Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1183438 times)

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #700 on: January 04, 2016, 07:56:51 AM »
My goal for this week is to meal plan as many meals as I can for January using items out of the pantry and freezer. I have so many tins. The freezer is mainly meat, so I will have a lot of veggies to buy.

I was really good with Christmas leftovers, and the only thing remaining is some smoked salmon. I opened the packet on December 29th, so I'm wary of using it... but then it was so expensive it will annoy me to throw it away (not to even think of wasting food which I hate as well).

I thought maybe I could cook it up in some pasta and that would kill anything nasty? Probably better than eating it raw. Hmmm. Or a quiche? Or would you all throw it out and be done with it?

Is it cold or hot smoked? I would have no problems eating hot smoked salmon that has been in the fridge for that long, mostly because I'm the only one that likes it in the house, so if I open a package it usually takes me that long to eat it with no ill effects. I would cook it though. Put it in an omelette, pasta or make some baked eggs or something!

riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #701 on: January 04, 2016, 09:34:04 AM »
Okay, here is a story of pure ridiculousness:

French dips was on my list of things to make and I had everything but the rolls. So, I took advantage of an opportunistic purchase of some awesome looking wheat sub rolls at the Dollar Store of all places. Totally random purchase, since I was there to get a pregnancy test. Supposedly the Dollar Store pregnancy tests work just fine, and according to it I am not pregnant, which is a good thing.

Anyway, the brand name fancy pants sub rolls were there just by chance and I got home all stoked to thaw the beef roast . . . but then I couldn't find it in my dinky freezer. Dug around under some stuff. Looked in the freezer door. WTF? Where did it go? Did I thaw it already?  Hmmm, no. Maybe I used it and I forgot? Weird.

So, when I was out the next day getting some beer, I bought another roast (bonus points for it being on super sale.) No, my beer consumption has nothing at all to do with needing a pregnancy test. Got home all psyched to make French dips au jus  tomorrow in the slow cooker. And then I got some ice from my drink . . . and there was the other roast, the one I was looking for in vain, frozen solid and for some reason in the ice cube bin, stashed below the ice cube tray.

Oh yes, definitely time to clean out my stash of provisions.

This is hilarious:) . and yes sounds like a good time to get through it all. Glad you're not pregnant by the way!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #702 on: January 04, 2016, 10:43:40 AM »
LOL!  Yay for not being pregnant!  (If you don't want to be that is, LOL.)

I also have been focusing on leftovers and freezer stash.  We're gaining plastic containers! :)  It was nice having 3 days off.

Christmas leftover ham went towards lunch meat, an omelet, and ham hock and beans.  Froze half of the latter.

Spaghetti sauce for tomorrow used up a cup of leftover Ragu (from October) from the freezer.

DH ate leftover corn from the freezer last night and will do so again tonight.

Brought a leftover cheeseburger patty from the freezer for lunch today.

Homemade biscuits used up the rest of the flour on Saturday.

Homemade low carb pizza crust used up the rest of the cream cheese last night.

We're currently using up several cups of cheddar I shredded earlier in December and froze before the holiday busyness.

Wednesday I'll make some sort of slow cooker meal with smoked sausage.

This weekend will be eggs Lorraine to use frozen spinach.

I'm going to take a stab at homemade bacon vinaigrette sometime this week instead of buying bottled. :)

plainjane

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #703 on: January 04, 2016, 06:23:24 PM »
Decided to switch to dried chickpeas instead of canned.  So last night I soaked them, and this evening I put them on the stove to simmer while we opened a new account for the SO's TFSA.

Towards the end we both noticed a burning smell.

The chickpeas are ok, just a bit of char, but the pot is now soaking with baking soda.  I love that pot and I hope it survives.

Maya

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #704 on: January 08, 2016, 07:03:14 AM »
Need to get through our pantry as we move cross-country in 6 months or so. eek!

This week has gone well so far. $36 for groceries. Having friends over for dinner on the weekend so I'm going to do pulled pork with beans, buns, sweet potato fries, and coleslaw. I'll just have to pick up some cabbage and attempt making coleslaw myself.

 

theadvicist

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #705 on: January 08, 2016, 08:02:34 AM »
Did a full pantry audit. Sat down with that and the freezer list. Came up with about 5 complete meals (and countless I need to purchase perishables for). Naturally, I forgot to take anything out of the freezer last night...

pbkmaine

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #706 on: January 08, 2016, 08:26:01 AM »

I have so much food stashed all over the place  Today I rearranged the home-canned goods in the basement and brought some upstairs to increase their chances of getting used.  Am going to shoot for not buying any fresh fruit until I use up the berries in the freezer, the last couple melons from the garden and put a big dent in the canned peaches, pears and assorted fruit preserves, which I've been stirring into homemade yogurt.

Then there's the dry storage stuff like split peas, red lentils that I was obsessed with a couple years ago but haven't eaten lately, a giant bag of white rice etc, etc.  There are even some spaghetti squash from last year's garden that still appear to be good.  Need to cut one open and see.

Lentils are good in chili, sloppy joes and to replace some of the beans in bean soup. I mix cooked spaghetti squash with pasta in recipes.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #707 on: January 08, 2016, 01:40:44 PM »
Went hard core in the pantry:

An unopened 5 pound bag of flour from last month's holiday baking will be donated to the food bank.

Half bags of leftover popcorn and white chocolate chips also from baking (and caramel corn!) will go to my sister (I'm a low carber and want the stuff out of my house).

Been drinking more green tea to use it up.

There are some leftover single serve punch mix envelopes from Christmas Eve's pinata I'll donate to the food bank, too.

Last night's beer cheddar soup used a bottle of homemade beer someone gave us for Christmas.

Last night's pecan crusted pork chops used 2/3 of a bag of leftover pecans from last month's baking.

There are still more odds and ends in the freezer which I'll focus on this weekend for next week's meals.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

SondraF

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #708 on: January 08, 2016, 01:53:54 PM »
We, too, have to move in a few months and between that, a tiny kitchen and fridge, and wanting to eat better/save money by having food already cooked, I've been trying to clear out the pantry and fridge too.  Cooked up a bag of pintos earlier in the week and made a crazy good soup that used up some pintos, shallots + garlic left over from xmas, celery and carrots hanging around post xmas, and some vermicelli im trying to use up.  Here is recipe if anyone wants to try (we did on stove top about 45 minutes one night after work) - its very flexible and I could see a lot of different ways you could use up veggies in it:

http://www.culinaryhill.com/slow-cooker-pasta-and-bean-soup/

I have a box of instant miso soup a friend sent from Trader Joes.  Not reeeaalll sure what to do with it!

Zamboni

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #709 on: January 09, 2016, 10:03:36 AM »
^Lol I've had two "packets" of miso soup that someone randomly gave me in my cupboard for about two years. All kinds of little odds and ends of gifted foods seem to have accumulated here.

So far this month I've spend $42 on groceries for 3-4 people (my other half doesn't always eat here, so can't count him as a full person on the bill.) That's just over a $1 per person per day spent in addition to using up what we have, and there is still a TON of food here!

I'm going to have to pitch some long expired yogurt that got tucked behind something. Sad. I hate wasting food.

SondraF

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #710 on: January 09, 2016, 01:21:35 PM »
Im still not real sure why she sent it - was supposed to be a care package and I dont eat a lot of soy and never requested it!  Ah well, maybe I will try throwing in some of my edamame in the freezer, my vermicelli, and some spinach into the instant miso soup and see if that can make it appealing!

I do love the challenge of pantry cooking. Sometimes some excellent recipes are born.


riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #711 on: January 09, 2016, 01:47:10 PM »
We, too, have to move in a few months and between that, a tiny kitchen and fridge, and wanting to eat better/save money by having food already cooked, I've been trying to clear out the pantry and fridge too.  Cooked up a bag of pintos earlier in the week and made a crazy good soup that used up some pintos, shallots + garlic left over from xmas, celery and carrots hanging around post xmas, and some vermicelli im trying to use up.  Here is recipe if anyone wants to try (we did on stove top about 45 minutes one night after work) - its very flexible and I could see a lot of different ways you could use up veggies in it:

http://www.culinaryhill.com/slow-cooker-pasta-and-bean-soup/

I have a box of instant miso soup a friend sent from Trader Joes.  Not reeeaalll sure what to do with it!

Miso soup is meant for sipping pretty much as is. If the packet doesn't contain scallions or tofu, ad a teeny bit of these.

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #712 on: January 11, 2016, 03:18:44 AM »
I need to get back to this. My freezer needs defrosting and it's currently so full of "stuff" that I simply can't be bothered. Also bought a lot of "just in case" food for the holidays and ended up using hardly any of it so I had to either watch it go to waste or toss it in freezer... Oh, well, at least I have food.

Took out a bag of chickpeas, white beans and some stock yesterday for minestrone. Next on my list are some carrots that's getting old - I'm considering either putting them in a fish&calamari curry (I'm stuggeling with that calamari - I bough a bag to test and I don't much care for it, so if anyone has a good recipe I'd be gratefull) or roasting them.

Also made chestnut spread with the chestnuts that's been lingering for a year in my pantry. Delicious stuff - and so simple.

plainjane

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #713 on: January 11, 2016, 06:30:06 AM »
I have a can (28.8?) of tomatoes that I bought on sale about a year ago because "it's a pantry staple".  Obviously not in my house.  There are only two of us, we don't eat pasta with red sauce and I greatly dislike tomato soup.  We don't eat the same thing over and over for dinner - extras are usually put into the freezer for another week (this would not be a problem in my sister's house where they routinely are feeding 7 or 8 people at dinner).

Suggestions?

Ebrat

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #714 on: January 11, 2016, 09:58:46 AM »
I have a can (28.8?) of tomatoes that I bought on sale about a year ago because "it's a pantry staple".  Obviously not in my house.  There are only two of us, we don't eat pasta with red sauce and I greatly dislike tomato soup.  We don't eat the same thing over and over for dinner - extras are usually put into the freezer for another week (this would not be a problem in my sister's house where they routinely are feeding 7 or 8 people at dinner).

Suggestions?

I made this a couple weeks ago and liked it: http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Slow-Cooker-White-Chicken-Chili-6616.html  It's not super tomato-y

pbkmaine

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Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #715 on: January 11, 2016, 10:05:23 AM »
I find that tomatoes make beef soup taste "beefier". I will buy a pot roast on sale, cut it up into small cubes and brown, then put with pan juices in a big pot, add an enormous can of tomatoes, a couple of cans (or a bag, soaked overnight) of beans and whatever vegetables are in my fridge, pantry or freezer. Simmer until beef is tender. I then portion out and freeze. Makes a great quick lunch or dinner.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #716 on: January 11, 2016, 11:08:59 AM »
^Lol I've had two "packets" of miso soup that someone randomly gave me in my cupboard for about two years. All kinds of little odds and ends of gifted foods seem to have accumulated here.

So far this month I've spend $42 on groceries for 3-4 people (my other half doesn't always eat here, so can't count him as a full person on the bill.) That's just over a $1 per person per day spent in addition to using up what we have, and there is still a TON of food here!

I'm going to have to pitch some long expired yogurt that got tucked behind something. Sad. I hate wasting food.

Same here, Zamboni.  We usually do okay, unless life is crazy busy, DH and I are out of town or whatnot.  Last month I tossed some Romaine, zucchini and a few berries we didn't get to in time.  And it looks like I'll have to toss some leftovers here at the office I forgot to take home Friday.  Last week I tossed half a head of garlic because it became "fuzzy" at the top?  :S

riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #717 on: January 11, 2016, 01:26:57 PM »
I need to get back to this. My freezer needs defrosting and it's currently so full of "stuff" that I simply can't be bothered. Also bought a lot of "just in case" food for the holidays and ended up using hardly any of it so I had to either watch it go to waste or toss it in freezer... Oh, well, at least I have food.

Took out a bag of chickpeas, white beans and some stock yesterday for minestrone. Next on my list are some carrots that's getting old - I'm considering either putting them in a fish&calamari curry (I'm stuggeling with that calamari - I bough a bag to test and I don't much care for it, so if anyone has a good recipe I'd be gratefull) or roasting them.

Also made chestnut spread with the chestnuts that's been lingering for a year in my pantry. Delicious stuff - and so simple.

How about carrot juice. Sweet & delicious on its own or add apple and ginger.
Also, carrots (and any veg, also pineapple) are excellent on the grill.
Or

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #718 on: January 11, 2016, 03:11:36 PM »

How about carrot juice. Sweet & delicious on its own or add apple and ginger.
Also, carrots (and any veg, also pineapple) are excellent on the grill.
Or
Oh, yes, grilled pineapple is one of my favourites. I long for warm weather - right now it's midwinter and every other lake is frozen solid. No grill for me for another 3.5 months. I cook them on the pan, but it's not the same.

Apple, ginger and a juicer I have, though. Will make juice for my guests tomorow. People always love fresh juice and I tend to forget I have my juicer, for some reason. Thanks.

Dollar Slice

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #719 on: January 11, 2016, 03:39:41 PM »
Ideas needed: Attempted to use my Instant Pot for the first time for black beans and brown rice. Problems getting a seal on the pot required much troubleshooting and the end product is pretty bad :-(  Basically the beans are just cooked enough, the rice is complete mush, and it's pretty soupy. Some of it burned/crusted on the bottom too, I threw that part away.

Any ideas for rescue/repurpose? I was originally planning tacos/burritos but it's way too wet/mushy...

pbkmaine

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #720 on: January 11, 2016, 04:02:14 PM »
Make it the starting point for a batch of chili.

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #721 on: January 12, 2016, 03:12:30 AM »
Ideas needed: Attempted to use my Instant Pot for the first time for black beans and brown rice. Problems getting a seal on the pot required much troubleshooting and the end product is pretty bad :-(  Basically the beans are just cooked enough, the rice is complete mush, and it's pretty soupy. Some of it burned/crusted on the bottom too, I threw that part away.

Any ideas for rescue/repurpose? I was originally planning tacos/burritos but it's way too wet/mushy...
How about soup? I mean: wouldn't it suit as a base for taco soup or black bean soup? Both contain a lot of spices that should suit beans and rice.

riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #722 on: January 12, 2016, 03:25:42 AM »
Ideas needed: Attempted to use my Instant Pot for the first time for black beans and brown rice. Problems getting a seal on the pot required much troubleshooting and the end product is pretty bad :-(  Basically the beans are just cooked enough, the rice is complete mush, and it's pretty soupy. Some of it burned/crusted on the bottom too, I threw that part away.

Any ideas for rescue/repurpose? I was originally planning tacos/burritos but it's way too wet/mushy...
How about soup? I mean: wouldn't it suit as a base for taco soup or black bean soup? Both contain a lot of spices that should suit beans and rice.

I second this. I'd make a separate soup (with lots of broth) with chicken, carrots, celery, spinach, etc . - then I would throw the rice/beans in when it's done.

MaryByrne

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #723 on: January 12, 2016, 10:20:51 AM »
Instead of buying ground beef to make spaghetti last night, My mom and I made peanut butter stir fry. Instead of buying a stir fry produce pack with carrots, broccoli and pea pods we used the broccoli crown in our fridge and half our baby carrots bought for a snack but too watery to eat. We also tried a slightly more expensive ramen style noodle (for the convenience) which is closer to the texture of real healthier asian noodles we could get for cheap in exotic food section at grocery store. Tonight we're making baked potatoes and using only things in our fridge as toppings. Sour cream from chili/nachos from the friday/weekend and leftover chili that we froze.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #724 on: January 12, 2016, 01:04:02 PM »
***Preserved Lemon***
 A little chopped up lemon peel and a few dribbles of the salty liquid on roasted potatoes are AMAZING! New awesome discovery for us!

Unfortunately, our "eat" all the food in our house challenge has turned into "get rid of"all the food in our house. Due to some new dietary restrictions, there is a bunch of stuff we don't want in the house anymore and are probably not going to eat.   

On the bright side, we are making quick progress! We have been giving away lots to the food bank, and friends and family. There have been a few things we have had no takers on, or were more chemical than food anyway. Those things we have thrown out. I don't feel good about that, but we will not be buying it again and it is not hanging around cluttering up our kitchen or our lives.

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #725 on: January 21, 2016, 05:49:48 AM »
Confession: I love testing new food. And drink. I also love tea. Because of this I have over 20 different tea types. Most of them in the quantity of 40+ cups. This has been status quoe for years, yet only last week I bought a new type. I'm a tea-hoarder. Will force myself to drink what I have before getting more. It will be very, very hard...

riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #726 on: January 21, 2016, 11:19:00 AM »
Confession: I love testing new food. And drink. I also love tea. Because of this I have over 20 different tea types. Most of them in the quantity of 40+ cups. This has been status quoe for years, yet only last week I bought a new type. I'm a tea-hoarder. Will force myself to drink what I have before getting more. It will be very, very hard...

I'm sure I hav nothing close to what you have, but I do have a fully stocked cabinet of tea & coffee. I will say that I bought very little of it, much has been gifted. However, I hav been drinking what we have down - the green & black varieties mostly. I don't go for the fruit flavored tea's but future hubby does so he's been drinking those down as well.

Mongoose

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #727 on: January 25, 2016, 01:42:35 PM »
I'm toying with the idea of jumping in...but" to be honest, I have a bit of paranoia about my kids and food (oldest has celiac and I worry about her food security... I know, it's absurd!). I need to get DH involved (or make sure he's cool with it at least). We have a very limited budget right now and quite a bit of food stocks. Makes sense to use them up.

I'm guessing we'll be in for some pretty weird meals as I have an eclectic mix. I'm going to allow restocking of flours (I sometimes have supply issues with GF flours) and purchasing milk, cheese, and some produce (although we shouldn't need much since I have some frozen from a friends garden). May end up allowing buying ingredients to finish a dish.

I'm so sick of beans right now I honestly never want to see them again. But, we have several pounds left, so I just started some more soaking. I can't wait to run out of dried beans (we prefer lentils but I bought these on sale quite awhile ago).

riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #728 on: January 26, 2016, 02:42:24 PM »
I'm toying with the idea of jumping in...but" to be honest, I have a bit of paranoia about my kids and food (oldest has celiac and I worry about her food security... I know, it's absurd!). I need to get DH involved (or make sure he's cool with it at least). We have a very limited budget right now and quite a bit of food stocks. Makes sense to use them up.

I'm guessing we'll be in for some pretty weird meals as I have an eclectic mix. I'm going to allow restocking of flours (I sometimes have supply issues with GF flours) and purchasing milk, cheese, and some produce (although we shouldn't need much since I have some frozen from a friends garden). May end up allowing buying ingredients to finish a dish.

I'm so sick of beans right now I honestly never want to see them again. But, we have several pounds left, so I just started some more soaking. I can't wait to run out of dried beans (we prefer lentils but I bought these on sale quite awhile ago).


what kinds of things do you have? we can help with meal ideas :)

i'll add, in terms of beans- i've always cooked everything from scratch- a recipe idea:
cook the beans as normal, then saute some onion and add the beans with a little oil and smash to create refried beans (what kinds of beans do you have btw? this could work with black, pinto, red, white, pink) .add a little bit of chicken boullion cube and salt to taste . make dough with corn masa (this is okay for your daughter i think but idk- another option that would work is rice flour). corn masa and water to make the dough, thick enough to work with but not to crumble. use corn husk or banana leaves(banana is better imo because of the flavor it adds). place some masa inside of the leaves (which need to be soaked a little in warm water first to soften for bendability). spoon some beans onto the masa and fold leaves around and close leaf. place a layer of leaves in the bottom of a large pot and then layer and stack the tamales. then add water just until you can see it in the pot. cook on medium setting on the stovetop. usually takes around 45-1hr. but i would check on them- when masa is cooked, it becomes a stiffer with a rubbery like feel to it. these are pretty filling. delicious as a snack or a meal with maybe rice or similar and salsa and maybe a salad.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #729 on: January 26, 2016, 04:00:31 PM »
Focus on the freezer and pantry continues:

Been using the fresh blueberries I froze last June.  Made some blueberry crepes Sunday, and have been putting some in my vodka.  :D

Poured out two unopened bottles of sugar free Da Vinci syrups I didn't get to in time.

Been remembering to pull out proteins two days before I use them to allow for adequate thawing time.

Finally used the canned crab I bought last fall by mixing it with cream cheese and sour cream to use as a cucumber smear.

Made homemade refried beans for the first time using Budget Bytes' dried pinto beans recipe.  DH actually liked them.  :)

The chicken noodle soup I stockpile came in handy this week because DH has been sick.

Made my own taco seasoning spice blend rather than buying the $1 envelope with fillers.

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #730 on: January 26, 2016, 04:43:41 PM »
How on earth did I acumulate so much rice, pasta and grains? Will take months to go through it all. Made fried rice yesterday and have enough for lunches all week.

Anyone have a good recipe for couscous? So far bland and sticky is all I have to say for it, and I still need to eat half the package...

Dollar Slice

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #731 on: January 26, 2016, 05:05:39 PM »
Been using the fresh blueberries I froze last June.  Made some blueberry crepes Sunday, and have been putting some in my vodka.  :D


Blueberry-infused gin is really good, if you like gin... :-)

fitfrugalfab

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #732 on: January 26, 2016, 07:30:53 PM »
My DH and I were snowed in over the weekend and we're about there!

EngineerYogi

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #733 on: January 26, 2016, 08:13:08 PM »
How on earth did I acumulate so much rice, pasta and grains? Will take months to go through it all. Made fried rice yesterday and have enough for lunches all week.

Anyone have a good recipe for couscous? So far bland and sticky is all I have to say for it, and I still need to eat half the package...

Cook it with broth for more flavor, I like it plain with butter though... if it's sticky you may not have let it cook long enough? It should dry out and be quite fluffy.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #734 on: January 26, 2016, 11:07:52 PM »
How on earth did I acumulate so much rice, pasta and grains? Will take months to go through it all. Made fried rice yesterday and have enough for lunches all week.

Anyone have a good recipe for couscous? So far bland and sticky is all I have to say for it, and I still need to eat half the package...

Cook it with broth for more flavor, I like it plain with butter though... if it's sticky you may not have let it cook long enough? It should dry out and be quite fluffy.

I agree, couscous shouldn't be sticky.  Maybe too much water?  My approach to cooking it is to add boiling water (quantity as per package directions) then cover it and let it sit until all the water is absorbed.

I also like couscous plain, with butter (margarine) and a little salt.  But yes, it is bland. 

Just like plain rice, it does a nice job accompanying a spicy, flavourful chili, or some kind of curry.

I also sometimes make it, let it cool, then add chopped cucumber, tomato, feta, and a little Italian dressing to make a couscous salad.  Feta makes everything bettah!

YogiKitti

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #735 on: January 27, 2016, 04:13:41 AM »
How on earth did I acumulate so much rice, pasta and grains? Will take months to go through it all. Made fried rice yesterday and have enough for lunches all week.

Anyone have a good recipe for couscous? So far bland and sticky is all I have to say for it, and I still need to eat half the package...

I love adding couscous to my pumpkin soup! So it might be good in any sort of creamy soup.


I am joining this challenge because my pantry is overly stocked and its slightly annoying having to dig through things to find what I want.

Mongoose

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #736 on: January 27, 2016, 06:07:49 AM »
what kinds of things do you have? we can help with meal ideas :)

Well, frozen sliced peaches that I can make into cobbler (have a good gluten free recipe for that). We don't normally eat dessert so the cobbler/meat thing seems weird. Other than that not sure what to do with it.

The sliced frozen plums can go in stir fry but we have so many that I'll never use them up at this rate.

I make tamales when I have the time but use corn husks. Having time is a real problem. Never had banana leaves before to use. Maybe it would be a good way to disguise some of those much despised beans. We have black, great northern and pinto beans. DH and I are from Texas and sadly we even dislike refried beans. Or bean tamales but we'll get over that.

We have a "lamb" (probably really more of a sheep at maybe over a year old). I'm more than a little weirded out by it. We got it from a local guy and, I think it's okay but the guy included everything. It was all bagged separately but the first bag I opened was staring back at me (fine normally but not especially when I was expecting a hunk of meat). The rumen/gut was also included...again it wouldn't normally be a problem but they left the content intact and it was putrifying. DH froze the meat and I've been avoiding it. I'm not quite sure that the initial butchering was ok. On the bright side, it was free...

EngineerYogi

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #737 on: January 27, 2016, 08:49:20 AM »
I'm jumping in for the month of February! I am going to inventory my freezer/fridge/pantry this weekend and see what I've got. DH and I have high protein intake requirements (bodybuilding for both of us) but I stocked up on meat this month, we'll just need to keep buying eggs(we eat 4-5 dozen a week), milk and the occasional item to complete a recipe. My stretch goal is to keep spending under $200 this month.

riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #738 on: January 28, 2016, 01:10:16 PM »
Focus on the freezer and pantry continues:

Been using the fresh blueberries I froze last June.  Made some blueberry crepes Sunday, and have been putting some in my vodka.  :D

Poured out two unopened bottles of sugar free Da Vinci syrups I didn't get to in time.

Been remembering to pull out proteins two days before I use them to allow for adequate thawing time.

Finally used the canned crab I bought last fall by mixing it with cream cheese and sour cream to use as a cucumber smear.

Made homemade refried beans for the first time using Budget Bytes' dried pinto beans recipe.  DH actually liked them.  :)

The chicken noodle soup I stockpile came in handy this week because DH has been sick.

Made my own taco seasoning spice blend rather than buying the $1 envelope with fillers.

blueberries are one of my favourites! blueberries are a fabulous addition to smoothies, also in oatmeal (i add after, i dont enjoy cooked fruit in my oats).
and yes! chicken soup, we have been making this regularly, have been sick for a couple weeks. and i make beans pretty regularly as well. i cook separate, but when i set up a small batch of the soup to reheat, i add some beans (i prefer black or lentils) and it is a really delicious combination imo, especially adding some of the bean broth as well.

YogiKitti

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #739 on: January 28, 2016, 08:38:01 PM »
I second blueberries in oatmeal! I mix in frozen ones after I make the oatmeal. I love that it turns it purple! I bet that would be a fun way to get kids to eat oatmeal.

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #740 on: January 29, 2016, 05:13:52 AM »
Thank you for all the nice ideas for couscous. I will try to tweek the cooking time - when I followed package instructions they ended up sticky.

This weeks work lunches has been homemade fried rice. Next weeks lunshes will be frozen pasta sauce with some of the stash of pasta. Tonights dinner is fish'n chips, all ingredients but the beer from the freezer. Have plans to test out a black bean brownie recipe this weekend.  I have relatives that can't eat wheat, so if a beancake might taste good I'm baking it.

I also have a box of rubarb from last year. Need to buy frozen strawberries and make yam. I love strawberry rhubarb yam.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #741 on: January 29, 2016, 12:04:44 PM »
Been using the fresh blueberries I froze last June.  Made some blueberry crepes Sunday, and have been putting some in my vodka.  :D


Blueberry-infused gin is really good, if you like gin... :-)

((high fives))  :)

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #742 on: January 29, 2016, 12:08:15 PM »
Thank you for all the nice ideas for couscous. I will try to tweek the cooking time - when I followed package instructions they ended up sticky.

This weeks work lunches has been homemade fried rice. Next weeks lunshes will be frozen pasta sauce with some of the stash of pasta. Tonights dinner is fish'n chips, all ingredients but the beer from the freezer. Have plans to test out a black bean brownie recipe this weekend.  I have relatives that can't eat wheat, so if a beancake might taste good I'm baking it.

I also have a box of rubarb from last year. Need to buy frozen strawberries and make yam. I love strawberry rhubarb yam.

Anje, please let us know how it turns out.  I'm a low carber, and make a black bean chocolate cake.  It's not too bad.  :D

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #743 on: January 29, 2016, 12:10:11 PM »
Focus on the freezer and pantry continues:

Been using the fresh blueberries I froze last June.  Made some blueberry crepes Sunday, and have been putting some in my vodka.  :D

Poured out two unopened bottles of sugar free Da Vinci syrups I didn't get to in time.

Been remembering to pull out proteins two days before I use them to allow for adequate thawing time.

Finally used the canned crab I bought last fall by mixing it with cream cheese and sour cream to use as a cucumber smear.

Made homemade refried beans for the first time using Budget Bytes' dried pinto beans recipe.  DH actually liked them.  :)

The chicken noodle soup I stockpile came in handy this week because DH has been sick.

Made my own taco seasoning spice blend rather than buying the $1 envelope with fillers.

blueberries are one of my favourites! blueberries are a fabulous addition to smoothies, also in oatmeal (i add after, i dont enjoy cooked fruit in my oats).
and yes! chicken soup, we have been making this regularly, have been sick for a couple weeks. and i make beans pretty regularly as well. i cook separate, but when i set up a small batch of the soup to reheat, i add some beans (i prefer black or lentils) and it is a really delicious combination imo, especially adding some of the bean broth as well.

Riverffashion, I sometimes add refried beans to ground meat to bulk up the burrito quantity for DH's lunches. :)

Anje

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #744 on: January 29, 2016, 03:59:30 PM »

Anje, please let us know how it turns out.  I'm a low carber, and make a black bean chocolate cake.  It's not too bad.  :D

I baked them tonight, and I think they taste great. Do they taste like brownies? No. Do they get chewy sticky like brownies? No (although that might be the fault of my dingy blender). If you've ever tasted mochi with sweet redbean filling - that's what they resemble. Plus chocolate. And I love mochi, so this is totally alright with me. But it's not brownies, so there's that.

riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #745 on: January 29, 2016, 05:30:54 PM »
Been using the fresh blueberries I froze last June.  Made some blueberry crepes Sunday, and have been putting some in my vodka.  :D


Blueberry-infused gin is really good, if you like gin... :-)

((high fives))  :)

sounds tasty, though i'm not a fan of gin. i imagine it would be good infused into many kinds of alcohol though. thanks for the idea :)

riverffashion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #746 on: January 29, 2016, 05:32:21 PM »
Focus on the freezer and pantry continues:

Been using the fresh blueberries I froze last June.  Made some blueberry crepes Sunday, and have been putting some in my vodka.  :D

Poured out two unopened bottles of sugar free Da Vinci syrups I didn't get to in time.

Been remembering to pull out proteins two days before I use them to allow for adequate thawing time.

Finally used the canned crab I bought last fall by mixing it with cream cheese and sour cream to use as a cucumber smear.

Made homemade refried beans for the first time using Budget Bytes' dried pinto beans recipe.  DH actually liked them.  :)

The chicken noodle soup I stockpile came in handy this week because DH has been sick.

Made my own taco seasoning spice blend rather than buying the $1 envelope with fillers.

blueberries are one of my favourites! blueberries are a fabulous addition to smoothies, also in oatmeal (i add after, i dont enjoy cooked fruit in my oats).
and yes! chicken soup, we have been making this regularly, have been sick for a couple weeks. and i make beans pretty regularly as well. i cook separate, but when i set up a small batch of the soup to reheat, i add some beans (i prefer black or lentils) and it is a really delicious combination imo, especially adding some of the bean broth as well.

Riverffashion, I sometimes add refried beans to ground meat to bulk up the burrito quantity for DH's lunches. :)

sounds delicious :)

P.S. I have an excellent recipe with ground beef if you're interested. it's in a previous post. i'll see if i can find it

Kerowyn

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #747 on: February 01, 2016, 11:09:25 AM »

Anje, please let us know how it turns out.  I'm a low carber, and make a black bean chocolate cake.  It's not too bad.  :D

I baked them tonight, and I think they taste great. Do they taste like brownies? No. Do they get chewy sticky like brownies? No (although that might be the fault of my dingy blender). If you've ever tasted mochi with sweet redbean filling - that's what they resemble. Plus chocolate. And I love mochi, so this is totally alright with me. But it's not brownies, so there's that.

::frantically searches for recipe:: That sounds like the only thing I ever need in life, forever. Do you have a link to the recipe? I can't find it in this thread!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #748 on: February 01, 2016, 02:07:11 PM »

Anje, please let us know how it turns out.  I'm a low carber, and make a black bean chocolate cake.  It's not too bad.  :D

I baked them tonight, and I think they taste great. Do they taste like brownies? No. Do they get chewy sticky like brownies? No (although that might be the fault of my dingy blender). If you've ever tasted mochi with sweet redbean filling - that's what they resemble. Plus chocolate. And I love mochi, so this is totally alright with me. But it's not brownies, so there's that.

Nice.  Think you'll make them again?

elaine amj

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #749 on: February 01, 2016, 02:17:09 PM »
I'm jumping in - this is great! I have a freezer stuffed full of food. We need to see the bottom at some point. or at least rotate some stuff upwards. I think there's a corner I haven't seen in 3-4 months!

I have been making yogurt and am trying to figure out what to do with the whey. I have about 2-3 cups of it in my fridge right now...

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!