pretty good about just getting 1 until I decide if I'm going to like it, but the Nutella purchase was fueled by seeing numerous recipe blog posts proclaiming it to be the greatest substance on the planet, and a good coupon/sale combination (I think I paid $1 per jar). Oh well, lesson learned.

I rocked the grocery shopping again - total spent was $29.11. and that included 5 dozen eggs (on sale for .99/dozen) and two 12-packs of toilet paper. Everything else was produce and a little bit of oatmeal that was on sale. This puts me at 86.55 for the month, so I'm right on track for my goal of $150 for the month.

Suggestions are welcome for recipes involving jarred roasted red peppers, penne pasta, canned chickpeas, grilled hot dogs, meatballs, chipotle in adobo, and jams/jellies/creamed honey.

Canned chickpeas + roasted red peppers = roasted red pepper hummus

Now to figure out what to do with the bag of flaxseed. I know you can put it in smoothies but I usually don't drink smoothies in winter. I think I originally bought this for some baked-good recipe that ended up being a failure.

I've got a jar of flax seeds I'm working on too. I grind the seeds up using a coffee grinder, then just add some (anywhere from a few tablespoons to 1/4 cup) to just about anything I'm baking - bread, muffins, cookies, granola bars... Voila! Now it's healthy and has Omega-3s :)

Tris Prior

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1169 on: January 17, 2017, 02:39:38 PM »
Thanks for the polenta and flaxseed suggestions! I didn't get to the polenta yet. Maybe tonight. The flaxseeds are ground - and I forgot they are egg replacement in vegan baking! I'm not vegan but can definitely use them up that way.

I take overnight oats to work every morning with a big gob of jam thrown in. This week I'm eating down my last jar of cranberry-orange jam, which I really did not like. Meh. It'll be done in 2 more days though and then I am not making that again!

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1170 on: January 17, 2017, 03:00:08 PM »
Cooking up the last of a jar of rice. It is a staple and I have another package I already opened, oops. It's nice to use up duplicates.

I'm soaking the last of my Garbanzo beans. I don't have a blender or anything but I'm thinking if I really overcook them I can still make them into hummus with a mixer. 

My jar of Tahini is ancient. Smells fine. Anybody have concerns about using old tahini? 

Dollar Slice

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1171 on: January 17, 2017, 03:05:01 PM »
My jar of Tahini is ancient. Smells fine. Anybody have concerns about using old tahini?

I would think it's similar to (pea)nut butter. Should last a while but will eventually go rancid and/or separate.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1172 on: January 17, 2017, 03:06:12 PM »
Cooking up the last of a jar of rice. It is a staple and I have another package I already opened, oops. It's nice to use up duplicates.

I'm soaking the last of my Garbanzo beans. I don't have a blender or anything but I'm thinking if I really overcook them I can still make them into hummus with a mixer. 

My jar of Tahini is ancient. Smells fine. Anybody have concerns about using old tahini?

Tahini can and will go rancid due to the oil. Give it a taste before you add it to the hummus. You'll know. It does last FOREVER in the fridge though.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1173 on: January 17, 2017, 06:51:52 PM »
Made steak sandwiches last night to use up caramelised onion relish.

The relish was so good I was torn between 'I want to eat this on everything, forever' and 'Nooo, we can't use it all up, then I'll have to buy more!'

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1174 on: January 17, 2017, 07:15:24 PM »
I tasted the tahini. I think it's ok in spite of expiring in November 2015. Thanks for the advice all.

I have about a cup and half of barley grains in the fridge, several years old. I love beef and barley soup but I am almost vegetarian these days. I guess I could cook it like a pilaf. I'll do some googling but if anyone has any great barley ideas I'm interested.

I just popped all of the popcorn!  I went through this bag in about 6 weeks. The last bag took closer to 6 years to use.  I will definitely rebuy, but how quickly will I use it? Do I need the small bag or the big bag?!  Ah dilemma.


Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1175 on: January 18, 2017, 01:22:08 AM »
<...>
This week I'm eating down my last jar of cranberry-orange jam, which I really did not like. Meh. It'll be done in 2 more days though and then I am not making that again!

Here in Norway we often use a berry called "tyttebær", quite similar in taste to the cranberry, to cook with sugar and serve with wild meat, like venison and moose. If we do it simple, we just buy a jar of jam, which is then only used for that. So that is another way of emptying your last jar, serve some spoons of it together with strong-tasting meat.

recklesslysober

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1176 on: January 18, 2017, 12:32:45 PM »
Yesterday I bought a jar of sundried tomatoes and used up that plus the jar of artichoke hearts, two bags of pasta, and two of the bell peppers to make a massive amount of pasta salad to eat this week. There was also one less bag of pasta than I thought so we're down to 3 bags now plus the spaghetti and fettucine. We don't actually eat that much pasta so I don't know why I bought that 6-pack at Costco.. planning to finish that all off in the next couple of months and then focus on buying more whole grains.


Unique User

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1177 on: January 18, 2017, 01:19:23 PM »
I've been trying to do this so far this year, our freezer is packed and the pantry has lots of stuff in it also.  I'm less concerned about the pantry as I like to have a stock of canned goods on hand for hurricanes, but the freezer is out of control.  There were stacks of $4 off any turkey coupons at the grocery store so I took a bunch and used them all up.  It saddened me to see coupons still there after the expiration date.  I probably ended up only spending around $15 and got two whole turkeys, three turkey breasts and several packs of turkey cutlets, turkey thighs and ground turkey.  In the freezer there is also several containers of chicken stock, as well as shredded chicken, It sausage, bratwurst, chicken breasts and tons of random items like diced onions, peppers and misc sauces.  Oh and a couple freezer meals and soups I have on hand for easy meals. Kind of scary when I type it out and know I've missed several items.   We already do all the normal stuff with shredded chicken/turkey - tacos, bbq, soup - any new ideas for using that up?

I took a turkey breast out of the freezer to cook for dinner on Friday and sandwiches the following week for lunches, but I'm feeling very uninspired.  Hoping this thread inspires me. 

Got around to inventorying the freezers.  Most concerning is a whole turkey from several Thanksgivings ago.  Anyone know how old is too old with a frozen turkey? 

I'd defrost it and see how it smells once it is defrosted and how much freezer burn there is. 

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1178 on: January 18, 2017, 05:51:07 PM »
I buy hummus.  I admit it.  Now I'll be banned from this community! I don't have a blender and there are bigger things to worry about.

Right now I have vouchers for free Sabra hummus, so I picked up a tub today. I thought it was roasted garlic but no, it is extreme spice. Oops.

So I cooked up the last 1.25 cups of garbanzos I have.  I smushed them with a fork when they were still quite hot and was pleased with how well it worked.  I used a bit of the tahini I mentioned upthread and some garlic and mixed it all up with the extra spices store bought stuff. Now I've got enough for three weeks.

oops.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1179 on: January 18, 2017, 06:02:59 PM »
I have a jar of chill jam and a jar of gravadlax sauce (from ikea, for salmon) that both say expiry 2013.

Will I die if I eat them do you think? They are both never opened.

I also have a bag of brown rice that I didn't know was opened and expired 2015. How do I know if it's ok? It smells ok, I think.

I also found a bag of potato flour (will use in stews and breadmaking) and so so many coriander seeds. No idea why.
And bags and bags of nuts, most of them opened. I guess I just need to taste test them all and see if they are ok? 

Excluding all that, going through my pantry properly has uncovered about 15 potential meals, so that's us sorted til the end of January.   

horsepoor

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1180 on: January 18, 2017, 08:20:13 PM »
The rice should be fine.

Chili jam, also fine. 

What are the ingredients in the gravadlax sauce? 

Having done this challenge is making me much more accepting of my limited pantry in my temporary apartment.  Like, I have one can of tomatoes and that's OK.   I did buy lots of veggies and 5# of potatoes, so planning to make a creamy potato broccoli soup tomorrow.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1181 on: January 18, 2017, 09:36:36 PM »
So I had a proper go through and taste of everything once I had some time - hazelnuts and almonds fine, pistachios - nope, gone!

I looked carefully at the brown rice - gross! A little maggoty grub, must be from a pantry moth, was living at the bottom. So I chucked it. Everything that has been properly clipped is fine, anything where I relied on a zipper or seal that came with the bag is no good.

One partial bag of crumbed walnuts looked weird so I chucked it, but I kept another (why did I have two??)

I have such a large tub of desiccated coconut and it unfortunately seems to have lost its flavour. I will give it a go in some biscuits but I'm thinking it might just get chucked also.

Oh dear, what a waste.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1182 on: January 21, 2017, 12:08:45 AM »
I've been catching up on this thread after a long absence, and I must say that there have been some very nice sounding meals made with some very odd ingredients!  And people talking about having spare space in their cupboards and freezers ...

I got inspired.

I have concluded that I should probably do a proper inventory.  But right now there's enough stuff in the freezer and one cupboard in particular that it would be a real pain in the neck!  I did take a look through most of my stocks, and made some mental notes about things I should try to make/use up.  One really obvious observation - I do not need to buy rice anytime soon!

Using up stuff can go slowly, as I work some different hours, and it's not unusual to be fed at work or sent home with leftovers from events.  A good chunk of my freezer stuff is individual portions of leftovers that I've brought home.  All mixed up with other stuff, and jam-packed in there, with mini-avalanches when you try to take something out.  But at least I have quite a few quick reheat meals to help keep me from stopping for fast food on the way home.

For tonight, to make some kind of forward progress, I took a jar of some unknown substance out of the freezer and defrosted it.  I have no idea exactly what it was meant to be - tomato sauce (too thin?), some kind of broth (but then why would it have rice in it?), or soup (but then why doesn't it seem to have anything BUT rice in it?)  Anyway, I added some chopped veggies from the freezer, and frozen spinach, and some dehydrated "soya chunks" and let it boil for a while.  Then threw in a little couscous.  There's still more - I tend to buy couscous, use one portion, then forget about it in the cupboard.  So now all those items have turned into a pretty healthy looking soup/stew.  If it tastes good - well, there's another jar in the freezer that looks like it's the same thing!

I also cooked up some quick oats tonight.  I am way overstocked, and have two unopened bags that are about to hit their best before dates.  I'm not eating hot cereal much these days, but I supplement the dog's food with some odds and ends of healthy people food, so she can have a blob of oatmeal on her evening kibble this week.  And I have a little more tidying to do of the fridge, then I'll move the rest of the oatmeal in there to keep it more safely.

Finally, my evening snack was a little Minigo (yoghurt/soft cheese type thing) that expired a leeettle while ago.  I was so sick over the holidays that some stuff just didn't get touched.  It tasted fine, and so far so good on the stomach front.  Still, there were 6 of them and I'm not going to want to keep them around much longer.  So the dog had some yoghurt tonight too.  She proceeded to lick her bowl so thoroughly that it slid all the way across the kitchen floor and down the hall!  LOL!  Guess she liked it!

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1183 on: January 21, 2017, 12:18:32 AM »
Ha, my dog would do the same! He just had a tiny taste of cream from a dessert I just made and was v happy.

The chewy coconut cookies I made (to use up dessicated coconut) are awesome! The recipe made about 12 large cookies and used a third of the coconut tub, so after another two batches (2 weeks?) it will be gone. Yes!

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1184 on: January 22, 2017, 12:40:06 AM »
Today I made this:

http://www.theculinaryjumble.com/2015/07/07/blueberry-and-creme-fraiche-cake/

This cake helped me finish a bag of almond meal and used up ALL my hazelnuts and crumbed walnuts. Fantastic! I even put in a tiny bit of potato flour instead of wholewheat so used up a bit of that too. Also made some bread with a bit of potato flour substituted. Slow and steady with that one. Anyway, the cake is delish!! It turned out more of a slice since my dish must be bigger than theirs, but it's yummy and a lot nicer than it looks in the pictures.

I will make this one again to use up some hazelnut meal and get through some almonds. I realised my stick blender will easily make almond meal if I ever need it so there's no need to buy it while I still have a big bag of whole almonds.

We also used up the dregs of three bottles of spirits too this weekend in cocktails. We always drink beer but we should start a cocktail tradition as it was fun and weekend-y.

The pantry is looking very neat. Still to use:
chilli jam (in a stir fry)
gravadlax sauce (with salmon - it's really just mustard, oil, vinegar and dill - what else goes with dill I wonder? Potatoes?)
Icing sugar and horrible sugar free cacao spread (will combine with peanut butter to make fudge)
Ikea Glogg - a sort of spiced mix for mulled wine - (dunno... it's too hot for mulled wine, it's years old, full of additives, maybe I should just chuck it!)

I also have a lot of ancient herbs and spices but I suspect a lot have lost their aroma/flavour and will just chuck them if they have.


LMBB

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1185 on: January 22, 2017, 01:05:13 AM »
I cut my grocery spending by 2/3 this month and still feel like I barely made a dent in the pantry/freezer situation. I think it's going to take me all year to clear them out but I am determined. Thanks for the great ideas here everyone!


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Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1186 on: January 22, 2017, 08:14:39 AM »
Let me know how you like the polenta - I made it for the first time recently and was not impressed.

Things I learned about polenta.  Use stock, not water.  Make sure you cook it for longer than it calls for (I had a cookbook say 'until it stops tasting soapy', which was very useful).  Put really good tasting things on top that are adequately salted.  Discover whether you like it better soft or once it is set.
Another good tip for polenta: if you don't like it hot, try it cold. And if you have issues with the consistensy (it's not unlike porridge..) let it chil, cut it into cubes and put on the barbecue (or gridle).

Personally I use polenta for one thing only: making sure my bread does not stick to my pan when baking. It's fantastic. So if you don't like it prepaired there's that.

Tris Prior

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1187 on: January 22, 2017, 01:29:53 PM »
Never did get around to trying the polenta. It was supposed to be topped with mushroom ragout but I ended up using the mushrooms for something else. Maybe this week. The cornbread was really good though; going to make another batch this week.

Today we tossed the remains of a jar of tikka masala sauce from Aldi (and also the food we made with it; chicken for Boyfriend and lentils for me) because it had, uh, unpleasant consequences for both of us. I hate throwing out food but it made us both very unpleasant to be near....


DTaggart

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1188 on: January 22, 2017, 03:12:00 PM »
The battle continues! Had another decent week and emptied some jars. I'm actually running into what I consider a Mustachian People Problem: I have WAY too many empty storage containers cluttering up the cupboards now. I use old glass spaghetti sauce jars to store things I buy from the bulk section. I've started just throwing the grubbier ones in the recycle bin as I use up the bulk products they once held. I still have plenty to use when I replenish my stores, and its not like its hard to get more if I need them.

Here's my accomplishments for the week:
  • Finished off the last carne asada steaks in the freezer, the last of the ancient flour tortillas from the fridge, and mexican rice I had made and frozen the week before.
  • Had turkey burgers which finished off the last of the previously frozen burger buns, and the last of the bag of Omaha Steak fries. I topped the burgers with Swiss Cheese, and I'm down to two more slices I need to use up soon before they become completely dried out and inedible. There may be a grilled cheese sandwich in my future.
  • In pawing through the chest freezer, I've found I'm getting somewhat low on meat. I did find several bags of chicken drumsticks though. So Saturday night I used some of the several bags of breadcrumbs I have in the freezer and made breaded chicken drumsticks. On the side, we had some delicious buttered noodles, which used some of the embarrassing quantities of spaghetti noodles.
  • I'm working late tomorrow, so dinner tonight is a large chicken salsa casserole which used up almost the rest of the corn tortillas, as well as some old cans of cream soup in the cupboard. This will give us plenty of leftovers for tomorrow.
  • I just finished off the last of the rye flour in a loaf of rye bread.
  • Cooked up a batch of Mexican Red Lentil stew to freeze for work lunches - used up some neglected celery I bought last weekend (the rest went into a batch of tuna and the freezer), and most importantly, lentils.
  • Still on the agenda for today is a batch of granola bars (continuing to use up the NEVERENDING bag of puffed rice cereal, flax seeds and chunky peanut butter) and some chicken stir fry to freeze for hubby's lunches (will  use up rice and random vegetables). There's also a single orange that's getting squishy looking, I'll juice it and throw that into the freezer for orange blueberry muffins at a later date.

Another low week for grocery shopping: $24.67. This includes an emergency 2-liter of ginger ale at the start of the week for hubby who had a stomach bug, and some cleaning stuff. The rest was produce, a gallon of milk (since I knew I'd be doing a lot of baking and other cooking requiring milk I splurged on real milk instead of using the powdered), and a package of chicken breasts for the casserole since I'm getting low on meat.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1189 on: January 22, 2017, 04:09:57 PM »
The battle continues! Had another decent week and emptied some jars. I'm actually running into what I consider a Mustachian People Problem: I have WAY too many empty storage containers cluttering up the cupboards now.

Likewise!

Eat food, empty a jar = win for this thread.
Wash and keep jar = win for "what small thing" thread.
Put empty jar in cupboard = fail at decluttering thread.

Anyway, for dinner last night I defrosted a single portion of pulled pork and made a cuban sandwich for dinner, then froze the rest of the bread. Lunch today is leftovers from the weekend.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1190 on: January 22, 2017, 04:29:05 PM »
Fridge is looking pretty bare and we are out of most fresh produce. Figured we needed to go to the store for a few things. Decided we were lazy and instead came up with full meal plan for the next few days.

Breakfasts - made a pear/strawberry fruit cobbler with coconut flour topping. Used up the last pears from Grandma's tree, some frozen strawberries, coconut flour, poppyseeds, nut butter. I made a huge pan that will last for 3-4 days

Lunches - Hubby will take single serve portions of leftover dinners from the freezer. I have some avocados I need to use up which I'll turn into a guac and eat with some flax seed crackers I made. Otherwise, I have some tuna and celery I can make into tuna salad and I can graze on whatever else is around.

Dinners -

Tonight - Lamb ribs from the freezer in a garlic Rosemary (freezer) marinade, Brussels or asparagus (freezer) Roasted Butternut Squash.

Tomorrow - Pork roast (freezer) I thought it was beef until I thawed it, so I had to switch gears a bit :) With the last of the apples from Grandma's tree, Roasted Squash, Roasted cabbage (last of the fresh produce) and either Brussels or asparagus (freezer)

Wed - Leftovers

Thursday - Butter beef (butter chicken sauce, but I made it with ground beef because that's what we had) from the freezer over the last butternut squash spiralized into noodles.

Should be "actually" ready for a grocery shop Thurs or Fri evening :)

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1191 on: January 23, 2017, 02:32:23 AM »
The battle continues! Had another decent week and emptied some jars. I'm actually running into what I consider a Mustachian People Problem: I have WAY too many empty storage containers cluttering up the cupboards now.

Likewise!

Eat food, empty a jar = win for this thread.
Wash and keep jar = win for "what small thing" thread.
Put empty jar in cupboard = fail at decluttering thread.

Anyway, for dinner last night I defrosted a single portion of pulled pork and made a cuban sandwich for dinner, then froze the rest of the bread. Lunch today is leftovers from the weekend.
Or: put homemade goodies in jar (my spesiality is strawberry-rhubarb jam) and give to friends and family. Never get cluttered up, plus, friends and family have started bringing me things in return. Like homegrown rhubarb. Fish. Shellfish. Tea they don't like. Sure: this temporarily fills my copboards, but it's also free food.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1192 on: January 23, 2017, 03:02:09 AM »
People who keep and re-use jars, how do you get rid of the smell of the pasta sauce or whatever? The jar itself is fine but the lid is always smelly no matter how much I wash it.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1193 on: January 23, 2017, 03:56:19 AM »
Just drank a chai latte made from a free sample of pre-mixed powder stuff delivered to my letterbox in 2011!

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1194 on: January 23, 2017, 05:08:08 AM »
I baked bread from a pack of flour that has been in the cupboard for quite some time. It made 2 wholegrain breads and was enough for 4 days breakfast and lunch. It tastes surprisingly well.

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1195 on: January 23, 2017, 05:23:45 AM »
People who keep and re-use jars, how do you get rid of the smell of the pasta sauce or whatever? The jar itself is fine but the lid is always smelly no matter how much I wash it.
I just put it in the dishwasher. Comes out not-smelly unless it has contained chili-oil of some sort. Those I just recycle, no point trying to get that smell out.

DTaggart

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1196 on: January 23, 2017, 08:04:06 AM »
People who keep and re-use jars, how do you get rid of the smell of the pasta sauce or whatever? The jar itself is fine but the lid is always smelly no matter how much I wash it.

I just run the jars and lids through the dishwasher and don't have any odor problems. You could try soaking the smelly parts in hot water with some baking soda overnight, that's how I get strong odors out of plastic containers, works great.

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1197 on: January 23, 2017, 03:18:46 PM »
I used two of three partial jars of homemade caramel bourbon sauce. I messed it up and the sugar is grainy and the the bourbon was a little too strong (gasp!). I saw a recipe for a caramel cookie bar, like a jam cookie, and the light bulb went off.  Of course that recipe was really butter and sugar heavy, so I found a slightly healthier recipe and added some yogurt, flax seeds and extra oats to it.  They look perfect. Just waiting for them to cool.

I'll use the tiny bits I couldn't scrape out of the jar in some caramel chocolate "lattes" later this week.  I got a clearance jug of chocolate milk that will be the perfect companion for a little coffee and caramel.

Thanks so much to those of you who keep pushing lentil tacos.  They taste like late night teenage Taco Bell minus the additives!  The lentils are so easy to make and reheat well.




I'm a red panda

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1198 on: January 23, 2017, 03:35:53 PM »
Well, I didn't eat it- but it went to someone who will!

My last pregnancy I had to drink boost shakes in a last ditch effort to gain any weight at all.  I had 3 left over after we lost the baby.  After about 6 months, I decided to try drinking one, just to note waste them. Those things are disgusting- so 2 sat in the fridge.

We noticed this weekend they expire Saturday. No way was I drinking them (especially since this pregnancy I don't need to gain any more or less than I am).

Posted on Buy Nothing and a woman who says she drinks 1 daily came and picked them up.  YAY for less food waste.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1199 on: January 23, 2017, 08:31:10 PM »
Sorry for your loss Iowajes.

We just finished a bottle of mint sauce on a lunch salad of roasted veg, feta and quinoa. Delish, once you've also added olive oil to balance it out. On Sunday night we had pasta with green beans, broccoli and tomato with mint sauce dressing. It was very light and summery, I recommend it.  I realised I actually had three bottles so still two left :/