Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1183523 times)

Worsted Skeins

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #400 on: April 17, 2015, 06:42:02 PM »

 I have never done it before, but if it works, I think it will be a major win. Seems like I'm always struggling to use up potatoes that go faster then I expect and I'm usually tempted (but never succumb) to those horribly expensive freezer hash browns.

Exactly!  As I said before, brilliant idea!  Good luck with it and I will be trying it too.

tofuchampion

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #401 on: April 17, 2015, 08:16:47 PM »
Oh, to figure out how sugar is in your vanilla yougurt, 4 g = a teaspoon. So for example one of those tiny little 113 cups of Activia vanilla yogurt have 4 tsp of sugar. But of course, we mustachains never buy little tubs of yogurt. So you have to figure out your typical serving size and maths it out. Hubby use to get Astro vanilla and it has 13 g per 1/2 cup. He figures he probably has 1 1/2 cup serving for breakfast so that is almost 10 tsp JUST from his yogurt.

That's not all added sugar, though. Some of it is naturally occuring in the milk used to make the yogurt, so even plain yogurt has some sugar (though obv much less!). I don't know if there's any way to know how much is added sugar; I suppose you could compare equal amounts of plain vs. flavored/sweetened.

Anyway, hi. I'm in on the eat-all-the-food thing. I have huge bags of quinoa, lentils, oats, and brown rice from Costco that I've had for months and barely touched. Lots of odds and ends, including some canned things that I've had since before we moved nearly a year ago. It's really not that much food, but I have a pretty tiny kitchen, so it gets cluttered fast. I think my first step is going to be to do an inventory of everything I have, then figure out what I can make with it.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #402 on: April 17, 2015, 11:07:55 PM »
Oh, to figure out how sugar is in your vanilla yougurt, 4 g = a teaspoon. So for example one of those tiny little 113 cups of Activia vanilla yogurt have 4 tsp of sugar. But of course, we mustachains never buy little tubs of yogurt. So you have to figure out your typical serving size and maths it out. Hubby use to get Astro vanilla and it has 13 g per 1/2 cup. He figures he probably has 1 1/2 cup serving for breakfast so that is almost 10 tsp JUST from his yogurt.

That's not all added sugar, though. Some of it is naturally occuring in the milk used to make the yogurt, so even plain yogurt has some sugar (though obv much less!). I don't know if there's any way to know how much is added sugar; I suppose you could compare equal amounts of plain vs. flavored/sweetened.

You are right, Here in Canada they are not required to break out added sugars and naturally occurring. Our plain yougurt has 3 g per serving or for my hubby's serving size 9 g or just over 2 tsp.  It really is the added sugar that is the bad stuff, but you are right pretty much anything that ends in -ose is some type of sugar.

GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #403 on: April 19, 2015, 10:49:45 AM »
I've been half-ass attempting this challenge the last few months.  While it has cleared out some interesting items from both the pantry and freezer, the urgency to completely commit wasn't there.  But now there is a real reason to eat down the freezer.  Picked up 1/2 pig this week and found out that the 1/4 beef will be delivering in a month.  Uh oh!  Even playing freezer tetris, this is going to be a tight fit.  Time to get serious! 

First item - Rutabagas.  Currently two 1-gallons bags worth blanched in 1" cubes.  Ideas?  Can they be roasted after being in the freezer?  Maybe mashed potatoes with rutabagas mixed in?

handsnhearts

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #404 on: April 19, 2015, 01:21:43 PM »
I am moving in 3 weeks(EEK!)  and have been doing this all along. 

Last night, ate up the last of the frozen hamburgers.  Made coleslaw to go with it from a cabbage hanging around for a while, a older carrot, and a new apple that DD had taken 1 tiny bite of and then threw down the stairs (the joy of 2.5 years old!)  I used up the rest of the mayo I had made on Easter for the egg salad.  It sounds like the salad dressing mentioned earlier.  The recipe I based it on called for sour cream and mayo, but I don't do the dairy, so I just used the mayo, mixed with apple cider vinegar, powdered mustard, honey, sugar(which is super old and has been in its jar for months untouched), and celery seeds.  Came out delicious!  Oh and I pulled out the Vslicer/mandoline to shred everything.  It is only the 2nd time I have used it since it arrived as my christmas present.

The flour and white rice are all gone, and the oats have 1 more scoop left.  I have been steadily emptying canning jars of nuts and dried fruits.  Although I'm not sure how much this really helps the move because I'm not getting rid of them. 

I still have a jar of boring salsa to use, and a jar of millet and of quinoa.  Maybe I should throw them in the rice cooker and use them up now.  If I cook them, I might eat them...

we are going to have to go to the grocery store today though... no eggs, no milk!

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #405 on: April 21, 2015, 09:49:45 AM »
Had quite a bit of success yesterday. Had a bit of a panic to use up a bag of roasted sweet potatoes before they went bad.

Ended up making Sweet potato brownies - using up pantry ingredients

Sweet potato buttermilk cornbread - used up the last of a carton of buttermilk that has been hanging in the fridge, a good bit of the Costco size of jalapeno peppers I have been sloowly working through, some organic cornmeal that has been taking up space in my freezer forever. Must remember that Hubby really likes cornbread...I have A LOT of cornmeal to use up.

"Fridge" chilli - Used the last of several tomato products and salsa, some kidney beans, ground beef, a bunch of spices I'm trying to work through as well as some mostly limp celery - which I kept not wanting to use because it was bitter, apparently a long sit in the fridge mellows it? An onion that was starting to sprout and some roasted red peppers from the freezer.

Trying to create some freezer space for the chicken and lamb order we have coming in. The tons of cornmeal I have is taking up some serious room, anyone have any ideas?

SisterX

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #406 on: April 21, 2015, 12:05:25 PM »
The tons of cornmeal I have is taking up some serious room, anyone have any ideas?

I haven't tried them, but pumpkin cornmeal pancakes sound delicious.  http://www.somethingswanky.com/pumpkin-cornmeal-pancakes/

Or you could do what I did and put your cornmeal in an old oatmeal container after the cornmeal box breaks, never label the cornmeal as cornmeal, and many moons later catch your husband pulling out the box of cornmeal to put in his smoothie. 
"Hon, why are you putting cornmeal in a smoothie?" 
"What?  I'm putting oats in." 
"Uh, no.  You're not.  That's cornmeal." 
"But the box says OATS.  Why would you put cornmeal in a box that says OATS?!" 
"The other box broke.  Why wouldn't you check what it is?"
"I shouldn't have to!  It says oats, I expect there to be oats."
"It looks absolutely nothing like oats!" 
"...I thought maybe you'd ground them up somehow.  No wonder my smoothies have been gritty."

That conversation actually happened just last night.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #407 on: April 21, 2015, 12:32:23 PM »
Or you could do what I did and put your cornmeal in an old oatmeal container after the cornmeal box breaks, never label the cornmeal as cornmeal, and many moons later catch your husband pulling out the box of cornmeal to put in his smoothie. 
"Hon, why are you putting cornmeal in a smoothie?" 
"What?  I'm putting oats in." 
"Uh, no.  You're not.  That's cornmeal." 
"But the box says OATS.  Why would you put cornmeal in a box that says OATS?!" 
"The other box broke.  Why wouldn't you check what it is?"
"I shouldn't have to!  It says oats, I expect there to be oats."
"It looks absolutely nothing like oats!" 
"...I thought maybe you'd ground them up somehow.  No wonder my smoothies have been gritty."

That conversation actually happened just last night.

Thanks for sharing, this made me giggle :) I can totally see that conversation taking place in our house!

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #408 on: April 22, 2015, 08:33:37 PM »
I also have a question I wonder if anyone can help with. I'm going to make burritos tonight (ground beef filling), and I often hear of people freezing them for lunches etc. I'd love to try this, but I'm not sure about defrosting / reheating. Is it best to microwave straight from frozen? Or defrost first? I'm thinking the tortilla will go soggy if I defrost, but I wasn't sure about microwaving cooked frozen meat. Would I use a defrost setting, or just go 'high' from the outset? Thanks.

My technique is (1) defrost for 2 minutes, (2) heat for 30 seconds, (3) let cool for a few minutes (or else it can be pretty molten). This works for me - the tortilla isn't soggy at all.

I should say, usually the burrito has been in my bag for a couple of hours when I go through this process, so it's probably somewhat thawed already.

Circling back on this one regarding soggy tortillas. I keep the burritos wrapped in plastic in the freezer, and I remove the plastic and wrap in a paper towel when I reheat them. Today I accidentally forgot to remove the plastic first and the result was unpleasantly slimy. So that was a good lesson.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #409 on: April 22, 2015, 10:19:11 PM »
I love your posts, PJ :) Always thrilled when you find your way back to posting!

Your cake sounds awesome!

Oh, to figure out how sugar is in your vanilla yougurt, 4 g = a teaspoon. So for example one of those tiny little 113 cups of Activia vanilla yogurt have 4 tsp of sugar. But of course, we mustachains never buy little tubs of yogurt. So you have to figure out your typical serving size and maths it out. Hubby use to get Astro vanilla and it has 13 g per 1/2 cup. He figures he probably has 1 1/2 cup serving for breakfast so that is almost 10 tsp JUST from his yogurt. We actually measured it out into a bowl, he as shocked. Regular yougurt with a splash of vanilla extract and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey is a good substitute - and regular yougurt is often on sale.

(waves at swick) 

Thanks!  I like it when I find myself back here posting, too! 

Anyway, oh wow!  First, fascinating that it sounds like your husband and I like the same yoghurt!  (Unless he was eating the vanilla flavoured "Smooth and Fruity" one.)  This is the one that I tend to buy:

http://www.astro.ca/products/astro_original_naturally_flavoured_french_vanilla_650g_family_tub#.VThuGbl0xow

Secondly, oh wow!  13 grams of sugar vs 3, eh?  Guess I'll have to make this a permanent switch, not just for the sake of giving the dog some plain yoghurt.  Even if I added back in half as much sugar, I'd be better off.

Anyway, on the "eating up all the food" front, I don't have much progress to report from the pantry.  Because last Friday night, I got to bring home a ton of leftovers after an event at the church, even after insisting that others take some of the stuff home.  So I've just been concentrating on trying to eat up that stuff before it goes bad.  So I'm eating all the food that I brought into my house while I was trying to eat all the food that was already in my house.  I think I only get partial credit for that!  (But the food is very good, and quite healthy stuff too, so saving me money and helping me eat well)

And on the subject of trying not to let things go to waste, I've also been supplementing the dogs' regular food with odds and ends that aren't that appetizing to me, but aren't actually "off" yet.  One of my dogs needs to be tempted to eat, the other is ravenously hungry due to a medication she's on.  So I'm adding in the occasional officially expired but not yet rotten egg (cooked), some grated wrinkly apple, ditto with potato (after cooking it - dogs shouldn't be given raw potato), leftover rice, etc.  Less food waste + less money spent on enticing dog treats = happy dogs and happy owner.  I'm careful to keep it to a small percentage of their overall food intake, and vary it so as not to imbalance their diets too much.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #410 on: April 23, 2015, 11:06:08 AM »
(high five PJ!)

It is indeed the same brand of yougurt. I'm pretty sure it is all the sugar that makes it so darn tasty :(

I would think using up leftovers that would have been thrown out definitely counts!

I should be supplementing some of our pups food too - great idea! The problem with her is she is pretty picky. She loves cheese in all forms...to the extent that If I open the fridge door open the cheese drawer and and rustle a ziplock bag she will run in from outside wherever she is...If I do any of those steps singularly, I get no response from her. She loves carrots, but they have to have a certain crunch to them or she won't eat them. She did love some leftover roasted sweet potato.

This is the recipe I used for the cornbread, if anyone is interested. I left out the honey  and spices and added some chopped pickled  jalapeno, garlic powder and some shredded cheese. I also used the regular flour version http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/2013/01/roasted-sweet-potato-and-spice-cornbread.html Everyone loved it and it has stayed super moist. Going to finish it off for breakfast :)

I'm going to toodle over and revive the No grocery shopping thread...see you there?

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #411 on: April 23, 2015, 10:05:04 PM »
Hmm ... "Eat All The Food In Your House" ...



That means I get to eat the whole box, right?  Or, even, both of the boxes my mom bought for me?

FrugalKube

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #412 on: April 24, 2015, 01:19:03 AM »
I think Im going to have to jump on this and look through my cupboards and freezer!

handsnhearts

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #413 on: April 24, 2015, 07:43:25 AM »
Ok.
Ate up spaghetti and can of tomato sauce and used last pack of ground beef from freezer.

I might do a freezer chili with the leftover beef and the other fridge stuff, but I don't think DD will eat it, so maybe not.

The thing I am struggling with is pickles. I have pickled green tomatoes, pickled peppers, and piccalilli relish but they are starting to be a few years old and we are not eating them. There are 2 open jars of bread and butter pickles in the fridge, but the texture is soft, so we are not really eating them. No one else wants them. Any thoughts?

GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #414 on: April 24, 2015, 07:44:27 AM »
Trying to create some freezer space for the chicken and lamb order we have coming in. The tons of cornmeal I have is taking up some serious room, anyone have any ideas?

Tamale Casserole (cornmeal topping)
cornmeal muffins with raspberry jam filling
cornmeal pancakes
polenta (google Italian polenta recipes)

handsnhearts

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #415 on: April 24, 2015, 07:53:01 AM »
Trying to create some freezer space for the chicken and lamb order we have coming in. The tons of cornmeal I have is taking up some serious room, anyone have any ideas?

Tamale Casserole (cornmeal topping)
cornmeal muffins with raspberry jam filling
cornmeal pancakes
polenta (google Italian polenta recipes)

Cornmeal pizza crusts with extra cornmeal underneath to allow the pizza to slide into the oven or grill.
I loved cornmeal mush for breakfast when I was a kid. You can use the leftovers,it's like smooth polenta, and then shape it into a load or log while still warm. Chill, then slice and fry fro lunches, dinners, snacks. Can freeze for toasting, (but then it doesn't help with the freezer space issue).
Cornbread stuffing for a chicken or turkey
Corn crackers?

CaribbeanMustachian

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #416 on: April 24, 2015, 07:57:52 AM »
We're 36 days into this challenge and happy to report we can see what’s in our freezer.

The first two weeks were full of guessing what’s for dinner. The system was freezer find (main dish) and pantry (sides). Would pull out a mystery package and prepare a meal based on the contents. This proved easier than planning meals because I like the cooking gauntlet feeling.

Some of the creations included: curried chicken with roti (naan), geera pork with rice and peas, jerk snapper with carrots, corn and okra, pork carnitas with yellow rice or tacos, steamed fish with ginger and chives.
 
Yesterday we went to lunch at one of our favorite spots. The owner thought we had moved. Was nice to hear, we had her pack most of it to go. Sharing the meal around our dining table was the best feeling ever. Thanks to everyone on this post for giving us encouragement and recipe ideas!

CaribbeanMustachian

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #417 on: April 24, 2015, 11:28:37 AM »
Here's a Jamaican recipe that uses cornmeal. It's called "Festival".

4 oz. Cornmeal, 4 oz. Flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp Salt, 2  tbsp Sugar, 4 oz. Water, Oil for frying. Mix all ingredients in a bowl excluding water. Slowly add water, kneading to form soft dough. Divide into 8-12 small balls. Roll each ball between your palms to form long, slender "fingers" or "spinners" as they say. Heat oil and fry dough until golden brown. Remove the festival and lay on a paper towel to drain. Serve by itself, with fish or chicken.

Worsted Skeins

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #418 on: April 25, 2015, 05:30:35 AM »
Happy to report that the freezer supply of last year's veg from local farms has been consumed with the exception of one packet of pumpkin and a bit of kale.

I used the last of the strawberry jam in some oatmeal cookie bars.

Next up:  working on dried beans to restock the fairly empty fridge with some grab and go dishes.

nora

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #419 on: April 25, 2015, 05:50:22 AM »
Today I cracked this hugebag of macadamia nuts that we have had in our pantry for ages. I have to admit to throwing out a small handful at the end that looked too small to be worth the effort. It took over an hour with a metal plate, a hammer and a pair of vicegrips. And tonight we ate half of them on icecream with chocolate sauce. Nyum nyum.

Cressida

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #420 on: April 26, 2015, 09:18:24 PM »
Pantry was getting unmanageable so today I cleared it out pretty ruthlessly. Why did I have items expiring in 2013? ugh, so bleeping wasteful.

Anyway, I have 5 5.5-oz cans of tomato juice with "best by" dates of 2/26/15. Apparently this is an item that I don't utilize regularly. (I kind of wonder what I used the sixth can for, back in 2012 or whenever.) I figure they're probably still OK, but I'd like to use them soon. If anyone has any thoughts regarding this somewhat pedestrian ingredient, I'd be happy to hear them.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #421 on: April 26, 2015, 11:00:51 PM »
Pantry was getting unmanageable so today I cleared it out pretty ruthlessly. Why did I have items expiring in 2013? ugh, so bleeping wasteful.

Anyway, I have 5 5.5-oz cans of tomato juice with "best by" dates of 2/26/15. Apparently this is an item that I don't utilize regularly. (I kind of wonder what I used the sixth can for, back in 2012 or whenever.) I figure they're probably still OK, but I'd like to use them soon. If anyone has any thoughts regarding this somewhat pedestrian ingredient, I'd be happy to hear them.

I've used tomato/vegetable juice as part of a soup base, and I've also used it to cook a kind of "Spanish rice" dish with added veggies.  Dilute according to what else you're adding!  Can also use it to stretch a small quantity of tomato sauce when making lasagna, and because it makes the sauce pretty runny, you can skip pre-cooking the noodles (although when I do that, I don't put a top layer of noodles on). 

Basically, think of things you use tomato sauce for and go from there.

Cressida

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #422 on: April 26, 2015, 11:50:40 PM »
Pantry was getting unmanageable so today I cleared it out pretty ruthlessly. Why did I have items expiring in 2013? ugh, so bleeping wasteful.

Anyway, I have 5 5.5-oz cans of tomato juice with "best by" dates of 2/26/15. Apparently this is an item that I don't utilize regularly. (I kind of wonder what I used the sixth can for, back in 2012 or whenever.) I figure they're probably still OK, but I'd like to use them soon. If anyone has any thoughts regarding this somewhat pedestrian ingredient, I'd be happy to hear them.

I've used tomato/vegetable juice as part of a soup base, and I've also used it to cook a kind of "Spanish rice" dish with added veggies.  Dilute according to what else you're adding!  Can also use it to stretch a small quantity of tomato sauce when making lasagna, and because it makes the sauce pretty runny, you can skip pre-cooking the noodles (although when I do that, I don't put a top layer of noodles on). 

Basically, think of things you use tomato sauce for and go from there.

Oh, that's a good idea, rice cooking liquid. I can see soup base too, if I give it some thought (I tend to be a recipe-based cook, but I do make substitutions). thanks!

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #423 on: April 27, 2015, 09:10:20 AM »
The last of the freezer kale will go into the chick pea/tomato stew that is simmering on the stove.  I'll serve that for dinner over whole wheat couscous.

My freezer had been looking pretty pitiful given my desire to use up last year's harvest.  After receiving inspiration from this thread, I have added some bags of future hashbrowns.  This morning I cooked a large pot of chick peas some of which we are eating for dinner. The rest are now frozen in one or two cup containers for future meals.

Yesterday I made burger buns, some of which made their way to the freezer. My husband made ground turkey/lemon/scallion/feta burgers.  One each for dinner, one for his lunch today and two for the freezer. 

I am happy to do a thoughtful restocking.  The key thing for me is not to bury the older pantry/freezer stuff with newer, losing those items that are already there.


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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #424 on: April 27, 2015, 06:54:47 PM »
Help: gram flour! (As in, flour made from chickpeas). What can I do with this? Could I use it in place of wheat flour to make tortillas?

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #425 on: April 27, 2015, 07:14:02 PM »
Help: gram flour! (As in, flour made from chickpeas). What can I do with this? Could I use it in place of wheat flour to make tortillas?

You can make hummus starting from gram flour. I haven't done it myself but remember someone talking about it somewhere on the forums.

handsnhearts

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #426 on: April 28, 2015, 01:10:07 AM »
Help: gram flour! (As in, flour made from chickpeas). What can I do with this? Could I use it in place of wheat flour to make tortillas?

Make a socca or farinata flatbread. So good!  And easy quick.

Sister is visiting from out of town. Made dinner at home from ingredients at home, rather than out to eat. She said it was tastier and healthier than going out!  I made zucchini noodles sauted in olive oil and salt. Tomato sauce with the precooked ground beef, and leftover fresh parsley, rest of garlic. Baked carrots in olive oil and dill. Heated up harder sourdough baguette, after moistening. Was edible then instead of trash. Used up 14 oz can of diced tomatoes and can of tomato sauce. Pantry is looking more empty all the time.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #427 on: April 28, 2015, 07:28:08 AM »
Last night before bed, had the last of one container of yoghurt.  I'm really bad for losing interest in it and throwing out the last 1/4 - 1/3 of the container.  I bought a new container of yoghurt on Sunday though, so I know I need to keep eating it! 

Added to the yoghurt was the last serving of some tinned mandarin orange segments that was quite far past expiry.  Still fine, though I didn't bother to save the juice this time to try to find a way to cook with it.  I bought several of these plastic bottles of fruit a while back, thinking that they would be good for eating when I was out of fresh fruit and in between shopping trips.  Surprisingly (not!) I don't think to look in my cupboard for fruit!  So I keep forgetting to use them.  I'm down to one bottle left of peach segments.  It's on the list to be used up too.

SisterX

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #428 on: April 28, 2015, 01:47:00 PM »
Biggest recent win: my MIL was visiting and bought one of the giant packs of fresh basil, rather than the small one like I asked for.  Then she left.  Instead of letting all that extra basil go bad I turned it into pesto, then combined it with homemade hummus (using up more of that giant bag of dried chickpeas!).  The only bad part was that I made way, way too much and my toddler, apparently, does not like it.  (Pesto, ok.  Hummus, ok.  Pesto hummus, nose wrinkled in disgust and food spat out.  Ah, toddlers!)  So I gave some to my landlady when I saw her yesterday, and will try to give some to our babysitter and our good friend/neighbor today, in addition to eating quite a bit of it for lunch.  Spreading goodwill.  :)

I think I've finally pulled out our last pack of ground moose meat for tonight's dinner.  There might be one more lurking somewhere, but I'm pretty sure this is the last.  Need to get back on my game and remember to cook up more of those awful fish fillets for the dog. 

Have used up dates and raisins, and got through a small portion of our stash of nuts, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and coconut.  I made German chocolate energy bites with all that and it's been my sweet treat all week.  Knowing that I don't have the stuff to make more has helped me portion them out really well, since I didn't want to run out.

Will be making yummy peanut butter maple cookies next weekend using the last of my barley flour, from a recipe found on the sack of said barley flour.  Yum!

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #429 on: April 28, 2015, 01:56:54 PM »
 

Have used up dates and raisins, and got through a small portion of our stash of nuts, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and coconut.  I made German chocolate energy bites with all that and it's been my sweet treat all week.  Knowing that I don't have the stuff to make more has helped me portion them out really well, since I didn't want to run out.

Will be making yummy peanut butter maple cookies next weekend using the last of my barley flour, from a recipe found on the sack of said barley flour.  Yum!

ohh don't suppose you could share both those recipes? I make a batch of energy bites every week and am always looking for new recipes. And barley flour...well I dont have any of that...but i have a belndtec and about 25 lbs of barley (something I will never buy in bulk again!)

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #430 on: April 28, 2015, 03:26:54 PM »
 

Have used up dates and raisins, and got through a small portion of our stash of nuts, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and coconut.  I made German chocolate energy bites with all that and it's been my sweet treat all week.  Knowing that I don't have the stuff to make more has helped me portion them out really well, since I didn't want to run out.

Will be making yummy peanut butter maple cookies next weekend using the last of my barley flour, from a recipe found on the sack of said barley flour.  Yum!

ohh don't suppose you could share both those recipes? I make a batch of energy bites every week and am always looking for new recipes. And barley flour...well I dont have any of that...but i have a belndtec and about 25 lbs of barley (something I will never buy in bulk again!)

Here are the energy bites:  http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/02/08/german-chocolate-fudge-bites/.  If you're wondering about my use of raisins, it's because I had about a tablespoon of raisins left in the container and tossed those into the mix in addition to the dates.

For the cookies, I'll actually have to look at it when I get home and type it up, since the recipe is actually just found on the bag.  :)

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #431 on: April 29, 2015, 05:33:37 AM »
Speaking of barley...

I can't imagine having 25 pounds of it on hand!  I usually just buy a smaller quantity in the fall for soup season.  I have about a cup leftover though and this week it is going into a tweaked version of this Budget Bytes recipe:

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/09/baked-barley-mushrooms/

I have some shiitake mushrooms in the pantry that I dehydrated last fall. I plan on adding some of these to the dish.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #432 on: April 29, 2015, 07:12:35 AM »
One bag of rutabagas gone!  Roasted them the same way as potatoes.  Next time I'll cut back on the pepper because they already have a peppery flavor to them. 

Made it through 1st communion weekend without taking everyone out to eat.  That was a big win.  Cleared out a flank steak, ground pork, ground beef, chicken thighs, cheese and the big 5lb ham from the freezer. 

On schedule for this week - turkey dinner. 

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #433 on: April 30, 2015, 11:12:01 PM »
Came home starving today!

Quite a long time ago, someone gave me some packages of instant oatmeal.  I don't know how old they were at the time, but I'm still working my way through them.  They smell fine, they taste fine - it's basically just oatmeal, sugar and spices, so am not too worried.  But I would like to use them up.  They're too sweet on their own, so I mix half a packet with some regular oatmeal. 

Some oatmeal, with half a banana from the freezer mushed in - filled me right up!  And only a couple of packets of the oatmeal left.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #434 on: May 01, 2015, 07:45:36 AM »
^Great idea to mix the oatmeal to cut down sweetness. 

Turkey is cooked.  Family will gnaw on it for a few days, then it will become stock.  Next on the list:  two ham bones for lentil and ham soup.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #435 on: May 01, 2015, 08:12:47 PM »
My fridge & freezer are empty! Well, they were, before I went grocery shopping. ;) Now to attack the cupboards. I'm going to make a big batch of something involving rice, lentils, and tomatoes, and eat it all week. I think I might donate some of the canned goods. I am never going to eat canned green beans and am not really sure why I bought them.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #436 on: May 02, 2015, 07:52:41 PM »
I can see the back of one of my cupboards.  Ate a carton of roasted red pepper and tomato soup--expired in 2013.  It was kind of thick, but I'm not sick or dead.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #437 on: May 02, 2015, 08:29:59 PM »
I have a little jar of ... I don't know exactly how to describe it ... sort of a vegetable based pate/spread?  I bought it a few years ago while away on a trip in France, but decided it didn't look appetizing after all, and it has been sitting in my cupboard all this time.  It expired within the last year.  Couple of days ago, I brought home some melba toast from my desk drawer stash, determined to open it and see if it was still worth eating. 

It doesn't smell bad, or taste spoiled.  I had a little bit a couple of hours ago and no ill effects (so far!)  But it is just ... unappetizing.  It has potato in it, along with other veg, so I might try cooking up a couple of potatoes and seeing how it goes mixed in with them. 

In other news, having re-stocked my freezer with a variety of rice dishes over the last few months (making a pot with various veg and sauces and legumes periodically, and freezing in portion controlled containers) I have been enjoying eating different types of rice for dinner, or grabbing a container to take to work. 

Some are definitely better than others.

Today was broccoli cheddar.  :-)

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #438 on: May 05, 2015, 12:35:23 PM »
Here's the recipe for the barley peanut butter cookies.  They're really good!  Made a batch last night and brought most of them in to work today, after we snitched a few.  :)

Barley flour down.  Found a stash of homebrew that I've been using to make beer bread, so slowly working through that too.

And of course, more fish.  Always more fish.  Tonight it's fried clams.
« Last Edit: May 05, 2015, 12:37:14 PM by SisterX »

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #439 on: May 05, 2015, 01:09:31 PM »
Awesome, thanks for the recipe!

I have a bunch of bones simmering in the crockpot to make Ramen broth - chicken, duck, oxtail, pork = several bags out of the freezer :)

In my other crockpot I have some beef stew going that used up the last of a bunch of different root veggies and will be extra tasty with some cornmeal "something" to use up a bit more of my cornmeal supply.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #440 on: May 05, 2015, 02:46:16 PM »
I have a little jar of ... I don't know exactly how to describe it ... sort of a vegetable based pate/spread?  I bought it a few years ago while away on a trip in France, but decided it didn't look appetizing after all, and it has been sitting in my cupboard all this time.  It expired within the last year.  Couple of days ago, I brought home some melba toast from my desk drawer stash, determined to open it and see if it was still worth eating. 

It doesn't smell bad, or taste spoiled.  I had a little bit a couple of hours ago and no ill effects (so far!)  But it is just ... unappetizing.  It has potato in it, along with other veg, so I might try cooking up a couple of potatoes and seeing how it goes mixed in with them. 

In other news, having re-stocked my freezer with a variety of rice dishes over the last few months (making a pot with various veg and sauces and legumes periodically, and freezing in portion controlled containers) I have been enjoying eating different types of rice for dinner, or grabbing a container to take to work. 

Some are definitely better than others.

Today was broccoli cheddar.  :-)

Last night was garbage night.  I was gathering up stuff for the "green bin" and looking in the fridge for anything that might have gone off since last week.  Stared at the little jar of vegetable pate.  Debated whether or not I really was going to eat any more of it.  Decided that it was unlikely, and reminded myself that it was a sunk cost - whether I ate it or not was not going to get back the money I'd spent on it.  Ditched it.

In other news, the rice with veggies container I pulled from the freezer to bring with me today was not as lovely as the broccoli cheddar I had a couple of days ago.  Too bad.  I ate it anyway.

Since it's been a couple days since I posted, also want to report that after eating quite a lot of rice lately, I've been working on getting some more variety back in my diet.  I did cook some potatoes, and ate some with my rice lunch.  (Yeah, a bit carb heavy but it was a smallish container of rice, and potato is technically a vegetable, so that makes it healthy, right?)  Also made pasta the other day, and added some sundried tomato (have had part of a jar sitting in the fridge for quite a while now) and also some roasted red peppers that I prepped in the fall and froze, then never got around to eating over the winter.  I also added my first harvest from this year's garden ... but that's for the gardening thread!  Added some spices that I have trouble using up, a little balsamic and some grated parmesan.  Yum!

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #441 on: May 05, 2015, 04:13:13 PM »
Made lemon cheesecake bars from a box of mix that has been in the pantry forever.  Hopefully they are still ok.  I don't really smell lemon coming from the pan so there may be a small initial taste test to determine if it is edible - kind of like being the royal food taster for the family....

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #442 on: May 07, 2015, 04:36:12 AM »
Defrosted some bass fillets last night to discover there were 3 in the pack, and we only needed 2. I cooked the other one up anyway, and will make fishcakes to stretch it for a meal for 2. It was actually my husbands idea - despite cooking fishcakes regularly in the past it didn't come to mind at all. I was staring at it, wondering how I would make it feed two of us. Bingo!

Roast chicken sandwich for lunch, that will be the sixth (and final) meal from that small chicken.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #443 on: May 08, 2015, 02:47:35 PM »
mail carriers are doing a food collection tomorrow.  I put a bag of non-organic spaghetti that I will probably never eat as we have 2 organic ones still uneaten.  A can of fava beans, a single serving soymilk (too much sugar, they don't taste good to me anymore), a sardines with harrissa I thought looked interesting but I won't eat it because of the red peppers, a box of butternut squash soup, a jar of baby food, and a box of organic shells and cheese that always looks gross and DD never eats.  I have been eating the pantry down good, so I know we will never eat these.  Better it go to someone else who may appreciate it. 

Last night made pasta salad and finished up bag of pasta fusili, marinated mushrooms, marinated artichoke hearts, green olives, and almost finished the sun-dried tomatoes. 

Last week I finished up the scraps of 2 almond butter and 1 peanut butter jar with peanut noodle sauce.  pantry, freezer and fridge are dwindling, but moving day is in 1 week!

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #444 on: May 08, 2015, 03:26:55 PM »
used the paleo crock pot cabbage +meat balls recipe
and as a side dish made rice in the rice-cooker with our home made stock, yum..

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #445 on: May 19, 2015, 04:14:32 PM »
Already posted in another thread about using up the last of the cabbage that I had in the fridge last night, making a couple of pots of bean/cabbage/potato stew with different flavour profiles.  Took some of the chickpea curry one to work for lunch today. 

Just came home a little while ago, and had a nice big bowl of homemade ice cream (made by someone else and given to me) along with some canned peaches.  I have now officially opened the last jar of fruit that is past its expiry date.  Still delicious, and went very well with the soursop ice cream.  I'm going out to a movie with my sister tonight, and I'm planning to sneak some snacks in with me (shh, don't tell!).  I've got some cans of pop that've been in the fridge for more than a year, and some cheese straws that I got at the same time as I got the ice cream.  Salty snacks, for the win!

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #446 on: May 20, 2015, 04:12:12 AM »
Well it is a good thing that I had a lot of empty freezer space.  Dear neighbors moved.  They had a stand alone freezer and needed to get rid of a surplus of shrimp and flounder.  What a gift!  Five pounds of shrimp and six fish fillets.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #447 on: May 20, 2015, 02:57:54 PM »
Sorry you lost such good neighbours worstedskeins, but how nice of them to leave some friends behind in your freezer!

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #448 on: May 21, 2015, 10:08:42 AM »
What a goal!  I do something I call "eat down the house", but it is just a 1 week goal to make every meal from food we have on hand and buy as little supplementing food as possible.  The spirit of this challenge has led me to seeing foods in new ways and being much more open to eating "creatively".  Ultimately it has meant spending much less $$ on food.

We're scheduled to move in July and we've been working to eat down the house so that when we list our property for sale and potential purchases are lloking things over all the cupboards, fridge and freezer look spacious (are not full of stuff).

It's fun and useful.  Great to have like-minded folks here.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #449 on: May 21, 2015, 03:01:10 PM »
Sorry you lost such good neighbours worstedskeins, but how nice of them to leave some friends behind in your freezer!

I am bummed that they moved.  Obviously they were not reading this thread in the months leading up to their departure! Actually what happened was sort of interesting.  Their house was on the market for only a few weeks when a buyer offered cash and said he wanted to move in immediately.  So that was that.