Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1183594 times)

1967mama

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2164
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Canada
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #300 on: February 02, 2015, 01:00:20 PM »
I reallllly need to take stock of my 2 chest freezers. Its time for them to be combined into 1. Probably the biggest one will fit the contents of both freezers. The we can defrost the smaller one and unplug it till fall.

1967mama

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2164
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Canada
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #301 on: February 02, 2015, 06:39:44 PM »
Dug around in the freezers a little this afternoon and pulled out 4 lb of stew beef for tomorrow's dinner, 1 bag of bread ends (and made it into a double batch of bread pudding), 1/2 a bag of mixed veggies to add to tonight's soup, 1 pound of bacon thawing for breakfast along with a bag of hash browns I found in there. Not bad for 3 minutes of work! Gosh, I have a lot of food here that needs to be used up!!!!

GardenFun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
  • Location: Packers Hell - they're everywhere!
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #302 on: February 03, 2015, 04:31:10 PM »
Dug around in the freezers a little this afternoon and pulled out 4 lb of stew beef for tomorrow's dinner, 1 bag of bread ends (and made it into a double batch of bread pudding), 1/2 a bag of mixed veggies to add to tonight's soup, 1 pound of bacon thawing for breakfast along with a bag of hash browns I found in there. Not bad for 3 minutes of work! Gosh, I have a lot of food here that needs to be used up!!!!

Digging around in the freezer is a treasure hunt for adults.  There's still a package of chicken thighs left?  Dinner is saved!   

Attempting Moo Shu Beef tomorrow.  This weekend, the final cow liver will be no more! 


Write Thyme

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 99
  • I will get there one day.
    • Simple Living. Saving + Frugality. Meal Planning.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #303 on: February 04, 2015, 12:01:45 PM »
I used up a bag of frozen strawberries for two parfaits. This weekend I'm going to hopefully use up some apple juice, oldish frozen berries, and hemp protein in smoothies.

1967mama

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2164
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Canada
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #304 on: February 04, 2015, 12:54:42 PM »
Found some chick peas and wraps, so that's becoming hummus and veggies and wraps for dinner! yay!

Fodder

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 217
  • Location: Ottawa, ON
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #305 on: February 04, 2015, 01:17:40 PM »
I had to leave town unexpectedly all of last week, and before I left, I stocked the fridge for my ILs, who were taking care of my two kids.

I got back on Thursday and haven't bought groceries since.  I've had to be a little creative, but we've eaten really well (I'm going to cave and get groceries tonight though because we've been out of milk for four days).

- carrot-white bean - ginger soup with miso
- lobster and corn chowder (brought lobster back from the east cost)
- toast with smoked salmon (brought back from the east coast), cream cheese, capers, onion, pepper and lemon juice
- jalapeno-'cheddar' biscuits (made with nutritional yeast)
- red curry chicken using the slightly wilty veggies, a little bit of chicken, coconut milk, etc.  Served with rice and cauliflowers
- sweet potato - black bean - chili soup
- slow cooker chicken tikka masala and a spinach curry with spiced basmati rice

Some freezer raiding, but a lot of pantry products in these meals.  I'm down to two oranges and one egg though, so I'm going to get some fresh produce and some dairy tonight.

savedough

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 130
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #306 on: February 05, 2015, 03:41:57 PM »
I'm impressed with everyone's creativity.   We had a decent week using what we had, but I did have to throw away some lime slices, cucumber slices and almost four cups of roasted squash puree I kept putting off using.   I hate tossing food.   I was going to bake with it and then I forgot to freeze it when that didn't happen.

I'm still struggling to use frozen cabbage and I discovered we had a lot of pesto made with carrot greens.   It's not as good as regular or tarragon pesto, so the kids are not big fans.  We were able to use up green onions, some frozen carrots, one bag of cabbage and some leeks this week!

We made a pork shoulder and used that as the base for three meals which helped a ton.  Chicken is on sale so I'll do the same thing with a couple chickens this weekend and use it as the base for next weeks meals, plus make stock.    I'm feeling rather uninspired, but hopefully, the winter blahs will pass and we can get back to salad whether.   I much prefer fresh veggies over frozen and salad over soup.  My family is not a family that likes soup, so when I make it, I end up being the only one to eat the leftovers.   So I try to avoid big batches of soup.  I end up using things in stir fry or pasta dishes.

wintersun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 327
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #307 on: February 05, 2015, 03:55:47 PM »
We are not doing so well eating down the supplements but the larder and freezer are getting quite bare.  I acquired a load of homemade miso over Christmas though which is hanging over me.  I wish I had some of those lemons, I would make marmalade to give as Christmas gifts.  Yum yum yum!

I am realising that I have some specialty foods which I am avoiding eating because I do not want to run out of them.   I have huge amounts of a few things and have had them for two years now.  The scary thought of not having them means that I do not consume them at  all, do any of you have this issue?

Juslookin

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 321
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #308 on: February 05, 2015, 07:25:11 PM »
We are not doing so well eating down the supplements but the larder and freezer are getting quite bare.  I acquired a load of homemade miso over Christmas though which is hanging over me.  I wish I had some of those lemons, I would make marmalade to give as Christmas gifts.  Yum yum yum!

I am realising that I have some specialty foods which I am avoiding eating because I do not want to run out of them.   I have huge amounts of a few things and have had them for two years now.  The scary thought of not having them means that I do not consume them at  all, do any of you have this issue?

Yes, I found that I save the "special" foods for "special" occasions. Unfortunately this is real life Monday through Friday, work, school, homework, chores. Saturday laundry and chores. So now I've been digging out the goodies and making a night exciting.  Today I thawed a homemade apple pie....kids loved it for desert. Happy Thursday!

GardenFun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
  • Location: Packers Hell - they're everywhere!
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #309 on: February 06, 2015, 07:52:14 AM »
We are not doing so well eating down the supplements but the larder and freezer are getting quite bare.  I acquired a load of homemade miso over Christmas though which is hanging over me.  I wish I had some of those lemons, I would make marmalade to give as Christmas gifts.  Yum yum yum!

I am realising that I have some specialty foods which I am avoiding eating because I do not want to run out of them.   I have huge amounts of a few things and have had them for two years now.  The scary thought of not having them means that I do not consume them at  all, do any of you have this issue?

Yes, I found that I save the "special" foods for "special" occasions. Unfortunately this is real life Monday through Friday, work, school, homework, chores. Saturday laundry and chores. So now I've been digging out the goodies and making a night exciting.  Today I thawed a homemade apple pie....kids loved it for desert. Happy Thursday!

+1.  Have "special foods" such as lemon curd, Lyle's golden syrup and finnish coffee in the pantry that I've seem to be avoiding for some reason.  It's not like I can't get more.  But yet there it sits.  That's it - I'm forcing myself to use at least one of them in February!

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #310 on: February 06, 2015, 12:02:22 PM »
Last Sunday's beef roast went toward a dinner, several lunches, and 5 burritos.

Pork chops earlier this week was a dinner, and two lunches for me.

Ground beef a different day went onto nachos, and there's a bit extra for lunch tomorrow.

I love batch cooking.  :D  Not sure what this weekend has in store cooking wise.  We'll see.

wintersun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 327
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #311 on: February 07, 2015, 06:26:42 PM »

GardenFun and Juslookin


I think I will commit to consuming/using up one jar of miso this month.  I see that it is good in soups so I will get out the crockpot and give it a try, you have inspired me.


I also have some dessert goodies which will take months to use…I guess it is time to eat them up.

KD

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 239
  • "Waste is a resource out of place."-Coors Mfg.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #312 on: February 07, 2015, 07:11:06 PM »
BUT.... I have a Tea Situation.

So. Much. Tea.


Alas, I, too, have a tea situation!  Thanks to your mentioning it, husband and I are now each enjoying a cuppa blueberry tea!  Need to make this a more steady nightly ritual here to get things back in hand.  I have a HUGE (maybe 3 gallon) crock full of various and assorted teas. 

4alpacas

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1825
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #313 on: February 15, 2015, 01:53:22 PM »
A friend is moving this weekend, so I received five bags of food stuff.  I have a lot of items that I don't regularly use, so I'm going to have to move out of my comfort zone. 

Any advice for dried peppers (not totally sure what type) and bread crumbs?


KD

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 239
  • "Waste is a resource out of place."-Coors Mfg.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #314 on: February 15, 2015, 02:02:54 PM »
Rehydrate a bit of the pepper and taste it to see what you've actually got.  Might ask the giver exactly what they used it for.

On the bread crumbs, they can be used in meat loaf or meat balls and pan frying of chicken or fish.

4alpacas

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1825
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #315 on: February 15, 2015, 02:09:04 PM »
Rehydrate a bit of the pepper and taste it to see what you've actually got.  Might ask the giver exactly what they used it for.

On the bread crumbs, they can be used in meat loaf or meat balls and pan frying of chicken or fish.
Thanks!

Juslookin

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 321
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #316 on: February 15, 2015, 05:57:13 PM »
I am getting tired of what's in my freezer. We went shopping over the weekend and I essentially bought enough to eat this week.  Even DH, who is usually pretty tolerant asked me to please make something "different".

I think we're just tired of winter and "winter food". I have to come up with some new ideas.

Tomorrow I am making fried chicken and potato salad. Trying to will spring to be here faster.

GardenFun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
  • Location: Packers Hell - they're everywhere!
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #317 on: February 15, 2015, 07:53:27 PM »
I am getting tired of what's in my freezer. We went shopping over the weekend and I essentially bought enough to eat this week.  Even DH, who is usually pretty tolerant asked me to please make something "different".

I think we're just tired of winter and "winter food". I have to come up with some new ideas.

Tomorrow I am making fried chicken and potato salad. Trying to will spring to be here faster.

Haha, I have potato salad on this week's menu for the same reason.  Tuesday is Jambalaya - yum!

Our 1/2 pig purchased in May is nearly gone.  Four cuts left.  Also found some kale from 2013 that went into Vietnamese Pork Noodle soup. 

PatStab

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 133
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #318 on: February 15, 2015, 10:15:47 PM »
I need to do this also, have 2 freezers and tons of stored foods. Have not been eating or baking bread while losing weight. I have 2 buckets 50 pounds of wheat, yes I have a flour mill also.

I think tomorrow I will make black beans with sausage and rice.  Then grind popcorn to make cornbread, its the absolute best.  Do have to add a bit more liquids to keep it moist though as it sucks up more moisture.

We live in the country 12 miles from the nearest store so I try to keep a stock of absolutely everything.  I also am  bit of a prepper.

Worsted Skeins

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 381
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #319 on: February 16, 2015, 04:29:44 AM »

Haha, I have potato salad on this week's menu for the same reason.  Tuesday is Jambalaya - yum!

Our 1/2 pig purchased in May is nearly gone.  Four cuts left.  Also found some kale from 2013 that went into Vietnamese Pork Noodle soup.

Same Fat Tuesday plan for us!

I need to work on clearing out the fruit/veg packets in the freezer from last summer and fall.  I thought I only had one bag of pumpkin left--found three. To be honest, I am not even sure what is hidden in the back of the lower shelf.

One thing that I wanted to mention as a way of getting rid of left over bits and pieces is to containerize them in pie or calzone dough.  I made a peach pie on Saturday (using fruit I canned last summer).  There was some pastry left so I made two hand pies filled with leftover mashed sweet potato and sausage--nice lunch items.

Nancy

  • Guest
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #320 on: February 16, 2015, 08:48:38 AM »
Finished off the steel cut oats by cooking in the slow cooker. Breakfast is done for the week. Also ate canned salmon that had been lurking in the cabinet.

HappierAtHome

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8015
  • Location: Australia
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #321 on: February 16, 2015, 06:02:45 PM »
The BF is going away for a week fairly soon, so I've been planning to use up all the odds and ends around the house and not doing any shopping until the day he gets home (because he clearly will need homemade apple crumble to celebrate his homecoming).

On the hit list are: half a tub of lentils (I'll make dahl), a couple of tins of chickpeas that have been hanging around, sushi rice and nori sheets, grilled capsicum and curry paste stashed in the freezer.

KD

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 239
  • "Waste is a resource out of place."-Coors Mfg.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #322 on: February 17, 2015, 07:39:54 AM »
Saved the son opening a new can last night of tomato sauce used in making homemade pizza.  There was half a can's worth stored in the fridge from last weeks pizza.  My sons tend to do a lot of this 'not looking' before cooking and opening new cans/jars/pkgs. of things w/o looking to see if there is something already going.  It's a constant harangue in order to keep it down to only one jar of mustard, mayo, etc. open.  Must be E.V.E.R. vigilant! ;)

swick

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2877
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #323 on: February 17, 2015, 02:02:00 PM »
Saved the son opening a new can last night of tomato sauce used in making homemade pizza.  There was half a can's worth stored in the fridge from last weeks pizza.  My sons tend to do a lot of this 'not looking' before cooking and opening new cans/jars/pkgs. of things w/o looking to see if there is something already going.  It's a constant harangue in order to keep it down to only one jar of mustard, mayo, etc. open.  Must be E.V.E.R. vigilant! ;)

Hubs is the same way, solved the problem by getting a cheap magnetic white board and sticking it to the fridge and keeping a list of what is open/needs to be used first. Then you can look at a glance and see if you can use something up. Works great!

Juslookin

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 321
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #324 on: February 19, 2015, 06:08:14 AM »
I seriously can't catch a break at my house.  A few weeks ago I injured myself, still recovering, than yesterday a pipe in an exterior wall of my home froze and burst.  We awoke to the sound of a waterfall through our dining room floor and rain in the storage portion of my basement below. Oh my gosh.

Luckily I had a lot of items still wrapped in plastic, plates, cups, napkins. I removed the wet plastic and was able to save a lot of the items. Casualties were garlic bulbs, onions and ALL my garden seeds that I had ordered and received to begin seed starting for gardening.

More on topic, again this will all be a challenge to eating at home, making meals with what we have. It looks like a better part of my house will be torn up for a few weeks, cooking will be a challenge. It just means working a little harder still.

Sometimes it does feel like you just can't catch a break.

On the positive side, I had already thawed chicken cordon bleu for last nights dinner so that was what we had, with rice from the pantry and green salad. After spending the day in the swamp we call a basement I was pretty proud that we didn't resort to take out.

Juslookin

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 321
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #325 on: February 19, 2015, 06:08:58 AM »
Saved the son opening a new can last night of tomato sauce used in making homemade pizza.  There was half a can's worth stored in the fridge from last weeks pizza.  My sons tend to do a lot of this 'not looking' before cooking and opening new cans/jars/pkgs. of things w/o looking to see if there is something already going.  It's a constant harangue in order to keep it down to only one jar of mustard, mayo, etc. open.  Must be E.V.E.R. vigilant! ;)

Hubs is the same way, solved the problem by getting a cheap magnetic white board and sticking it to the fridge and keeping a list of what is open/needs to be used first. Then you can look at a glance and see if you can use something up. Works great!

This is a great idea, I try to put the stuff to the front but it always gets mixed around.

shusherstache

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 92
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #326 on: February 19, 2015, 06:42:04 AM »
Saved the son opening a new can last night of tomato sauce used in making homemade pizza.  There was half a can's worth stored in the fridge from last weeks pizza.  My sons tend to do a lot of this 'not looking' before cooking and opening new cans/jars/pkgs. of things w/o looking to see if there is something already going.  It's a constant harangue in order to keep it down to only one jar of mustard, mayo, etc. open.  Must be E.V.E.R. vigilant! ;)

Hubs is the same way, solved the problem by getting a cheap magnetic white board and sticking it to the fridge and keeping a list of what is open/needs to be used first. Then you can look at a glance and see if you can use something up. Works great!

This is a great idea, I try to put the stuff to the front but it always gets mixed around.

I solved this by having a short, squat plastic container (dishpan-sized or smaller) on the most visible shelf with a big EAT ME label.  This is the section that contains food that should be eaten/used ASAP.  It works beautifully!

Juslookin

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 321
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #327 on: February 19, 2015, 07:20:12 AM »
Saved the son opening a new can last night of tomato sauce used in making homemade pizza.  There was half a can's worth stored in the fridge from last weeks pizza.  My sons tend to do a lot of this 'not looking' before cooking and opening new cans/jars/pkgs. of things w/o looking to see if there is something already going.  It's a constant harangue in order to keep it down to only one jar of mustard, mayo, etc. open.  Must be E.V.E.R. vigilant! ;)

Hubs is the same way, solved the problem by getting a cheap magnetic white board and sticking it to the fridge and keeping a list of what is open/needs to be used first. Then you can look at a glance and see if you can use something up. Works great!

This is a great idea, I try to put the stuff to the front but it always gets mixed around.

I solved this by having a short, squat plastic container (dishpan-sized or smaller) on the most visible shelf with a big EAT ME label.  This is the section that contains food that should be eaten/used ASAP.  It works beautifully!

Haha, eat me is often written on food in my fridge.  I find that I have to use clear containers, if they can't see the food they don't eat the food.  Than I will put post it notes on the food. I am pushing.

"I am lasagna, eat me!"

wintersun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 327
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #328 on: February 22, 2015, 06:44:07 PM »
Juslookin' What a bummer.  Thank goodness you had some food ready, that is the kind of day which sends me out to a restaurant because of overwhelm.

PatStab, Is there any chance you would share your black bean, sausage and rice recipe?  It sounds delicious right now.


JetsettingWelfareMom

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 63
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #329 on: February 22, 2015, 11:32:54 PM »
Love it! Sometimes I make recipes out of whatever random stuff is left...yet we never suffer for it. Alaskan Salmon...yum! Maybe you need fresh eyes on your recipes...good luck with the move!

1967mama

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2164
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Canada
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #330 on: February 23, 2015, 01:27:52 AM »
Tomorrow I'm going to cook Rouladen for the first time. I received a bunch of this cut with my side of beef last fall, and found a nice recipe on http://www.tasteofhome.com Its basically thin flank steak spread with dijon mustard, rolled up with bacon and a pickle! A German dish, apparently.

ETA: It was tasty and my family quite enjoyed it!
« Last Edit: February 24, 2015, 12:18:21 AM by 1967mama »

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #331 on: February 23, 2015, 10:34:08 AM »
I was a busy bee yesterday and made 1.5 pans enchiladas, a tray of eggplant Parmesan, boiled and processed eggs, rinsed and put strawberries, radish, celery with sides of cream cheese into individual containers, assembled 5 burritos for DH's lunches (put 3 in the freezer), and made a 7 layer salad.  This morning I filled the slow cooker full of gumbo ingredients.  Yummy!  I kept thinking:  I am turning groceries into meals.

I appreciated assembling the gumbo, as I was able to use up 2 cups homemade chicken broth and about 1/2 cup diced tomatoes from the freezer and frozen okra bought about 6 months ago.  I also used the 1/3 cup tomato paste from the freezer on the eggplant parm.

Juslookin

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 321
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #332 on: February 23, 2015, 11:18:29 AM »
I was a busy bee yesterday and made 1.5 pans enchiladas, a tray of eggplant Parmesan, boiled and processed eggs, rinsed and put strawberries, radish, celery with sides of cream cheese into individual containers, assembled 5 burritos for DH's lunches (put 3 in the freezer), and made a 7 layer salad.  This morning I filled the slow cooker full of gumbo ingredients.  Yummy!  I kept thinking:  I am turning groceries into meals.

I appreciated assembling the gumbo, as I was able to use up 2 cups homemade chicken broth and about 1/2 cup diced tomatoes from the freezer and frozen okra bought about 6 months ago.  I also used the 1/3 cup tomato paste from the freezer on the eggplant parm.

I am an exhausted wreck today from cleaning up a flooded basement but you have inspired me.  Thank you. I am off to make lasagna for dinner. I have all of the ingredients, just couldn't talk myself into it.

savedough

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 130
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #333 on: February 23, 2015, 12:05:22 PM »
I had a productive weekend!    I had used up all the meat in the freezer and did have to make a run to Costco and Sam's to stock up on a few things, but we are working through it.  I've found there are a few staples I need to keep around in order to use up some of the other stuff:  cheese, canned tomatoes, eggs, etc.  Meat is also one of those.  Even if it is an accent - a little pepperoni on a veggie filled pizza, some chicken in stir fry, ham in beans - when I run out, my husband notices.

I used a frozen pie crust, shredded carrots, cabbage, leeks and some leftover chicken to make Chinese-style empanadas.  (Not sure what to call them when they aren't Latin cuisine flavored).

I battered and fried some fish on Friday to make fish tacos and used up a jar of salsa, a leftover lime, sour cream, tortillas and lettuce.   I like them better with cabbage, but we only have frozen at the moment.

Made chia pudding for the kids, but I still have over 2 lbs of chia seeds.   I'm going to try chia crackers next.

This week we are having
  • sweet tea chicken to use up rosemary and make a small dent on my tea stash
  • green gumbo to use frozen kohlrabi greens, okra, leeks and green pepper
  • gallo pinto to use up leeks and beans
I'll also do some baking and try a recipe with 25% GF flour and 75% regular flour.   I'm hoping we dont notice.  Otherwise, it is going to take years to use this GF flour mix.

GardenFun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
  • Location: Packers Hell - they're everywhere!
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #334 on: February 23, 2015, 02:00:23 PM »
I am failing miserably this month.  Stores keep having insane sales so instead of eating down the pantry, I'm stocking it with more stuff!  Ugh! 

But the majority of these items were purchased because they met my "this is too awesome to pass up" threshold.  Barilla pasta for $0.39/box?  I'll grab 10.  Half ham for $0.99/lb?  In the cart you go! 

Hopefully sales will be horrible next month and I can eat down this stash.  Reading everyone else's success is still inspiring. 

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #335 on: February 24, 2015, 10:38:13 AM »
I was a busy bee yesterday and made 1.5 pans enchiladas, a tray of eggplant Parmesan, boiled and processed eggs, rinsed and put strawberries, radish, celery with sides of cream cheese into individual containers, assembled 5 burritos for DH's lunches (put 3 in the freezer), and made a 7 layer salad.  This morning I filled the slow cooker full of gumbo ingredients.  Yummy!  I kept thinking:  I am turning groceries into meals.

I appreciated assembling the gumbo, as I was able to use up 2 cups homemade chicken broth and about 1/2 cup diced tomatoes from the freezer and frozen okra bought about 6 months ago.  I also used the 1/3 cup tomato paste from the freezer on the eggplant parm.

I am an exhausted wreck today from cleaning up a flooded basement but you have inspired me.  Thank you. I am off to make lasagna for dinner. I have all of the ingredients, just couldn't talk myself into it.

Sorry to hear about your basement.  And, you're welcome.  Glad I could help.  :) :)

Juslookin

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 321
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #336 on: February 25, 2015, 09:37:11 AM »
I am failing miserably this month.  Stores keep having insane sales so instead of eating down the pantry, I'm stocking it with more stuff!  Ugh! 

But the majority of these items were purchased because they met my "this is too awesome to pass up" threshold.  Barilla pasta for $0.39/box?  I'll grab 10.  Half ham for $0.99/lb?  In the cart you go! 

Hopefully sales will be horrible next month and I can eat down this stash.  Reading everyone else's success is still inspiring.

There will always be good sales so I have just stopped looking at them. I figure the deals will come around again, they always do.

wintersun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 327
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #337 on: March 05, 2015, 08:04:41 AM »
It is time for me to focus on the food with real staying power- it just stays in the cupboard and never gets eaten.  That includes dried mung beans, nori wrappers and some irish moss.

GardenFun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
  • Location: Packers Hell - they're everywhere!
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #338 on: March 05, 2015, 08:38:18 AM »
I am failing miserably this month.  Stores keep having insane sales so instead of eating down the pantry, I'm stocking it with more stuff!  Ugh! 

But the majority of these items were purchased because they met my "this is too awesome to pass up" threshold.  Barilla pasta for $0.39/box?  I'll grab 10.  Half ham for $0.99/lb?  In the cart you go! 

Hopefully sales will be horrible next month and I can eat down this stash.  Reading everyone else's success is still inspiring.

There will always be good sales so I have just stopped looking at them. I figure the deals will come around again, they always do.

Thanks, I needed to hear that.  :-)  So far March has been much more disciplined so it should make up for Jan/Feb overages.

swick

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2877
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #339 on: March 05, 2015, 08:47:49 AM »
Well I keep going to grab stuff out of the pantry that is no longer there, so guess hubby was doing some eating out of the pantry while I was away :) I'm going to consider that a win!

I too have some Nori sheets I need to use up - I need to find some new friends who I can invite over for sushi - Hubby doesn't like it and it is a lot of work to do for one person. I did use up some rice paper spring roll wrappers that have moved with us, oh, three times.

Wintersun - what do you do with the Irish Moss? It's a thickener, isn't it?

Love hearing everyone's progress/adventures!

wintersun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 327
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #340 on: March 05, 2015, 11:10:18 AM »
Swick,

I have never used the irish moss but I got it for thickening things like raw parfaits.  The nori I am thinking of using to wrap hors d'ouevres. 


SisterX

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3035
  • Location: 2nd Star on the Right and Straight On 'Til Morning
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #341 on: March 05, 2015, 04:47:08 PM »
Time to check in again.  We have been doing SO WELL with this, for the most part.
Down to one box of salmon fillets in the freezer, and we've been managing to work at least one fillet into our weekly meal planning.  Still need to dig out all of the freezer-burned ones and cook those for the dog.
Almost out of moose, except for some roasts.  Those might end up moving with us, but if they do it's not a big deal.
Used a bunch of our frozen celery in the past few weeks.
Making some progress on the baking items, too, and the jars of preserved food.  Also, the only noodles we have left are half a box of lasagna noodles.
Even with all the progress we've made, I still feel like our house is full of food, which it is.  I just had to stock up on some things, like dog food and frozen peas (my daughter loves to have peas as a snack) and frozen fruit.  But I also know that they'll get used up really fast, so I'm trying to focus on all the progress we've made on things which don't get used up as quickly.
It's very odd to think that we're in the home stretch (about 3 months to go).  Doesn't really feel like it yet, with the winter blues (March sucks here--the fifth month of winter is tiring, especially knowing that spring is still about 2 months away) and mid-semester stress and whatnot.  But, we're hanging in there and things will get much easier soon.  At the very least, the return of the sun means that it's easier to get outside so we don't have cabin fever.

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #342 on: March 06, 2015, 09:52:35 AM »
Recently:

Used the rest of a 1/2 bag frozen green beans with a half jar Alfredo sauce.

Made gumbo and used up a bit of frozen tomatoes and 2 cups homemade broth.

Finished the frozen tomato paste on Eggplant Parmesan.

Next week is eat out of the freezer week since I'm closing in on my shop once a month day.  There is leftover gumbo and elk meatballs to nosh on.  Oh, and some African peanut soup.  :)

And I've been working on leftover alcohol from my BD party last month.  :D

If anyone has a recipe for spicy Italian ground sausage, I'm all ears.

cashstasherat23

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 244
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #343 on: March 06, 2015, 10:38:54 AM »
Recently:

Used the rest of a 1/2 bag frozen green beans with a half jar Alfredo sauce.

Made gumbo and used up a bit of frozen tomatoes and 2 cups homemade broth.

Finished the frozen tomato paste on Eggplant Parmesan.

Next week is eat out of the freezer week since I'm closing in on my shop once a month day.  There is leftover gumbo and elk meatballs to nosh on.  Oh, and some African peanut soup.  :)

And I've been working on leftover alcohol from my BD party last month.  :D

If anyone has a recipe for spicy Italian ground sausage, I'm all ears.

For spicy Italian sausage, I love this recipe! http://paleomg.com/almost-5-ingredient-pizza-spaghetti-pie/

So good, and makes a ton of healthy, delicious servings. I make a tray once every couple of months and then freeze it...have a whole stack in my freezer right now, cut into individual portions, and eat them down as I go along! 

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #344 on: March 06, 2015, 12:12:33 PM »
Recently:

Used the rest of a 1/2 bag frozen green beans with a half jar Alfredo sauce.

Made gumbo and used up a bit of frozen tomatoes and 2 cups homemade broth.

Finished the frozen tomato paste on Eggplant Parmesan.

Next week is eat out of the freezer week since I'm closing in on my shop once a month day.  There is leftover gumbo and elk meatballs to nosh on.  Oh, and some African peanut soup.  :)

And I've been working on leftover alcohol from my BD party last month.  :D

If anyone has a recipe for spicy Italian ground sausage, I'm all ears.

For spicy Italian sausage, I love this recipe! http://paleomg.com/almost-5-ingredient-pizza-spaghetti-pie/

So good, and makes a ton of healthy, delicious servings. I make a tray once every couple of months and then freeze it...have a whole stack in my freezer right now, cut into individual portions, and eat them down as I go along!

This is perfect!  Thank you!  And I appreciate the fact it's low carb.  :)

horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #345 on: March 07, 2015, 09:07:03 AM »
Recently:

Used the rest of a 1/2 bag frozen green beans with a half jar Alfredo sauce.

Made gumbo and used up a bit of frozen tomatoes and 2 cups homemade broth.

Finished the frozen tomato paste on Eggplant Parmesan.

Next week is eat out of the freezer week since I'm closing in on my shop once a month day.  There is leftover gumbo and elk meatballs to nosh on.  Oh, and some African peanut soup.  :)

And I've been working on leftover alcohol from my BD party last month.  :D

If anyone has a recipe for spicy Italian ground sausage, I'm all ears.

For spicy Italian sausage, I love this recipe! http://paleomg.com/almost-5-ingredient-pizza-spaghetti-pie/

So good, and makes a ton of healthy, delicious servings. I make a tray once every couple of months and then freeze it...have a whole stack in my freezer right now, cut into individual portions, and eat them down as I go along!

Thank you, I know what we're having for dinner now!

cats

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1232
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #346 on: March 11, 2015, 10:30:36 PM »
We have actually been doing pretty well with this, but now it's time to get serious as we probably ARE moving in the next 3 months.  I feel like we don't have "much" in the way of food on hand right now but I need to do an inventory this weekend and make a plan for using up the rest of it...

4alpacas

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1825
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #347 on: March 12, 2015, 12:21:33 PM »
We've gone through a lot of can goods in the past month.  This week I'm attacking our freezer.  We have a lot of food from my bulk cooking (frozen as single servings)and premade Trader Joe's food from impulse purchases. 

Monday night: We had penne with a pesto sauce made from frozen basil.  I also had a small bag of pine nuts (used half the bag).
                        Made a double batch of granola bars.  We used all of our quick oats, all of our honey (used 3 different containers), and a few cups of stale Cheerios.  The granola bars will be breakfast for the week.
Tuesday night: Frozen TJ's naan.  Made hummus from a can of chickpeas.  We each had a glass of milk to finish off our half gallon. 
Last night:       We split a bag of penne arrabiatta and chicken tamales (both from Trader Joe's).  We still have 4 more tamales in the freezer. 

For lunch, I've been eating the frozen single serving meals from my bulk cooking.  Unfortunately it has been a week of my biggest cooking flops--a bland curry, meatballs, and (not) butter chicken from Budget Bytes.  I need to force myself to eat the mediocre things I cook, but it's just so hard. 

We have a lot more stuff in our freezer!  I'm going to defrost a few chicken breasts for dinner tomorrow night.  Tonight, I will have another random TJ's premade food meal.  Tamales and mashed sweet potatoes. 

GardenFun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
  • Location: Packers Hell - they're everywhere!
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #348 on: March 12, 2015, 06:44:09 PM »
This week is going better.  Spent $35 on dairy, eggs, fruit/veggies and a few necessary household cleaners.  Found a use for the ham hock - lentil and ham soup.  Yum!

Starting to see the back of the freezer and empty shelf space in the pantry.  Only sad part is realizing both spaces need a good cleaning.  :-(

Zamboni

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3879
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #349 on: March 12, 2015, 07:41:06 PM »
I'm leaving town for a week in about a week, so planning to try and avoid any sort of grocery shop this week.  There is plenty of food here to eat!