Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1183506 times)

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1000 on: November 13, 2016, 02:06:57 AM »
Some of you might get a laugh out of this Ask Reddit thread.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/5cn833/what_is_the_most_pathetic_meal_youve_ever_eaten/

Our creative ingredient combinations are positively glamorous compared with, say, croutons with barbecue sauce... >.<

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1001 on: November 14, 2016, 01:54:35 AM »
Just made mini pizzas using up a little pot of pizza sauce (freezer), a tin of pineapple (pantry), mozzarella (huge stash left over from a function), basil from my plant, and fresh salami, tomato, and capsicum.

horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1002 on: November 14, 2016, 07:35:33 AM »
Oh, that Reddit thread made me sad.  Last night DH and I reminisced about what our parents fed us growing up (fish sticks, frozen lima beans) while we dined on local grass-fed lamb chops, lentils with shallot cooked in homemade beef broth, and roasted homegrown broccoli.  We are so lucky it's embarrassing.

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1003 on: November 15, 2016, 02:13:44 PM »
That thread reminded me of my "broke food" days.  My fave was Ramen noodle with a can of Veg-All, topped with cheese if I was lucky.  Also, of buying 16 cent bags of lunch meat...

A new-to-me recipe Sunday night used up 1/4 cup tomato paste and bag of cut okra from the freezer.

Used the rest of the chopped walnuts in salads for today and tomorrow's lunch.

The aforementioned pumpkin cookies also used up a small bag of sugar, and more of the lingering brown sugar.

We were down to the last bag of frozen veggies, pork chops and chicken breasts, and the fridge very bare before I did my monthly grocery shop last night. :)

Now, to focus on that half bag of frozen store brand strawberries...


theadvicist

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1446
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1004 on: November 17, 2016, 05:50:43 AM »
Used up the last of a mixed bag of frozen veggies I hated last night. Ironically they weren't too bad and I'm thinking maybe I should keep them on hand because dinner without veggies isn't dinner to me and they did get me out of a pickle last night! Ugh.

fuzzy math

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1724
  • Age: 42
  • Location: PNW
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1005 on: November 19, 2016, 10:26:04 AM »
We are moving at some point next year. I will be leaving first to go start work at the end of Jan, and DH will be left behind with the kids until the house sells.
My priorities: Cook/ eat everything that DH will not prepare after I've left. AKA everything.

2 days ago I reorganized the pantry. I have probably 200+ tea bags of various flavors. They are small but overall the buy vs actual needs category needs to be evaluated.
I also have a habit of buying sauces. Trying to buy only meat / veggies to go through a lot of those jars.
Also have lots of baking chips (chocolate, chocolate mint, etc). Must make lots and lots of desserts. We have GF flours (every separate item under the sun) from our various attempts to go GF. Need to see if any of these are practical to bake with or if I just need to be realistic and dump them all.

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1006 on: November 19, 2016, 06:25:55 PM »
Used up some of my stash of salsa from the freezer last night.

Defrosting chicken breast to cook tonight.

horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1007 on: November 19, 2016, 06:50:12 PM »
Making scalloped potatoes  right now with some of the potato excess and goat cheese  that has been in the freezer for six months or so.

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1008 on: November 20, 2016, 02:04:46 AM »
Making scalloped potatoes  right now with some of the potato excess and goat cheese  that has been in the freezer for six months or so.

I've had a hankering for creamy potato recipes all day. Potato bake... *drool*

meadow lark

  • CM*MW 2023 Attendees
  • Walrus Stache
  • *
  • Posts: 7825
  • Location: Louisiana
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1009 on: November 20, 2016, 11:55:50 AM »
Made bean soup (I do this once a week.)
Used about 1/4 of my Green Thai curry paste, and the 1/2 a jar of 'Coconut Manna' (pulverized coconut) I have been staring at for months.  It also used 2 cans coconut milk, 1 lb dry black beans, a butternut squash, a delicata squash, 2 onions, a small eggplant, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, bunch of bok choy, vegan Bouillion - but those aren't things I am trying to use up.


horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1010 on: November 20, 2016, 03:58:51 PM »
Making scalloped potatoes  right now with some of the potato excess and goat cheese  that has been in the freezer for six months or so.

I've had a hankering for creamy potato recipes all day. Potato bake... *drool*

Quite the calorie bomb, but damn' it was good!

I've been working away at the 21# turkey I got free with purchase last week.  That is a lot of bird.  We had drumsticks for dinner last night, I made a huge pot of stock that will get canned tonight.  This morning I canned 12 pints of potato/turkey/green chile chowder (using more of the goat cheese too), and am currently canning 5 quarts and 3 pints of turkey vegetable soup.  Not exactly using up food, but I have lunches handled for a long, long time.  There is a lot of turkey meat that simmered in with the bones for 20 hours or so, and it's so overcooked now that I am trying to figure out a good use for it where the texture won't be so prominent.

On the flip side, I dug up about 20# of parsnips this morning.  Not sure what I'm going to do with all of those.

In the actual using up of the things department, I made pancakes for breakfast this morning using up a small jar of pear sauce, the end of a bag of walnuts and some of my coconut flour.

Anje

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 200
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1011 on: November 21, 2016, 03:09:00 AM »
I've decided to try making soy milk with my dried soy beans. I don't like store bougt soy milk, but since I have no reference to "good quality" soy milk I'm making it myself to figure out if I like that version.

Also rehydrated and boiled all my other dried beans and froze them in portion packs this weekend. I eat a fair amount of beans in the winter, but they need to be on hand. I now have 18 portions, so I think I'm set until next year. I seem to rotate between chili (2 things of beans) - minestrone (1-2 things of beans) - curry (1 thing of beans) - noodle soup (no beans) all winter long, with the odd break for something roasted or tapas on weekends.

Also: does anyone have experience with chili and cocoa? I've seen chili recipes with cocoa in them, and I've been thinking of testing out to make a dent in my heap of unused cocoa..

4alpacas

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1825
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1012 on: November 21, 2016, 11:05:04 AM »
Making scalloped potatoes  right now with some of the potato excess and goat cheese  that has been in the freezer for six months or so.

I've had a hankering for creamy potato recipes all day. Potato bake... *drool*

Quite the calorie bomb, but damn' it was good!

I've been working away at the 21# turkey I got free with purchase last week.  That is a lot of bird.  We had drumsticks for dinner last night, I made a huge pot of stock that will get canned tonight.  This morning I canned 12 pints of potato/turkey/green chile chowder (using more of the goat cheese too), and am currently canning 5 quarts and 3 pints of turkey vegetable soup.  Not exactly using up food, but I have lunches handled for a long, long time.  There is a lot of turkey meat that simmered in with the bones for 20 hours or so, and it's so overcooked now that I am trying to figure out a good use for it where the texture won't be so prominent.

On the flip side, I dug up about 20# of parsnips this morning.  Not sure what I'm going to do with all of those.

In the actual using up of the things department, I made pancakes for breakfast this morning using up a small jar of pear sauce, the end of a bag of walnuts and some of my coconut flour.
I'm impressed with your turkey abilities!  I'm just hoping to successfully cook a turkey for the first time on Thursday.  Wish me luck!

For any root vegetable, I like to roast them and then freeze them.  They're awesome to toss into mashed potatoes, soups, etc. 

horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1013 on: November 21, 2016, 07:41:37 PM »
I'm impressed with your turkey abilities!  I'm just hoping to successfully cook a turkey for the first time on Thursday.  Wish me luck!

For any root vegetable, I like to roast them and then freeze them.  They're awesome to toss into mashed potatoes, soups, etc.

You will be fine!  Personally I like to brine the bird overnight (here it's usually cold enough to leave it in a bucket in the garage or back porch), sprinkle liberally with salt/pepper/herb mashup, stuff a cut onion and maybe a lemon in the cavity and roast under a tinfoil tent until the last half hour, then remove the tent, crank the heat up to 400 or so to get it nice and golden.  You can baste at that time if you want.  For some real decadence, shove some pats of herb butter between the skin and the breast before cooking.  Monitor the temp and pull it out when the thigh hits 165.  Most of the infamous dry turkey is due to over cooking.  Some birds are just dry, so if you don't get lots of pan drippings, any dryness is on the bird, not the chef.

Thanks for the tip on freezing roasted veg.  I will give that a shot next time we do a big pan.

Used up two jars of last year's tomato sauce in tonight's dinner.  Sort of an "unstuffed cabbage" stew with ground beef and a tomato base.  I also julienned a parsley root I dug up yesterday and tossed it in.  Have never cooked with this ingredient before, but I think it has potential as a noodle substitute.  Perhaps the parsnips do too.

Noodle

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1316
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1014 on: November 21, 2016, 07:46:46 PM »
Also: does anyone have experience with chili and cocoa? I've seen chili recipes with cocoa in them, and I've been thinking of testing out to make a dent in my heap of unused cocoa..

I have several chili recipes that involve either cocoa or unsweetened chocolate. I find it very tasty. Sort of mole (the Mexican food, not the rodent) inspired.

4alpacas

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1825
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1015 on: November 22, 2016, 01:08:22 PM »
You will be fine!  Personally I like to brine the bird overnight (here it's usually cold enough to leave it in a bucket in the garage or back porch), sprinkle liberally with salt/pepper/herb mashup, stuff a cut onion and maybe a lemon in the cavity and roast under a tinfoil tent until the last half hour, then remove the tent, crank the heat up to 400 or so to get it nice and golden.  You can baste at that time if you want.  For some real decadence, shove some pats of herb butter between the skin and the breast before cooking.  Monitor the temp and pull it out when the thigh hits 165.  Most of the infamous dry turkey is due to over cooking.  Some birds are just dry, so if you don't get lots of pan drippings, any dryness is on the bird, not the chef.
Thanks for the advice!  I'm still nervous :)

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1016 on: November 28, 2016, 01:02:52 PM »
<<raises hand>>

Add me to the list of people who will soon be moving.  DH and I found a home out in the country, and will be putting ours on the market sometime this week.  :)  The refrigerator isn't too packed, but the freezer is after last month's grocery shop, and the pantry has about 40 canned items.  The new home doesn't have a pantry, but does have room in the laundry for shelves.

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1017 on: November 29, 2016, 01:38:56 AM »
<<raises hand>>

Add me to the list of people who will soon be moving.  DH and I found a home out in the country, and will be putting ours on the market sometime this week.  :)  The refrigerator isn't too packed, but the freezer is after last month's grocery shop, and the pantry has about 40 canned items.  The new home doesn't have a pantry, but does have room in the laundry for shelves.

Congratulations!

Enjoy the big pantry eat-down. :)

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1018 on: November 30, 2016, 12:43:38 PM »
<<raises hand>>

Add me to the list of people who will soon be moving.  DH and I found a home out in the country, and will be putting ours on the market sometime this week.  :)  The refrigerator isn't too packed, but the freezer is after last month's grocery shop, and the pantry has about 40 canned items.  The new home doesn't have a pantry, but does have room in the laundry for shelves.

Congratulations!

Enjoy the big pantry eat-down. :)

Thank you!  We learned last night our offer was accepted.  Now to sell our current house.

I counted last night:  There are 38 cans to be exact.  I was close, LOL.

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1019 on: December 02, 2016, 11:28:02 AM »
The moving-soon challenge continues!  This week:

Canned items:  2 cans of tuna, olives, green beans.
Freezer:  Chicken breasts, pork chops, cod, half bag of shrimp, bag of cauliflower.  Steak and the rest of the shrimp will be this Sunday.
Spices:  Tossed 6 expired containers, and added an unopened duplicate nutmeg to the donation box since I mistakenly bought two last month.
Misc:  2 tortillas, and taco shells and the last bit of two bottles of booze leftover from our Halloween party.

Next we need to focus on refrigerated condiments and bits of baking items.

swick

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2877
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1020 on: December 02, 2016, 12:11:21 PM »
Haveing a great time using up spices for Christmas Presents!

Made some "Old Bay" Seasoning as it was an ingredient in a recipe for BBQ seasoning. Discovered it is awesome in Sheperd's pie, so will gift a couple of jars of that as well as the BBQ popcorn seasoning.

Dehydrated some TJ's Sriracha (that stuff is AMAZING) and am combining it with some of our bulk Himalayan Salt for a Sriracha Salt. Originally meant for popcorn, I have been using the test batch I created on pretty much everything.

Have plans to create a test batch of Sour Cream and Onion popcorn seasoning today. will use up a bunch of dehydrated garden green onions and scapes I have had around for a while and not known what to do with.

Our Gift ideas for Christmas this year: record bowl gift baskets with popcorn, seasoning salts and either a hand cast Death Star or lego brick Beesewax candle.

GoConfidently

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 244
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1021 on: December 04, 2016, 07:32:11 PM »
This is an odd one for me because I love coffee, but a friend brought a stovetop espresso maker over and made espresso. She left the espresso ground coffee and I don't have an espresso maker. I use a French press and that's just asking for a mouthful of sludge. I thought about cold brew, but evidently coarse ground is best for that too. So what do I do with this coffee? And good recipes from or other uses I'm not considering?

swick

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2877
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1022 on: December 04, 2016, 07:45:25 PM »
This is an odd one for me because I love coffee, but a friend brought a stovetop espresso maker over and made espresso. She left the espresso ground coffee and I don't have an espresso maker. I use a French press and that's just asking for a mouthful of sludge. I thought about cold brew, but evidently coarse ground is best for that too. So what do I do with this coffee? And good recipes from or other uses I'm not considering?

Create a BBQ rub with it? You could probably also use it for cold brew and strain it out. Depending on how fine it is you could add some to a sugar scrub base. I'd probably go with a rub or spice blend myself. Or pour in a bottle of vodka and steep for a while and create an espresso vodka for Christmas?

theadvicist

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1446
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1023 on: December 05, 2016, 04:46:17 AM »
Yep, cold brew and strain through cheesecloth / muslin or even kitchen paper (as in the rolls of paper towels) Just set the towels in a sieve and strain over a large jug or bowl. Makes lovely iced coffee if you like it!

Catbert

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3288
  • Location: Southern California
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1024 on: December 05, 2016, 11:14:32 AM »
This is an odd one for me because I love coffee, but a friend brought a stovetop espresso maker over and made espresso. She left the espresso ground coffee and I don't have an espresso maker. I use a French press and that's just asking for a mouthful of sludge. I thought about cold brew, but evidently coarse ground is best for that too. So what do I do with this coffee? And good recipes from or other uses I'm not considering?

I saw a recipe on Food Network that was equal parts sugar (maybe brown sugar, seasoned salt and fine ground coffee was a steak rub.  Sounded delicious, but I rarely cook steak so I never tried.

horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1025 on: December 05, 2016, 03:44:08 PM »
Actually doing pretty well on this!

I made a delicious Indian lamb curry the other day with a rather sad butternut squash, part of a CostCo bag of carrots, a can of garbonzo beans, some of the raisins, half a jar of chutney and a can of coconut milk.  Served it over fried cauli-rice the first day, and white rice the second day

Yesterday I made a big batch of green soup and two pans of roasted root vegetables to eat all week. 

Also made a nice pancake topping out of most of the frozen blueberries.  The pancakes to go with used some of the coconut flour.

Perhaps I'll bring something baked with the frozen cherries to a working meeting next week, as that's one thing I haven't touched at all.

In early January, I'm going to work on the other side of the country for two months.  My husband is not likely to use many of the ingredients we have around the house while I'm gone, so I'm really trying to focus on using things that might not survive until I return in March.  I am on a fruit-buying ban, with the exception of lemons and limes. 

Need to use up:

Frozen blueberries
Frozen cherries
Dried cherries
Raisins
Prunes
Dried pears
Canned pears
Big box of apples

I also have two kinds of protein powder and a container of chia seeds to use up, so I'll probably be alternating between oatmeal and smoothies for the next several weeks.  I've been mixing the egg white protein into oatmeal and adding lots of frozen or dried fruits.

Also have winter squash, about 30# of sweet potatoes, and 20# of regular potatoes and 25# of onions in the basement.  Work lunches need to feature squash or sweet potatoes if I want to have a chance of using these before I leave.  Some canning may need to occur as well.  The spaghetti squash will hold through winter.

Other stuff needing to be used:

Frozen "riced" cauliflower
Coconut flakes
Coconut flour
Salmon fillets
Beef liver pate
Labneh

Lots of broccoli, cabbage, leeks, beets and parsnips still coming in from the garden.

Tonight I used up some chorizo along with potatoes, sweet potatoes, leeks and collards in a lovely soup with fresh cornbread made from the last of last year's corn crop.

swick

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2877
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1026 on: December 11, 2016, 11:48:59 AM »
Discovered an AWESOME hack for using up my nut butter supply (added bonus saves on buying other milk substitutes) and is So Dang EASY. Also - Makes a great hot chocolate base!

You do have to have a high-speed blender. I used TJ's salted cashew butter, and I'll be damned it tasted like "Salted Caramel" cashew milk. (because of the dates, it is VERY lightly sweetened - I imagine more dates would make it more dessert like, if you were making it for hot chocolate and using cocoa more dates would be good. It is a pretty good substitute for those who don't do dairy.

I haven't tried it with other nut butters, but I will be!

http://www.thepretendbaker.com/easiest-cashew-milk-ever/

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1027 on: December 12, 2016, 12:26:12 PM »
This is an odd one for me because I love coffee, but a friend brought a stovetop espresso maker over and made espresso. She left the espresso ground coffee and I don't have an espresso maker. I use a French press and that's just asking for a mouthful of sludge. I thought about cold brew, but evidently coarse ground is best for that too. So what do I do with this coffee? And good recipes from or other uses I'm not considering?

I saw a recipe on Food Network that was equal parts sugar (maybe brown sugar, seasoned salt and fine ground coffee was a steak rub.  Sounded delicious, but I rarely cook steak so I never tried.

Oh, boy, does that sound good!

Horsepoor, you're doing really well!

Swick, I'm all ears when it comes to non-dairy.  :)

~~~~~~~~

Still focusing on using up things because of the eventual move.  Our house went on the market last week, and so far no one has come to look at it.  I am confident, however.

Pantry:  The oatmeal is due to expire at the end of the month, so I've been making it for DH to warm up in the morning.  One more serving, and bonus:  It's also using up some sad brown sugar.  He said it's good.  Also from the pantry I used up another can of olives, and a few powdered drink mix envelopes.

Freezer:  Brought frozen ground turkey with Ragu from earlier this summer for lunches and it will provide 2 servings.  I took out a pork loin and beef sausage for suppers tonight and tomorrow night.

Fridge:  There are till a ton of condiments available.  Sigh

This week is the usual monthly grocery shopping.  It will be interesting to see if I change my purchasing behavior to fit this eat down process.


swick

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2877
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1028 on: December 12, 2016, 12:55:39 PM »

Fridge:  There are till a ton of condiments available.  Sigh


I've been known to plan meals around maximum condiment usage.

Got lots of mustards? Honey mustard baked chicken!

Stirfry sauces are good for using up lots of random Asian-ish ingredients (sesame seed oil, chili sauces, hot sauces, oyster hoisin, fish, black bean)

Mayo? Time to make a couple of salads (egg, chicken, tuna) Also, you can sub some of the fats in baked goods with mayo as well. I'd google since I don't have any recipes to recommend.  I do have vague recollections of someone in my family making "Mayo Chocolate Cake" which uses an ungodly amount.

Ketchup and/or BBQ sauce? Time for meatloaf! A squirt of ketchup is also good for balancing out the acid taste in tomato type sauce (since it is mostly sugar anyways)

Nut butter - Easy dairy-free milk (see my post above!)

Jams and sweet spreads - Can be stirred into yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, tagines and curries. Anywhere you would like the sweet/fruit taste. My Grandma's secret to a good spaghetti sauce was a little dollop of grape jelly stirred into the sauce.

Umm...I'm probably forgetting some, if you list your condiments, I can probably come up with some ideas!

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1029 on: December 12, 2016, 03:53:17 PM »

Fridge:  There are till a ton of condiments available.  Sigh


I've been known to plan meals around maximum condiment usage.

Got lots of mustards? Honey mustard baked chicken!

Stirfry sauces are good for using up lots of random Asian-ish ingredients (sesame seed oil, chili sauces, hot sauces, oyster hoisin, fish, black bean)

Mayo? Time to make a couple of salads (egg, chicken, tuna) Also, you can sub some of the fats in baked goods with mayo as well. I'd google since I don't have any recipes to recommend.  I do have vague recollections of someone in my family making "Mayo Chocolate Cake" which uses an ungodly amount.

Ketchup and/or BBQ sauce? Time for meatloaf! A squirt of ketchup is also good for balancing out the acid taste in tomato type sauce (since it is mostly sugar anyways)

Nut butter - Easy dairy-free milk (see my post above!)

Jams and sweet spreads - Can be stirred into yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, tagines and curries. Anywhere you would like the sweet/fruit taste. My Grandma's secret to a good spaghetti sauce was a little dollop of grape jelly stirred into the sauce.

Umm...I'm probably forgetting some, if you list your condiments, I can probably come up with some ideas!

How to make gravy:

Just add flour, salt, a little red wine, and don't forget a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang...

nessness

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1026
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1030 on: December 13, 2016, 08:39:25 AM »
I need to join this challenge (although realistically, it will probably just being eating down the food in my house and not eating ALL of it). My pantry is a cluttered mess, and there's no room in my freezer for the freezer meals I'm hoping to make before the new baby arrives. This evening I'm going to make a list of meals I can make with what's on hand or minimal new ingredients.

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1031 on: December 13, 2016, 11:16:50 AM »

Fridge:  There are till a ton of condiments available.  Sigh


I've been known to plan meals around maximum condiment usage.

Got lots of mustards? Honey mustard baked chicken!

Stirfry sauces are good for using up lots of random Asian-ish ingredients (sesame seed oil, chili sauces, hot sauces, oyster hoisin, fish, black bean)

Mayo? Time to make a couple of salads (egg, chicken, tuna) Also, you can sub some of the fats in baked goods with mayo as well. I'd google since I don't have any recipes to recommend.  I do have vague recollections of someone in my family making "Mayo Chocolate Cake" which uses an ungodly amount.

Ketchup and/or BBQ sauce? Time for meatloaf! A squirt of ketchup is also good for balancing out the acid taste in tomato type sauce (since it is mostly sugar anyways)

Nut butter - Easy dairy-free milk (see my post above!)

Jams and sweet spreads - Can be stirred into yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, tagines and curries. Anywhere you would like the sweet/fruit taste. My Grandma's secret to a good spaghetti sauce was a little dollop of grape jelly stirred into the sauce.

Umm...I'm probably forgetting some, if you list your condiments, I can probably come up with some ideas!

Swick, like minds!  I put chicken stir fry on the menu for tomorrow before reading your post.  And, excellent idea about the stirring sweet stuff into things.  I'll suggest that to DH for his yogurt.

The list, off the top of my head since I'm not at home:
2 bottles cocktail sauce (I mistakenly opened the second.  Sigh)
taco sauce
lemon juice
mayo
Dijon
regular mustard
ketchup
sugar free ketchup
chili sauce-will use some tomorrow
strawberry preserves
apricot preserves (ugh, could have used this on last night's pork!)
bottled wasabi which expires this month
light soy sauce-will use some tomorrow
We also have some sweetened lime juice from the Halloween party
Oh, and pickle juice, LOL!

mustache, that gravy sounds really good.

Welcome, nessness!

4alpacas

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1825
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1032 on: December 13, 2016, 11:18:56 AM »
MG, I like to make salad dressings.  One of my favorites is Dijon mustard, lemon juice or vinegar, and olive oil (maybe a little bit of honey if I'm feeling like it). 

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1033 on: December 13, 2016, 11:21:02 AM »
MG, I like to make salad dressings.  One of my favorites is Dijon mustard, lemon juice or vinegar, and olive oil (maybe a little bit of honey if I'm feeling like it).

Thank you, 4alpacas!  We do have honey in the cupboard.  That will be a delicious addition.  :)

Added:  Last night I used up some frozen cauliflower, and I'll use the rest of the frozen peppers in adobo sauce in a new to us recipe for sweet potatoes Christmas Eve.
« Last Edit: December 13, 2016, 11:24:13 AM by MountainGal »

Anje

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 200
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1034 on: December 13, 2016, 04:18:27 PM »
Tried making homemade soy milk. Success. (This stuff is only waguely similar to what I get in stores) Except now, instead of 1/2 a cup of dried soy beans I have 3 cups of soy milk and nearly a cup of rehydrated soy-pulp. My plan for tomorrow: figure out what to use soy pulp for... I bet it's loads: those that make soy milk have this "problem" all the time.

Emptied out this last week: two things of pasta, a jar of rosehip jelly, a bottle of fancy olive oil I got for Christmas year before last and a bottle of vine-concentrate.

Ended up tossing out a jar of olives that had gone bad and 3 bananas that had gone all gooey.

Anyone got ideas on how to use up peanut butter? Tailored to someone who can't stand the taste of peanuts? (Got the peanut butter for satay. Liked satay. But I'll be making it with cashews from now on. Or something not peanut.)

mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1035 on: December 13, 2016, 05:23:55 PM »

Fridge:  There are till a ton of condiments available.  Sigh


I've been known to plan meals around maximum condiment usage.

...

Ketchup and/or BBQ sauce? Time for meatloaf! A squirt of ketchup is also good for balancing out the acid taste in tomato type sauce (since it is mostly sugar anyways)


How to make gravy:

Just add flour, salt, a little red wine, and don't forget a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang...

mustache, that gravy sounds really good.

It's from an Aussie Christmas carol ... as much as a song with no chorus, a recipe for gravy, and a story about being in jail can be a Christmas carol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb4YWJgfmQE


mustachepungoeshere

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2404
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1036 on: December 13, 2016, 05:26:30 PM »
Tried making homemade soy milk. Success. (This stuff is only waguely similar to what I get in stores) Except now, instead of 1/2 a cup of dried soy beans I have 3 cups of soy milk and nearly a cup of rehydrated soy-pulp. My plan for tomorrow: figure out what to use soy pulp for... I bet it's loads: those that make soy milk have this "problem" all the time.

Emptied out this last week: two things of pasta, a jar of rosehip jelly, a bottle of fancy olive oil I got for Christmas year before last and a bottle of vine-concentrate.

Ended up tossing out a jar of olives that had gone bad and 3 bananas that had gone all gooey.

Anyone got ideas on how to use up peanut butter? Tailored to someone who can't stand the taste of peanuts? (Got the peanut butter for satay. Liked satay. But I'll be making it with cashews from now on. Or something not peanut.)

Hopefully the chocolate in these two overpowers the taste of peanut butter.

Chocolate peanut butter puffed quinoa balls: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/37770/chocolate+peanut+butter+puffed+quinoa+balls

Peanut butter and dark chocolate cookies: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/34740/peanut+butter+and+dark+chocolate+cookies

plainjane

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1645
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1037 on: December 14, 2016, 07:19:16 AM »
Anyone got ideas on how to use up peanut butter? Tailored to someone who can't stand the taste of peanuts? (Got the peanut butter for satay. Liked satay. But I'll be making it with cashews from now on. Or something not peanut.)

Curried "African" peanut soup?  Sweet potato/yams/winter squash, onions/garlic, greens/kale/spinach, curry, peanut butter, coconut milk, favourite curry blend or paste, stock.  You can blend everything and then add the greens, or blend the greens in too.  Great for the winter.

Lamb in peanut curry or Massaman curry is also very good, and might work if you like satay.

swick

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2877
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1038 on: December 14, 2016, 08:32:57 AM »
The list, off the top of my head since I'm not at home:
2 bottles cocktail sauce (I mistakenly opened the second.  Sigh) - The gravy suggestion would work for cocktail sauce, I've never tried it and am slightly horrified and intrigued at the same time :) Would also be good on/in meatloaf. Of course, the correct answer is to make some bacon wrapped scallops or oysters!
taco sauce - Taco Soup!
lemon juice - I usually use in water either cold or hot, you can add sweetener as you like. You could also make a lemon curd. Or a glaze to drizzle over something sweet (Powdered sugar and lemon juice)
mayo
Dijon
regular mustard
ketchup
sugar free ketchup
chili sauce-will use some tomorrow
strawberry preserves - good candidate for stirring into oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt.
apricot preserves (ugh, could have used this on last night's pork!)
bottled wasabi which expires this month - I like the idea of this layered sushi. Would use the mayo, soy and you could add the wasabi: http://www.goodmorningcali.com/sushi-bake/
light soy sauce-will use some tomorrow
We also have some sweetened lime juice from the Halloween party
Oh, and pickle juice, LOL!  - Sauteed Mushrooms! Seriously, these are sooooo goood...I keep a jar of pickle juice on hand. Although I have only done it with Garlic dill pickle juice. Not sure if a sweet pickle would be as good.http://www.vodkaandbiscuits.com/2015/06/11/the-best-ever-sauteed-mushrooms/

mustache, that gravy sounds really good.

Welcome, nessness!

nessness

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1026
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1039 on: December 14, 2016, 09:50:35 AM »
Was going to buy a dessert to bring to Bible study tonight, but I found a cookie mix that had been in my pantry for awhile (not expired though) and made those instead.

Made a grocery list for the week and there are only 9 things on it, and it would be even lower if not for dishes I need to make for a church potluck and a Christmas party. Hoping my pantry and freezer look a little less crowded by the end of the week.

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1040 on: December 14, 2016, 09:55:04 AM »
Anyone got ideas on how to use up peanut butter? Tailored to someone who can't stand the taste of peanuts? (Got the peanut butter for satay. Liked satay. But I'll be making it with cashews from now on. Or something not peanut.)

Curried "African" peanut soup?  Sweet potato/yams/winter squash, onions/garlic, greens/kale/spinach, curry, peanut butter, coconut milk, favourite curry blend or paste, stock.  You can blend everything and then add the greens, or blend the greens in too.  Great for the winter.

Lamb in peanut curry or Massaman curry is also very good, and might work if you like satay.

I also make a version of African peanut soup:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/73090/african-peanut-soup/

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1041 on: December 14, 2016, 09:59:22 AM »
The list, off the top of my head since I'm not at home:
2 bottles cocktail sauce (I mistakenly opened the second.  Sigh) - The gravy suggestion would work for cocktail sauce, I've never tried it and am slightly horrified and intrigued at the same time :) Would also be good on/in meatloaf. Of course, the correct answer is to make some bacon wrapped scallops or oysters!
taco sauce - Taco Soup!
lemon juice - I usually use in water either cold or hot, you can add sweetener as you like. You could also make a lemon curd. Or a glaze to drizzle over something sweet (Powdered sugar and lemon juice)
mayo
Dijon
regular mustard
ketchup
sugar free ketchup
chili sauce-will use some tomorrow
strawberry preserves - good candidate for stirring into oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt.
apricot preserves (ugh, could have used this on last night's pork!)
bottled wasabi which expires this month - I like the idea of this layered sushi. Would use the mayo, soy and you could add the wasabi: http://www.goodmorningcali.com/sushi-bake/
light soy sauce-will use some tomorrow
We also have some sweetened lime juice from the Halloween party
Oh, and pickle juice, LOL!  - Sauteed Mushrooms! Seriously, these are sooooo goood...I keep a jar of pickle juice on hand. Although I have only done it with Garlic dill pickle juice. Not sure if a sweet pickle would be as good.http://www.vodkaandbiscuits.com/2015/06/11/the-best-ever-sauteed-mushrooms/

mustache, that gravy sounds really good.

Welcome, nessness!

Swick, thank you so much!  I am eyeballing the sushi bake and have printed out the recipe.  :)

After investigating last night, I also found:
A-1 sauce
BBQ sauce
ranch and blue cheese dressings

Nessness: Your tiny grocery list is impressive!

MountainGal

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1042 on: December 14, 2016, 10:04:06 AM »
I forgot to add:  I'll be making this tonight.  It will take care of the frozen spinach and cauliflower and I'm tossing in some chicken breasts for protein:

http://onglutenfree.com/?page_id=1357

4alpacas

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1825
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1043 on: December 14, 2016, 10:50:16 AM »
Any recipes that use rice noodles?  We have 5 boxes. 

I'm making a pecan pie tonight for a work event with the leftovers from my efforts at Thanksgiving. 

Anyone have any advice about what to do with jam?  I was thinking about making thumbprint cookies.  We have at least 10 jars of jam because I have friends that are jam-making fiends.  I love all of the jam, but our stockpile has gotten out of control. 

choppingwood

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 531
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1044 on: December 14, 2016, 10:59:32 AM »
Anyone have any advice about what to do with jam?  I was thinking about making thumbprint cookies.  We have at least 10 jars of jam because I have friends that are jam-making fiends.  I love all of the jam, but our stockpile has gotten out of control.

Individual jam tarts. You'll never get through 10 jars making thumbprint cookies, though it is a fine use of jam.

Toast and jam or pancakes and jam for breakfast on a scheduled, but not everyday, basis.

nessness

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1026
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1045 on: December 14, 2016, 11:28:17 AM »
Any recipes that use rice noodles?  We have 5 boxes. 
Dragon noodles! The recipe calls for lo mein noodles but I think it's just as good, if not better, with rice noodles. This is actually on my meal plan for this week to use up some of my rice noodles!

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/08/spicy-noodles/

Dollar Slice

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9598
  • Age: 46
  • Location: New York City
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1046 on: December 14, 2016, 02:55:26 PM »
For jam: I don't have a specific recipe to recommend, but look up some recipes for linzer bars. They use up lots of jam and I think you could use whatever flavor you had too much of. Example: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/raspberry-linzer-star-bars-recipe.html

Anje

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 200
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1047 on: December 14, 2016, 04:22:01 PM »
Any recipes that use rice noodles?  We have 5 boxes. 

I'm making a pecan pie tonight for a work event with the leftovers from my efforts at Thanksgiving. 

Anyone have any advice about what to do with jam?  I was thinking about making thumbprint cookies.  We have at least 10 jars of jam because I have friends that are jam-making fiends.  I love all of the jam, but our stockpile has gotten out of control.
My favorite things to-do with jam is:
- cheese. Few things is better than toast (or crackers) topped with a slice of Brie and jam.
- yoghurt. Get the non-sweetened kind and mix in jam. Top with nuts or granola.
- sandwich. Homemade bread, cheese, bacon, Tomato, jam, more bread, toast. Amazing.
- dressing. Got fancy fig jam? It makes one tasty mustard-fig dressing.

I like rice noodles both in stir fry and soup. They make a nicely plain contrast in anything spicy.

nessness

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1026
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1048 on: December 15, 2016, 08:05:32 AM »
I received a basket of Italian foods as a Christmas gift last night - olive oil, balsamic, dried porcini mushrooms, traditional pesto, red pepper pesto, a huge wedge of parmesan, and some sort of candy that I don't know the name of. It's an awesome gift but definitely doesn't help with this challenge. I know if I don't start eating the foods now they'll stay in my pantry forever, so I think this weekend I'll try making quinoa with parmesan, pesto, and mushrooms.

horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1049 on: December 17, 2016, 12:40:56 PM »
Used rice and lentils yesterday in a tasty soup.  It also used up some carrots that are looking a bit sad, and about half a can of chipotles.

Thursday night I made a meatloaf with lots of grated winter squash mixed in.  My husband is no fan of squash, but the flavor blended well, and he seemed to like it.  The meatloaf also used up half a jar of leftover BBQ sauce from last time we had ribs. 

Not counting wine, I've only spent $60 on groceries so far this month!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!