Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1183485 times)

OtherJen

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2300 on: September 16, 2018, 07:27:35 PM »
I really need to do this. Our freezer is packed.

We did grill our last two pieces of frozen salmon for fish tacos in honor of Mexican Independence Day. I’m hoping it will cool off soon, because a batch of beef vegetable soup will take care of a pound of frozen beef and a bunch of frozen veggies.

The pear-vanilla jam looks amazing.

SquashingDebt

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2301 on: September 17, 2018, 05:38:32 AM »
Oooh, if you want to splurge on vanilla beans, this is my all-time favorite jam:  http://foodinjars.com/2011/02/pear-vanilla-jam/

SO GOOD.

This looks AMAZING--and in the spirit of this thread, I actually have a couple of vanilla beans in my pantry that I need to use up.  I think I have a project for next weekend (assuming I can find some good pears)!  :)


Nice!  One word of warning - I had a very sad incident once when I used my immersion blender as suggested in the recipe - the jam was so hot that it melted the (plastic) immersion blender!  I ended up throwing out that batch of jam because it didn't seem quite safe to eat.  And buying a stainless steel immersion blender, haha.

krmit

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2302 on: September 22, 2018, 09:23:16 PM »
My freezer is already looking SO much better - a batch of soup really cleared out some miscellaneous veggies and broth.

This week's win was a vegetarian shepherd's pie using some lentils, some leftover cooked pintos, and some powdered potatoes. Fed us for three days. Thawing out a package of baby back ribs to throw in the crockpot tomorrow.

@iris lily, pear ginger jam is also really good - any combination of candied ginger, powdered ginger, and/or fresh ginger!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2303 on: September 24, 2018, 01:27:13 PM »
I need to start working through our freezer & pantry over the next few weeks. Everything is way too crowded, and it's hard to find things. I hate it when it gets like that. I should instead be grateful for the abundance, perhaps. :-)

This weekend, I plan to make a double batch of butternut squash soup with goat cheese crostini. That will use up a loaf of bread (freezer), a package of goat cheese (fridge) and 1/2 of the squash (freezer). I'll freeze the rest for a second meal.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2304 on: September 24, 2018, 01:30:57 PM »
@MaybeBabyMustache , that sounds delicious!

Last week:
~Last weekend the rest of the flour and granulated sugar was used up for fritters with apples our neighbors gave us.
~A jar of cherries went into the Crock Pot with chicken breasts.
This past weekend:
~We ate cherry tomatoes from DH's garden with several meals.  There are still so many left!
~Shredded and chopped (yay food processor) about 40 cups of zucchini from a neighbor's garden for our freezer and friends.
~Used up the rest of the green beans from a different neighbor's garden.
~Indulged in half of the BD cake leftover from Feb.
~Per my request, DH planted basil earlier this year and there is now so.much.basil.  Found a doable pesto recipe online to resolve that soon.
~Wed. I'll use up the chicken drumsticks bought several months ago on sale.
~Tonight will be the rest of the Budget Bytes Not Refried Beans from April.
~Ate some aging celery and cucumber for lunch today.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2305 on: September 24, 2018, 01:56:34 PM »
@MountainGal - ooh, it's delicious & easy. I'll post recipes. The goat cheese crostini is by far my favorite winter/fall appetizer. We top ours with thinly sliced cucumber or pomegranate seeds, but it's also good plain. https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/goat-cheese-crostini


mountain mustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2306 on: September 24, 2018, 02:11:29 PM »
My goal is to eat everything out of my deep freezer in October, so I can defrost it! Also, I had surgery this month, so my income is almost non-existant, so the eat the freezer will coincide with a less than $100 grocery month. It makes me anxious to think about an empty freezer, but I tend to hoard sale food, so I think it's healthy to clear it out once or twice a year, haha!

Dollar Slice

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2307 on: September 24, 2018, 03:13:45 PM »
Any ideas to use up a chuck roast in a way that's healthy/vegetable-centric? I've been struggling to come up with a recipe that isn't really meat-centric or meat-with-carbs. Partly because I'd like to make the meat go a lot farther, and partly for health reasons.

mountain mustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2308 on: September 24, 2018, 03:24:04 PM »
Any ideas to use up a chuck roast in a way that's healthy/vegetable-centric? I've been struggling to come up with a recipe that isn't really meat-centric or meat-with-carbs. Partly because I'd like to make the meat go a lot farther, and partly for health reasons.

I would just take the chuck roast, and cube it up into about 1-2 inch chunks, brown it with onions, and use it to make a yummy beef and vegetable soup! You could throw in tomatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, rutabaga, green beans, corn, etc...it would stretch the roast to a ton of meals, and add a lot of veggie/broth bulk to the meal to make it more well rounded!

Dollar Slice

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2309 on: September 24, 2018, 03:36:58 PM »
Any ideas to use up a chuck roast in a way that's healthy/vegetable-centric? I've been struggling to come up with a recipe that isn't really meat-centric or meat-with-carbs. Partly because I'd like to make the meat go a lot farther, and partly for health reasons.

I would just take the chuck roast, and cube it up into about 1-2 inch chunks, brown it with onions, and use it to make a yummy beef and vegetable soup! You could throw in tomatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, rutabaga, green beans, corn, etc...it would stretch the roast to a ton of meals, and add a lot of veggie/broth bulk to the meal to make it more well rounded!

Oh, that sounds good! I never made anything like that before. I could do something like a minestrone with beef instead of beans. Thanks for the idea :-)

krmit

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2310 on: September 24, 2018, 07:12:45 PM »
Do what I did today with some leftover (cooked) ribs! Chopped them up and added them to a cabbage taco salad - peppers, tomatoes, the shredded meat, shredded cheese, and salsa for dressing. Crushed tortilla chip on top optional. Yum.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2311 on: September 25, 2018, 09:38:49 AM »
@MountainGal - ooh, it's delicious & easy. I'll post recipes. The goat cheese crostini is by far my favorite winter/fall appetizer. We top ours with thinly sliced cucumber or pomegranate seeds, but it's also good plain. https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/goat-cheese-crostini

Yum!  Thank you!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2312 on: September 25, 2018, 09:45:11 AM »
Eating leftovers from the freezer in an effort to clear it out for fall and winter baking and stockpiling.  I have enchiladas with no tortillas (I'm a low carber) for lunch today, and DH will have chicken and rice for tomorrow's lunch.  He just doesn't know it yet, LOL.

Next up to work with is 3 slices of leftover pork tenderloin.  (I think?  I didn't label it in my haste to toss it in the freezer on our way out of town earlier this year.  Didn't want it to go to waste during our absence.)  I might thaw it, then simmer it in some sort of sauce in case it's tough.  We'll see.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2313 on: September 30, 2018, 02:45:09 PM »
I've been on a mission over the past few days, using up a ton of fridge/freezer items:
-Naan bread into pizzas, using lots of bits & bobs from the fridge & the last of cheese & tomato sauces
-Made butternut squash soup & goat cheese risotto (all from items around the house, plus tossed in celery, as it was in the crisper)
-Made jalapeno/cilantro hummus. Jalapenos from the garden, but did have to buy the cilantro for $.59. Have another recipe tonight that will use the rest of the cilantro
-Came home from a long run & was starving so ate Dino Nuggets from the freezer. Sometimes, you need something bland & easy. ;-)

pbkmaine

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2314 on: September 30, 2018, 04:08:13 PM »
I have a ton of lemongrass growing in my yard. Does anyone have good recipes?

plainjane

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2315 on: September 30, 2018, 06:04:49 PM »
finished the ginger-honey vinegar dressing/marinade thing I had picked up for 50% off a while back. It worked well simmered with onions and apples and a bit of soy, served with grilled heritage pork medallions.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2316 on: September 30, 2018, 09:07:31 PM »
@pbkmaine - I haven't made it myself, but love lemongrass chicken. Maybe something like this? https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/241607/vietnamese-grilled-lemongrass-chicken/

Our 12 year old cooked tonight (I supervised) & he used some leftover cilantro & made Dragon Noodles. SO.Good. https://www.budgetbytes.com/spicy-noodles/

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2317 on: October 02, 2018, 02:01:17 PM »
@MaybeBabyMustache , how cool your son is helping with meal preparation! 


Lately:
~2 packages of deeply discounted chicken drumsticks went into the Crock Pot with leftover coconut milk, broth and spices.
~Chicken breasts, taco seasoning, honey (it's almost gone, yay!), and broth was last night's slow cooker meal.  Served it in LC tortillas with cheese and sour cream.
~So many tomatoes are still being harvested from our garden!  DH took a large bag to work today for co-workers, and I'll freeze a tray tonight.
~Tomorrow I'll cook up a package of pork chops bought BOGO a few months ago.
~Currently eating a salad which has used up almost all of the salami bought last month, and some of those never-ending tomatoes, LOL.
~This weekend I'll use up some dry beans by making Budget Bytes Not Refried beans.

I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again:  I love this thread.  :)

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2318 on: October 02, 2018, 04:51:09 PM »
I'm with you @MountainGal - love it!!! It always reminds me to use up what we have, & find creative solutions for the things that linger in our fridge/freezer.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2319 on: October 03, 2018, 10:16:28 AM »
Exactly, @MaybeBabyMustache !

As mentioned, I froze the tomatoes last night.  What a simple process!

For dinner I made salmon bought on sale, and cooked it in a honey and soy sauce glaze which used both of them up. :)

FamilyGuy

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2320 on: October 03, 2018, 11:16:16 AM »
Ohmygod. Thinking about this challenge. I have to make an inventory of all the things in my refrigerator and pantry and start doing this. I think I'll cry.

Yesterday I saw 2 lemons on the side of the refrigerator- may be a month old or more than that. 
I made a delicious Indian lemon rice with it...enough for my dinner & lunch. Had salmon fry as side and it was heaven.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2321 on: October 04, 2018, 09:18:52 AM »
I thought I'd defrost taco meat for dinner tonight, but realized we didn't have any (sidenote: need to prep more), so I'll be getting creative again. I'm thinking that we'll have the beef tips sauce my mom made & froze in August, over pasta. I have one child that won't eat that, so he'll need something different. I think I'll defrost a leftover burger for him, with . . . pasta. His universal first choice of eating.

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2322 on: October 04, 2018, 12:12:39 PM »
I'm eating down the random food that we've acquired while my DH is away.  I had a lovely tomato, fresh mozzarella, and pesto salad last night.  I also packed a few random leftovers in a container for lunch today--cauliflower, black beans, chicken, quinoa, and a little salsa. 

I tossed a few bananas in the freezer before they started molding.  I will make banana bread soon. 

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2323 on: October 05, 2018, 01:02:27 PM »
@MaybeBabyMustache , I'm with your kiddo-yay pasta!

@4alpacas , that salad sounds really good!


Today is clean out the office mini fridge day.  I"m currently having leftover green beans, celery, cream cheese, a few berries and 2 deli turkey slices for lunch.  I didn't get to the pork chop, so I'll bring it back home.

Happy weekend, everyone!

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2324 on: October 05, 2018, 03:20:14 PM »
We have a big grocery order coming tomorrow afternoon, but I thought I'd cook up a few things today to use up a few things.

Banana muffins--used up sugar, bananas in freezer, one container of cinnamon (still have another)
Wheat Rotini with chicken, spinach, and pesto--Used up half empty box of rotini, all of the chicken in the freezer, and spinach from the freezer
Loaf of bread

Unique User

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2325 on: November 11, 2018, 11:35:12 AM »
We still have quite a bit of prepared food that needs to be revamped & used up and we've been resorting to restaurants on Fridays, hoping I can get better if I have to own up. 

Besides what is already in our pantry to use up we have the following in our freezer - (DH had several food shows in Sept/Oct and due to hurricanes and other reasons had poor turnout.  He brings everything home, most food show vendors just throw leftovers out) - 3 packages jerk pork, 3 packages corn casserole, 3 packages chicken and corn casserole, 13 mini meatloaves, 2 packages (1lb ea) sloppy joe mix, 1 package turkey meat.  This is about 1/4 of what we started off with, but we're experiencing recipe fatigue.  Any ideas on repurposing would be welcome. 

Sun - steaks, asparagus and onions on grill
Mon - posole (made Sun from 1 package jerk pork and 1 package corn casserole), salad
Tues - spinach and cheese stuffed portobello mushrooms, grilled chicken, salad
Wed - teen end of season sports banquet
Thurs - chicken, corn and broccoli casserole (add broccoli to chicken and corn casserole)
Fri - stroganoff (made from mini meatloaves), salad or other veg
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 10:31:33 AM by Unique User »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2326 on: November 11, 2018, 12:17:06 PM »
We are heading out of town on Thursday, so we need to eat wisely over the next few days.

-I roasted potatoes yesterday that looked like they would go off before we got back. We had leftovers from that, so I browned them up with a couple of eggs for lunch.
-I bought a larger can of pumpkin yesterday for pumpkin bread. The large can was cheaper than the small can, 1/2 its size. I made muffins for the freezer with the remaining pumpkin today.
-The boys (11 & 12) are in charge of dinner tonight. This is to help with some of the cooking fatigue I have, but mostly because everyone (minus me) in my family is picky, and cooking to accommodate everyone can be very annoying. I helped them prep pizza dough in the bread maker, and they will be using the dough to make calzones tonight. That will use up pepperoni, red sauce, pesto & some cheese we have in the house.
-We will be eating leftovers for the rest of the week
-I'm gifting a loaf of pumpkin bread to a friend who is having my youngest over today for a play date. (No outdoor activities due to the smoke, & the kids are stir crazy.) I'll send the rest of the other bread (pumpkin chocolate chip) in school lunches
-And, before we leave for the airport, I'll get up at the crack of dawn & bake a pizza to take with us on the plane. No food places will be open (early flight) & the flight goes over lunch. I'll pack any other odds & ends in the fridge to take with us.

Noodle

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2327 on: November 11, 2018, 09:00:33 PM »
I need to get back to this. A few too many trips to Trader Joe's (so many things to try!) plus some cooking experiments that led to weird bits and pieces left over mean the refrigerator/freezer/pantry are overflowing.

So far:

Roasted potatoes and tossed with the end of a container of spicy green sauce

Made a berry compote to use up berries that were going bad, plus a few strawberries from the freezer

Frankenstein-ed a lunch together for work that involved leftover pasta, frozen meatballs, leftover marinara, and the end of a bag of shredded cheese.

Tossed the last cup of coconut milk into the squash soup I was making

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2328 on: November 12, 2018, 02:01:48 PM »
Now that cold weather is here, I've been using the oven again.

Last weekend:
2 cups shredded zucchini went into zucc bread
Last Nov leftover's leftover pumpkin was used in brownies, along with 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Blueberries and 2 containers cream cheese went into cheesecake
Used up a wedge of mozzarella into low carb cinnamon rolls

This past weekend:
Ate a package of cauliflower with cheese
A package of plain cauliflower made "tater tots"
DH smoked a pork tenderloin bought on sale a few months ago
Ate half the container of sliced zucchini from a neighbor's harvest this summer, frozen a month ago
Thawed a bagel purchased at the big city franchise a few months ago which I then froze because we couldn't get to the all of them.  Wrapped it up in a wet paper towel, microwaved it for about 30 seconds, toasted it, then added eggs, cheese and bacon to it.  Nom nom

I've also started bringing single servings of frozen leftovers for lunch.  Last week's white lasagna (chicken and spinach) from September was interesting, LOL.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 02:26:06 PM by MountainGal »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2329 on: November 12, 2018, 08:49:05 PM »
We ate almost all of the remaining taco meat today, and finished off the potato/chicken/bacon combo that no one seemed to like. I find that so odd, how could anything go wrong with bacon?/?

I find that I don't like to eat tacos much these days (avoiding dairy), so i had the very healthy fare of a hot dog & a banana ( I did have a large & healthy spinach salad for lunch, so . .. ).

For tomorrow, the kids will have the remaining hot dogs with pasta, and my husband will eat the last of the kabobs. I'll probably have a sandwich, because I do draw the line at eating hot dogs two nights in row. And then on Wednesday, everyone will eat the last of the pizza, minus me. Again with the dairy. I'll probably make myself eggs or something easy, with any remaining fruit.

Unique User

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2330 on: November 18, 2018, 06:25:58 AM »
Still in freezer - 1 package jerk pork, 2 packages corn casserole, 2 packages chicken and corn casserole, 10 mini meatloaves, 2 packages (1lb ea) sloppy joe mix, 1 package turkey meat.  Any ideas on repurposing would be welcome. 

Stroganoff made from mini meatloaves was less than successful, but tasted good.  I’ll use a couple of them to make chili for Monday and see how that turns out.  Bonus is that chili will use up some free after coupon canned tomatoes and canned pinto beans that are too soft to eat plain.  Used a package of jerk pork to make bbq pork last night so down to just one package of that left over.  Planning on chicken or steaks from the freezer on the grill tonight.   

But DH returned from another food show with poor turnout (he just needs to bring minimal food in the future) with two pans of sausage breakfast strata.  I cut up one pan into squares and froze them individually, but I think the second pan needs to be tossed.  I’m the only one who will eat it and I don’t need the calories in bread/sausage.  Funny being partially raised by grandparents and great uncles/aunts that lived through the depression gives me a horror of wasting food. 

Noodle

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2331 on: November 18, 2018, 08:40:42 AM »
Made a pineapple chili shrimp to use up fresh pineapple that was on the way out, plus the second half of a bag of shrimp.

Cleared out the end of some shredded gruyere from a recipe and the last of a bag of arugula making cheese toasts for breakfast. A pound of hamburger in the freezer went into a macaroni dish that should hold me for the last two work lunches next week before the Thanksgiving break.

After I get off the computer, I'll make a blueberry sour cream bundt cake to get rid of the second half of the full-fat sour cream I accidentally bought plus some blueberries from the freezer.


Serendip

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2332 on: November 18, 2018, 09:01:40 AM »
Last night we stir-fried leftover couscous with egg and onion then topped it with leftover butternut squash curry. A surprisingly tasty combo--and successful use of bits & bobs.

Today will require eating up the leftover parsley/tahini salad and trying to add some different grains to our rotation so we start using those up.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2333 on: November 19, 2018, 01:41:09 PM »
~Currently enjoying leftover cauliflower and (Sp)ham soup from a few months ago.  There's enough for one more serving tomorrow.

~I'll make banana bread soon to use up two sad bananas

~We took the rest of the black and green olives, sliced cheese, and a few other odds and ends with us on our trip last Thursday.  Made egg salad from the boiled eggs we didn't get to while gone.

~An apple crisp for Thanksgiving will use some brown sugar which is hardened because it wasn't closed properly last month.  It will also use 1 of 3 large bags of apples given to me by a friend this summer from their tree.


« Last Edit: November 20, 2018, 11:27:19 AM by MountainGal »

Serendip

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2334 on: November 20, 2018, 10:32:43 AM »
This thread is so long it almost will need a Part 3 soon :)

--made an apple/pear crisp since I am on dessert duty at book club tonight (pears were languishing in the fridge)
--also made up a hibiscus/orange/ginger drink to take instead of wine since there are pregnant ladies & drivers and I have heaps of hibiscus


MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2335 on: November 23, 2018, 08:52:53 PM »
We did well eating everything before we left on vacation. Then we came home & promptly made a bunch of Thanksgiving food. Today I ate Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch, and then made this recipe to use up leftovers. https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a50229/thanksgiving-in-a-blanket-recipe/

However, I discovered a giant stuffed turkey at Costco for $9 (marked down from $30) tonight, so I couldn't resist. Making that tomorrow & we will have even more leftovers. :-)

Our freezer was finally looking good, but I need to start working it down again, to make space for all of the turkey!

In positive news, we did use 2 cans of crescent rolls + 4 cans of green beans.

Noodle

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2336 on: November 24, 2018, 03:29:29 PM »
The "clean out the freezer" project is coming along well. So far:

Frozen blueberries went into a cake (plus full-fat sour cream I bought by accident).
Half a package of crumpets eaten for breakfasts.
Smoothie cubes went into a breakfast shake.
A few strawberries went into a berry compote.
Frozen edamame went into a salad which also used up pomegranate seeds, pepitas and a fancy hot sauce

Next up to use: cauliflower gnocchi, mango, Trader Joe's mini samosas, and some tater tots.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2337 on: November 26, 2018, 12:39:20 PM »
@MaybeBabyMustache , that "Turkey Blanket" looks yummy!

@Noodle , when it comes to tater tots, I think of a breakfast casserole.  I usually make one for Christmas Day, along with overnight French toast.

@Serendip , I second the part 3!  :D

Lately:
~I made the banana bread mentioned in my earlier post over the weekend.
~To lighten things up after the heavy holiday eating, I made tilapia and shrimp on a bed of spinach Saturday evening.
~I made a second apple crisp for DH since he didn't get any Thanksgiving Day.  This used up another large bag of apples, along with the hardened brown sugar (to soften, microwave 30 seconds at a time until pliable).  It also used up a bag of flour.
~Currently eating leftover chicken tenders from last night for lunch.  I served it on top of baby spinach.  Tomorrow's lunch should use up the rest of the spinach.
~Tonight I'll make turkey Alfredo to use up last Thursday's leftovers mom sent home with us.
~Halloween leftover alcohol is officially gone.  ;)

DH filled the freezer with the deer he harvested a few weeks ago.  And I received a VM saying our half pig will be ready in a few weeks.  I have no idea where we're going to put it.  :S

Rural

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2338 on: November 26, 2018, 06:26:54 PM »
You just let me know if you need help with some of that venison...


MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2339 on: November 26, 2018, 07:38:24 PM »
@MountainGal - they were really great. I recommend! We served with cranberry sauce & gravy on the side. Yum.

I'm doing a mini freezer challenge, selecting a few items each week to cross off my list. I'm hoping that will feel more actionable than just "clean out my freezer". On the list for this week:
-Frozen edamame (will serve tomorrow night with a few other Asian inspired dishes)
-Lasagna (pan 1 of 2). This will make at least 2 dinners for the week while I'm out late
-Chicken potato chowder. I'll defrost this for my lunch on Friday.
-Wontons/potstickers. Will serve some of both bags in our Asian inspired meal tomorrow
-Chicken broth. I have a lot, this is one serving. I'll use in risotto this weekend.
-Rotisserie chicken. I'll also use this is risotto this weekend.

I have a package of Liptons onion soup/dip mix that my mom left in my pantry. I'm not partial to either the dip or the soup. Other ideas of how I can use this?

SquashingDebt

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2340 on: November 27, 2018, 06:02:11 AM »

I have a package of Liptons onion soup/dip mix that my mom left in my pantry. I'm not partial to either the dip or the soup. Other ideas of how I can use this?

I've seen some recipes for slow cooker meat dishes (maybe beef stew?) that use it as seasoning.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2341 on: November 27, 2018, 12:44:13 PM »
LOL @Rural , you got it!

@MaybeBabyMustache , I like your plan of action.  Glad the turkey blankets turned out!  Our turkey Alfredo was yummy last night, too.

I baked a half package of bacon that needed to be used up last night.  It warmed up the house, and now I have a garnish for today's salad.  There's STILL one more serving of baby spinach, LOL.

Tonight my first experience ever with venison begins with tacos.  (DH smoked backstrap and a loin a few weekends ago.  YUM.)  I'll keep y'all posted on how I do.  :)


Rural

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2342 on: November 27, 2018, 05:32:43 PM »

I have a package of Liptons onion soup/dip mix that my mom left in my pantry. I'm not partial to either the dip or the soup. Other ideas of how I can use this?

I've seen some recipes for slow cooker meat dishes (maybe beef stew?) that use it as seasoning.


"Roast" chicken with vegetables (carrots, potatoes, maybe celery and real onions) in the crockpot.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2343 on: November 28, 2018, 07:33:33 AM »
Venison tacos sounds good!

I'll definitely try out the roast chicken/Liptons recipe when I have more freezer space. The last thing I need right now is more chicken/turkey in my freezer!

My update from previous post:
-Frozen edamame (will serve tomorrow night with a few other Asian inspired dishes) Done, and no leftovers!
-Lasagna (pan 1 of 2). This will make at least 2 dinners for the week while I'm out late
-Chicken potato chowder. I'll defrost this for my lunch on Friday.
-Wontons/potstickers. Will serve some of both bags in our Asian inspired meal tomorrow Wontons are 1/2 used (bag 1 of 2. Potstickers are gone.
-Chicken broth. I have a lot, this is one serving. I'll use in risotto this weekend.
-Rotisserie chicken. I'll also use this is risotto this weekend.



MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2344 on: November 28, 2018, 10:22:18 AM »
The venison tacos really were good!  DH mixed the ground venison with suet, and the result was about as much drained fat as, say 80% ground beef.  I seasoned it really well, and you couldn't tell the difference when it was in the pan.  I told DH he did a good job.  :)

@MaybeBabyMustache, you're doing a good job on that list!


Unique User

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2345 on: December 03, 2018, 08:36:54 AM »
Still in freezer - 1 packages corn casserole, 2 packages chicken and corn casserole, 2 mini meatloaves, 2 packages (1lb ea) sloppy joe mix, 1 package turkey meat, 10 portions sausage egg strata.  Any ideas on repurposing would be welcome. 

Will be using up the last two meatloaves this week making fake gyro bowls - brown rice, chopped meatloaves, tzatziki, cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions.  This week's meal plan also using up 1 package of chicken and corn casserole and well as other odds and ends.  Only trying to buy produce and a few cheap deals in the stores this week. 

Anyone struggle with not adding things to your freezer when you are trying to eat it down?  I bought  turkey for 37c a pound over Thanksgiving then we decided to have steaks since it was just the three of us.  Also, one of our stores makes gourmet sausages in house, I bought three packs of tequila lime sausages and two packs of brats.  All were over a pound and marked down to $1 each.  I just couldn't pass them up, but am kicking myself now.   

Poundwise

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2346 on: December 03, 2018, 10:32:03 AM »
  Also, one of our stores makes gourmet sausages in house, I bought three packs of tequila lime sausages and two packs of brats.  All were over a pound and marked down to $1 each.  I just couldn't pass them up, but am kicking myself now.

Yum!  Why not make a choucroute garnie with the sausages?  Makes me hungry just to think about it.

My husband saved me this week... I took a giant picnic ham out of the freezer before Thanksgiving and thawed it in the fridge, meaning to turn it into barbecue.  After the holiday, I've been exhausted and busy, so I just gave up the ham for lost.  Mr. Poundwise opened up the package, found it was still fine, then cut it up and marinated it.   

On another win, I just had a salad with some croutons made by cutting up the leftover crusts from a massive platter of cucumber sandwiches that I did for a church brunch.  I had several pounds left and it seemed such a waste to throw them out. I just tossed the crusts with a drizzle of olive oil and Italian herb mix, scattered on a cookie sheet, and baked at low heat until they were crisp. The butter and leftover cucumber on the crusts just dissolved into the croutons, and they are delicious!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2347 on: December 03, 2018, 10:38:01 AM »
Freezer challenge, week 1 recap:
-Frozen edamame - Done, and no leftovers!
-Lasagna (pan 1 of 2). - Done
-Chicken potato chowder. - Done, had it for lunch Saturday & Sunday.
-Wontons/potstickers. - Potstickers gone, wontons 1/2 used up.
-Chicken broth. I have a lot, this is one serving.  - Nope, punted to this week
-Rotisserie chicken. I'll also use this is risotto this weekend.- Nope, punted to this week

I did use up a few bonus items:
-Bag of chicken strips
-2 packages of chicken breasts
-Overly ripe bananas

Challenge for week 2:
-1 container of taco meat
-1 container of fresh tomato sauce
-Rotisserie chicken (bumped from last week)
-Chicken broth (bumped from last week)
-1/2 a package of tortillas
-Another container of chicken chowder

I'm keeping at it!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2348 on: December 03, 2018, 12:59:52 PM »
@Unique User, not sure if I'd call it struggle, but I do add things to the freezer on payday, mostly proteins and vegetables to use at a later time.  Those gyro bowls sound delicious!

@Poundwise, glad the ham was saved!  And, ohhh.... croutons are my weakness!

@MaybeBabyMustache, you are continuing to do an excellent job.  Well done!

We were out of town for a few days, so we ate a few meals away from home.  We did manage to make a rack of ribs last night, and I served it with a bag of frozen vegetable penne (made from lentils).  This week we'll also eat a pound of ground venison in chili, cod and shrimp, pork, and something to smoke/BBQ over the weekend.

I also need to make some of the Idahoan mixes which were a free Kroger Friday download awhile ago.  There are 3 envelopes in the pantry.  The good thing about those is they take water, not milk, which we don't have in the house.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!


MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2349 on: December 04, 2018, 07:07:02 PM »
We had tacos yesterday, and I was able to use the rest of the meat & tortillas (plus some from a surprise pack in the freezer) for dinner tonight. I had eggs wrapped in a tortilla (of course) with a diced leftover tomato.

Challenge for week 2:
-1 container of taco meat
-1 container of fresh tomato sauce
-Rotisserie chicken (bumped from last week)
-Chicken broth (bumped from last week)
-1/2 a package of tortillas
-Another container of chicken chowder