Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1183639 times)

LindseyC

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1500 on: March 10, 2017, 05:46:51 PM »
I ate some noodles from the pantry and thinly sliced roast from the freezer. Kinda a fake pho with a can of broth added to the mixture and some chives on top. Then I munched on frozen strawberry slices from the summer.

I am down to five cans of tuna in the pantry, normally I'd panic and stock up ASAP but I'm resisting the urge. :) Like others have mentioned, I have a list of items I am out of (like salsa ha!) but I am holding out until April before I grab one of each item on my list.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1501 on: March 10, 2017, 11:20:30 PM »
I don't feel as though I've been posting my own food in here the last few days, just commenting on other people's progress.  I think that's partly because once again I was mostly eating through food that I'd brought home from work.

Anyway, today I ate the kidney beans I cooked last week with olive and red pepper antipasto.  Out of the 3 different flavour profiles and bean combinations that I made last week, this one tied with the standard baked beans.  Quite nice, especially with the last of the corn bread, and a whole avocado cut up in chunks and served on the side.  I have single serve containers of all 3 different types of beans in the freezer - I'll look forward to having this one another time or two.

That was lunch.  For dinner I made a baked potato in the microwave, and had the last of the scrambled eggs they sent me home with from church on Sunday, on a pita, and put under the broiler with some green onions, some crumbled up basil leaves from the freezer (frozen from my balcony garden at the end of last summer) and cheese. 

Now, this is more freezer cheese, but not the freezer cheese I've posted about before.  I want you all to have this straight in your minds.  When I re-joined this challenge there were two Ziploc bags of cheese that I'd cut up and frozen after a reception a year or so ago.  I've posted about those before.  Those are both gone.  And there were 3 mozzarella balls in the freezer, bought for $1 each at Shoppers Drug Mart because they had a "manager's special" markdown on them due to close expiry date.  I've mentioned these before, and one of them is gone, two more in the freezer.  But there was also a bag of pre-shredded cheese, free with purchase of an Old El Paso taco kit and jar of salsa, if you'd previously bought an Old El Paso taco kit that had the special coupon "free cheese with your next purchase" on it.  What I tend to do is go through the cash with the box with the coupon on it, put the groceries away in the car, then cut or tear out the coupon from the box, go back and get my 2nd kit and free cheese right away, and go through the cashier a second time.  So now, I'm working on using up that cheese.

So, now I feel better.  I see I am actually making progress after all.  Two ziplocs of cheese and one cheese ball are gone from the freezer.  Another bag of cheese is underway.  And, dare I say it?  It seems like the great wall of frozen food/cold Tetris of storage containers seems a teeeeny bit less formidable when I open the freezer door...

horsepoor

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1502 on: March 11, 2017, 08:34:17 AM »
PJ's comment in the Frugal March thread inspired me to make baked beans.  I've got tons of legumes in the house, and have also had sliced pork belly in the freezer for several months (asked DH to buy it at CostCo, expecting a slab, not slices).  I'm thinking I'll do a big batch and freeze since I'm traveling for work again this week.  The baked beans will also use some of my huge store of home-canned tomato sauce.


swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1503 on: March 11, 2017, 09:02:01 AM »
I don't feel as though I've been posting my own food in here the last few days, just commenting on other people's progress.  I think that's partly because once again I was mostly eating through food that I'd brought home from work.

Hey PJ - I like hearing about using up your church leftovers and making progress on your stash. I will point out that the name of the thread is "Eat all the food in your house" So...it doesn't really matter where it comes from, once it crosses that threshold it is part of the challange! Don't want you to get discouraged, especially because free food means you have a lower grocery bill overall and are making great progress towards your debt. Keep on rocking it!

Hubby had to work this morning, so I sent him off to work with a full belly of Buckwheat bananna pancakes made from the giant bag of buckwheat flour I may have started this challenge with. Ya know, baby steps :)

Oh dinner last night was AWESOME! I ended up shredding the chicken thighs and reducing the sauce to a sticky glaze and tossing in the chicken and then having it as  tacos. so so good - and really hit that going out for dinner for something new itch we have been trying to avoid.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1504 on: March 11, 2017, 03:59:04 PM »
PJ's comment in the Frugal March thread inspired me to make baked beans.  I've got tons of legumes in the house, and have also had sliced pork belly in the freezer for several months (asked DH to buy it at CostCo, expecting a slab, not slices).  I'm thinking I'll do a big batch and freeze since I'm traveling for work again this week.  The baked beans will also use some of my huge store of home-canned tomato sauce. 

Awesome! 

I didn't think about the possible pork-ish additions people might want to make, as I'm vegetarian.  But I do keep a bottle of "hickory smoke" around, and usually add a few drops to my baked beans to help compensate.  Also, next time I make them I think I'm going to use a bit more tomato paste/sauce/ketchup...

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1505 on: March 11, 2017, 04:05:17 PM »
I don't feel as though I've been posting my own food in here the last few days, just commenting on other people's progress.  I think that's partly because once again I was mostly eating through food that I'd brought home from work.

Hey PJ - I like hearing about using up your church leftovers and making progress on your stash. I will point out that the name of the thread is "Eat all the food in your house" So...it doesn't really matter where it comes from, once it crosses that threshold it is part of the challange! Don't want you to get discouraged, especially because free food means you have a lower grocery bill overall and are making great progress towards your debt. Keep on rocking it!

Hubby had to work this morning, so I sent him off to work with a full belly of Buckwheat bananna pancakes made from the giant bag of buckwheat flour I may have started this challenge with. Ya know, baby steps :)

Oh dinner last night was AWESOME! I ended up shredding the chicken thighs and reducing the sauce to a sticky glaze and tossing in the chicken and then having it as  tacos. so so good - and really hit that going out for dinner for something new itch we have been trying to avoid. 

Sorry for double-posting, I hit send before remembering that I wanted to respond to swick too.  Seemed just as easy to start another post as to edit the first one...

Naw, not discouraged, just not feeling like I was contributing much to this thread.  But am chuffed that I inspired horsepoor, so feeling better now!  And yeah, I do really feel like I'm making progress on my debt right now, which is awesome, and it's amazing how much my grocery bill is contributing to that!  Even though as a single person I don't spend *that* much on food anyway, I think it has a ripple effect because it's been a good exercise for reflection on all my spending.  And also because by being conscious about using up food from the church or my pantry, it's keeping me from spending money eating out as well.

I love that you're having fun trying new recipes/flavour profiles to scratch that desire for new foods itch that eating out using satisfies!

horsepoor

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1506 on: March 11, 2017, 07:13:09 PM »
PJ's comment in the Frugal March thread inspired me to make baked beans.  I've got tons of legumes in the house, and have also had sliced pork belly in the freezer for several months (asked DH to buy it at CostCo, expecting a slab, not slices).  I'm thinking I'll do a big batch and freeze since I'm traveling for work again this week.  The baked beans will also use some of my huge store of home-canned tomato sauce. 

Awesome! 

I didn't think about the possible pork-ish additions people might want to make, as I'm vegetarian.  But I do keep a bottle of "hickory smoke" around, and usually add a few drops to my baked beans to help compensate.  Also, next time I make them I think I'm going to use a bit more tomato paste/sauce/ketchup...

Well, they ended up being more pork and beans in the Instant Pot, but eating them now with a baguette and I'm quite happy.  One of the incendiary chocolate habaneros I have tucked away in the freezer provided just enough heat.  Used an 8 oz jar of tomato sauce and a 24 oz jar of crushed tomatoes, plus cranberry beans and several strips of the pork belly.  That and salad will feed us tomorrow, then I'm heading out of town again Monday morning.

I'm really amazed at how little grocery shopping has happened since I returned home.  Today we spent about $21 at Fred Meyer for some fresh fruit, an organic sweet potato to start plants with, the baguette and DH's peanuts and sunflower seeds.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1507 on: March 11, 2017, 09:11:43 PM »

...snip

I'm really amazed at how little grocery shopping has happened since I returned home.  Today we spent about $21 at Fred Meyer for some fresh fruit, an organic sweet potato to start plants with, the baguette and DH's peanuts and sunflower seeds.

Isn't it amazing how much food we have stockpiled in our homes?  I'm actually overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude, and the awareness of just how privileged I am, really.  Made me think about a little sidebar in my favourite cookbook ... so I went to look it up, so I can share it with all of you!

The More With Less Cookbook was produced in the 1970's by the Mennonite Central Committee.  It was published in response to a challenge issued by the MCC - a quote to explain:

MCC has asked each constituent household to look at its lifestyle, particularly food habits.  Noting the relationship between North American overconsumption and world need, a goal has been set to eat and spend 10 percent less.

The book is packed with good basic recipes from ordinary people, farmers, etc, as well as missionaries in various parts of the world.  And as well, little brief stories and comments collected as they sent in their recipes for the book.  Here's the one I was thinking about:

In the short term, there is probably nothing anyone can do to forestall mass starvation in some rice-dependent areas.  But the very least we can do is to take a symbolic stand and cook rice with reverence, taking care that each precious grain swells to its fullest but stays firm and separate from the rest.  Perhaps we could even inaugurate our own rice ritual: a moment of silence for those who are not getting enough.  - Raymond Sokolov

Meal reports:
This morning, I had a couple of cups of coffee, and whole wheat toast with vanilla hazelnut spread (the spread is from a foodie type Christmas gift basket I received).  I only have 2 pieces of bread left in the loaf, plus some pita (some of which I plan to stash in the freezer - I should do that tonight!) so I will be dusting off the bread machine soon!

For a late lunch/early dinner, I had the last serving of cheese cannelloni that I cooked last week.  To amp up the vegetable count, I added a healthy sprinkling of green onion, and a couple of chopped up tomatoes before I heated it up, and an avocado cut up in chunks on the side.

Shortly, I'm going to scrounge for a snack.  Don't want to eat anything too heavy, but on the other hand I've only had 2 meals today so I'm hungry!  Whatever I decide on, I'll include either the ripe banana that's in the fruit bowl, or an apple.

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1508 on: March 11, 2017, 10:24:07 PM »
I made another big pot of soup today.

I used up:
a can of green chilies,
a bag of frozen corn,
a half used can of tomato paste

I've made a lot of progress in cleaning out the freezer and pantry.  Thank you everyone in this thread for the continued support and advice.  I couldn't do it without you all!


seemsright

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1509 on: March 11, 2017, 10:29:34 PM »
PJ I am going to make some beans tmrw.
 I made some pasta sauce using some frozen tomatoes (I am not a tomato fan) and random veggies from the freezer and the stuff that was looking a bit sad because I bought it discounted. We ate it with pasta one night last week. I did not like it and of course I made a mountain of it in my big crockpot. So I sent DH to work with leftovers and took the leftover pasta sauce dumped pretty much a little of this and that from the fridge door, a root beer I found, and I am not sure what else. But I am going to use this sauce to make my beans. I have some pintos that need to be used up. So those are just going to have to work. And the next day I will make some bread and we can have leftovers on top.

But it turned out so good that I canned up 4 pints of the stuff for this summer BBQ's.

I have $178 left in the grocery budget and ideally I want to have at least $78 to be able to send extra to Vanguard for the Month of April.

Thank you so much for the inspiration.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1510 on: March 11, 2017, 11:06:36 PM »
All these beans being cooked and eaten!

I think I forgot to post earlier this week, when I mixed up a can of chickpeas, some tomatoes, red peppers, and a peanut-y sauce.  To be honest, it's not the best, and I couldn't quite figure out what it "needed" flavour wise.  But with some toasted pita bread it's been warm and filling and hearty, so enjoyable enough for several meals this week. 

But 4alpacas has reminded me that I meant to make soup, with the can of lentils my mom gave me, and potato, and spinach from the freezer ... this week sometime, I swear!

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1511 on: March 12, 2017, 10:17:47 PM »
Sunday update...

Dinner tonight was a tasty grilled cheese sandwich that they made me for lunch at work, but since I went into a meeting right after church, I brought it home and toasted it up in the toaster oven for a late dinner.  Plus an orange for dessert.  I might yet still eat that ripe banana too, as it's getting a little too ripe.  Or maybe that will be for breakfast, with cereal.

Other than that, I ate cake and cookies with coffee for lunch, during my meeting. 

Overall, not what I would describe as a "balanced diet" today!

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1512 on: March 13, 2017, 02:47:40 AM »
I have some bags of beans in a drawer at home, that have been there for years. If I remember tonight, I will make a plan of what to do with them. We found out that my DH doesn't tolerate the big white beans very well. So I should probably prepare some portions for me alone to eat, for example as lunch at work or for dinner when I'm alone. I might also have some smaller beans that I guess I might find some Indian recipes for.

Today the weather is somewhere between snow and rain, very depressing. So there is a good excuse of spending the evening at home in the kitchen, after being done at work.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1513 on: March 13, 2017, 04:48:08 AM »
On the side of incoming food: my family has been supplying me with a steady flow of seafood over the last weeks. Seafood is really good but rather expensive, so this makes me very happy.

And on the sides of beans: got a new batch of black beans soaking in the kitchen, will cook and freeze tonight for future use.

Cleaned out my cupboard yesterday and normally it's a matter of "stuff and hope it doesn't tumble out". Now there's room for more. And apart from some dried fruit and nuts (for my standard homemade "I'm starving on the go-mix") I'm all stocked.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1514 on: March 13, 2017, 06:35:56 AM »
I might yet still eat that ripe banana too, as it's getting a little too ripe.  Or maybe that will be for breakfast, with cereal.

Or put it into the freezer and make it into "icecream" later.

I finished the container of raspberry vinegar and and one serving of pulled pork over the weekend.  But I made two servings of a braised soy beef for the freezer (too salty, it's going to need to be served with eggplant or squash to calm it down), so I'm probably unchanged overall. 

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1515 on: March 13, 2017, 09:35:29 AM »
Banana was eaten with cereal and milk for a hearty breakfast today.

And I'm looking forward to reaching this point:

On the side of incoming food: my family has been supplying me with a steady flow of seafood over the last weeks. Seafood is really good but rather expensive, so this makes me very happy.

And on the sides of beans: got a new batch of black beans soaking in the kitchen, will cook and freeze tonight for future use.

Cleaned out my cupboard yesterday and normally it's a matter of "stuff and hope it doesn't tumble out". Now there's room for more. And apart from some dried fruit and nuts (for my standard homemade "I'm starving on the go-mix") I'm all stocked.

YellowCat

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1516 on: March 13, 2017, 10:30:20 AM »
Used a huge pile of leftover roasted potatoes, leftover tomato paste, 1 can of chickpeas, 1 can of tomatoes, and a bag of frozen spinach in a lovely curry last night. Served it over couscous, of which we still have two big jars. At least now the sad fridge bits are mostly used up, and should be completely finished as of tonight.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1517 on: March 13, 2017, 03:53:09 PM »
My 10# bag of rice officially fits in 1.4 mason jars now!!! I cleared out a ton of packaged, canned, boxed food that we don't eat and am going to try to donate them somewhere. We 're in the process of drastically changing our diets. Will be doing a Whole30 for May hopefully and my body does better on fat and veg than grains and sugar.
I just found out our best friend couple is coming over the first weekend in April to cook down the pantry and freezer! Last September we made a serious dent because their amazing cooks and next level frugal. :)

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1518 on: March 13, 2017, 11:12:24 PM »
Did I say upthread that my chickpea, red pepper and tomato stew with peanut-y sauce wasn't very good?  I was wrong.  Either it's taken a whole week for the flavours to mellow and blend together just right, or all it needed was the creamy brightness of avocado chunks, with the earthy crunch of toasted pita bread.  Because it tasted AMAZING tonight for dinner.  I have a couple more servings but they should probably go in the freezer because I might not get to eat the rest for a couple of days.

It was good that I ate at home this morning and tonight, because I visited the zoo with a friend today (we both have memberships) and he convinced me (easily, I have to admit!) to go out for lunch afterward.  I had a veggie burger and fries at Swiss Chalet.  Not crazy expensive, but not particularly cheap either.  But their fries are SO good.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1519 on: March 14, 2017, 01:40:46 AM »
This morning I opened a several year old pack of dried beans, washed it and set it to soak. I will cook them tonight and make some different recipes with them. I bought some fresh coriander that I hope will go well together with them.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1520 on: March 14, 2017, 03:12:16 AM »
For dinner I made a very strange lentil and chilli soup in the slow cooker. Strange because I'd added a heap of random chopped greens that were wilting in the fridge - bok choy, lettuce, kale, silverbeet. It does not taste good at all and it's an ugly brown colour, so I grated a ton of cheese for on top to make it edible. Luckily we also have some leftover cottage pie that I didn't have time to eat for lunch to round it out.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1521 on: March 14, 2017, 10:18:29 AM »
Glad to hear your stew turned out better with a little melding time, PJ!

Hoping your bean experiment goes well, Linda! I have actually had bans that were too old and just never really cooked no longer how much I boiled them. Hoping you have better results!

Freshwater - Greens can be tricky to use up! Sounds like you had the making for Kimchi as well. It's one of those things you will either love or hate, but it is a great way to use stuff up!

I cleared out a ton of packaged, canned, boxed food that we don't eat and am going to try to donate them somewhere. We 're in the process of drastically changing our diets. Will be doing a Whole30 for May hopefully and my body does better on fat and veg than grains and sugar.

I had quite the struggle reconciling this thread with Whole 30. I ended up gifting lots of stuff to friends and family and donating some unopened things. I decided that if I know it is stuff I don't want to have in my body, then it shouldn't be in the house and I shouldn't be using stuff up because I feel obligated too, even though I know it is not what I want to be fueling myself with. It's still hard though.

If this is your first Whole 30, what I would suggest is grab a tote and put in it everything that isn't compliant (so your not tripping over it all month, or accidently using things like sauces) and then reevaluating during your reintro. There are things like beans you may choose to keep in your regular rotation and there may be things you no longer want, but that decision is way easier at the end of your Whole 30 once you have the knowledge to back up your decisions. This also works with cookbooks. Those were the hardest for me, all my beautiful amazing baking books. I found good homes for those :)

Dinner last night was a curry with romano beans, roasted eggplant and Indian spices (trying to use up some of the various mixes people have given us) I used up a jar of passata and a container of curry base from the freezer and some cashews for the sauce. It was very similar to a butter chicken sauce. Yummy!

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1522 on: March 14, 2017, 10:54:02 AM »
For dinner I made a very strange lentil and chilli soup in the slow cooker. Strange because I'd added a heap of random chopped greens that were wilting in the fridge - bok choy, lettuce, kale, silverbeet. It does not taste good at all and it's an ugly brown colour, so I grated a ton of cheese for on top to make it edible. Luckily we also have some leftover cottage pie that I didn't have time to eat for lunch to round it out.

Cheese can cover up a multitude of (culinary) sins, can't it?

One thing I have done with greens that are wilting in the fridge, though not often enough, is to chop them up and throw them in the freezer.  The trick is to do it early enough, while they still seem worth saving, rather than letting them get to the point where you feel like you MUST cook and eat them now, or else throw them out.  That way you can use a more reasonable amount in whatever you're cooking that night, and spread the rest out throw several meals.

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1523 on: March 14, 2017, 12:05:03 PM »
For dinner I made a very strange lentil and chilli soup in the slow cooker. Strange because I'd added a heap of random chopped greens that were wilting in the fridge - bok choy, lettuce, kale, silverbeet. It does not taste good at all and it's an ugly brown colour, so I grated a ton of cheese for on top to make it edible. Luckily we also have some leftover cottage pie that I didn't have time to eat for lunch to round it out.

Cheese can cover up a multitude of (culinary) sins, can't it?

One thing I have done with greens that are wilting in the fridge, though not often enough, is to chop them up and throw them in the freezer.  The trick is to do it early enough, while they still seem worth saving, rather than letting them get to the point where you feel like you MUST cook and eat them now, or else throw them out.  That way you can use a more reasonable amount in whatever you're cooking that night, and spread the rest out throw several meals.
I do the same thing.  I have a bag of spinach in the freezer right now.  I'll toss it in eggs or smoothies a handful at a time. 


PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1524 on: March 14, 2017, 12:11:50 PM »
For dinner I made a very strange lentil and chilli soup in the slow cooker. Strange because I'd added a heap of random chopped greens that were wilting in the fridge - bok choy, lettuce, kale, silverbeet. It does not taste good at all and it's an ugly brown colour, so I grated a ton of cheese for on top to make it edible. Luckily we also have some leftover cottage pie that I didn't have time to eat for lunch to round it out.

Cheese can cover up a multitude of (culinary) sins, can't it?

One thing I have done with greens that are wilting in the fridge, though not often enough, is to chop them up and throw them in the freezer.  The trick is to do it early enough, while they still seem worth saving, rather than letting them get to the point where you feel like you MUST cook and eat them now, or else throw them out.  That way you can use a more reasonable amount in whatever you're cooking that night, and spread the rest out throw several meals.
I do the same thing.  I have a bag of spinach in the freezer right now.  I'll toss it in eggs or smoothies a handful at a time.

Exactly!  And with the bags of spinach, you don't even have to pre-chop, because when you pull out a handful of frozen leaves, you can just crumble them up into whatever you're making.  :-)

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1525 on: March 14, 2017, 12:24:07 PM »
This morning I opened a several year old pack of dried beans, washed it and set it to soak. I will cook them tonight and make some different recipes with them. I bought some fresh coriander that I hope will go well together with them.

It's not going so well. I put the beans to soak before going to work. I started cooking them 1 and a half hour ago and they are still not soft. I will let them cook some time more. But if it doesn't work out today, I'll throw them away.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1526 on: March 14, 2017, 12:29:25 PM »
This morning I opened a several year old pack of dried beans, washed it and set it to soak. I will cook them tonight and make some different recipes with them. I bought some fresh coriander that I hope will go well together with them.

It's not going so well. I put the beans to soak before going to work. I started cooking them 1 and a half hour ago and they are still not soft. I will let them cook some time more. But if it doesn't work out today, I'll throw them away.

That is too bad, but at least you tried and either way they are out of your house now :)

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1527 on: March 14, 2017, 12:47:44 PM »
This morning I opened a several year old pack of dried beans, washed it and set it to soak. I will cook them tonight and make some different recipes with them. I bought some fresh coriander that I hope will go well together with them.

It's not going so well. I put the beans to soak before going to work. I started cooking them 1 and a half hour ago and they are still not soft. I will let them cook some time more. But if it doesn't work out today, I'll throw them away.

I soak them overnight, cook until soft (takes several hours), then make these:  https://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/not-refried-beans/
« Last Edit: March 14, 2017, 12:49:24 PM by MountainGal »

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1528 on: March 14, 2017, 01:04:58 PM »
This morning I opened a several year old pack of dried beans, washed it and set it to soak. I will cook them tonight and make some different recipes with them. I bought some fresh coriander that I hope will go well together with them. 

It's not going so well. I put the beans to soak before going to work. I started cooking them 1 and a half hour ago and they are still not soft. I will let them cook some time more. But if it doesn't work out today, I'll throw them away.

Linda_Norway, what kind of beans are they?  Different types do take different amounts of time to cook.  This site, for example, says that soybeans may need to be boiled 3 hours, though it lists black beans as only needing 1-1.5 hours.  Another site I checked said black beans might need up to 2.5 hours.  Also, multiple sites (I was double checking bean cooking instructions recently too!) said not to add salt or any acidic foods until after the beans are already tender, because both can impede softening.

https://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/driedbeantip.htm

Of course, swick is right, sometimes they just don't seem to soften, and you can feel free to throw them out, knowing you gave it a good try.  But if you want to salvage them, you can do as MountainGal suggested, and use them in recipes where you can mash or puree them.  Again, depending on the type, hummous or other bean dips/spreads, as refried beans, as a meat extender in meatloaf or chili all come to mind.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1529 on: March 14, 2017, 07:31:33 PM »
I am attempting to make some roasted veggie dip using some freezer burnt zucchini and kale from last summer and some soy beans that were in the back of the pantry. I figure add some tahinni and seasonings it should be okay dip. I have some dehydrated cucumber chips from last summer that I need to eat up and of course I am the only one that will eat them. I also have some carrots and celery that I just got because I was out of fresh veggies and needed a veggie for girly's lunch. All though she just looks at veggies in her lunch and ignores them....hummm gotta get the 6 year old to eat more veggies.

Hubby has been such a help eating leftovers at lunch time. I told him every time we eat leftovers we are that much closer to FIRE. I am in charge of all food in our house. And it is time to get our food bill as low as it can go without giving up nutrition.

 

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1530 on: March 14, 2017, 10:34:58 PM »
I am attempting to make some roasted veggie dip using some freezer burnt zucchini and kale from last summer and some soy beans that were in the back of the pantry. I figure add some tahinni and seasonings it should be okay dip. I have some dehydrated cucumber chips from last summer that I need to eat up and of course I am the only one that will eat them. I also have some carrots and celery that I just got because I was out of fresh veggies and needed a veggie for girly's lunch. All though she just looks at veggies in her lunch and ignores them....hummm gotta get the 6 year old to eat more veggies.

Hubby has been such a help eating leftovers at lunch time. I told him every time we eat leftovers we are that much closer to FIRE. I am in charge of all food in our house. And it is time to get our food bill as low as it can go without giving up nutrition.

seemsright, you aren't really "selling" your roasted veggie dip with that description, but I've been there a couple of times lately myself, with things that turn out "meh," or like Freshwater above, have required liberal applications of cheese to encourage myself to eat them.  That's ok, they don't all have to be perfectly balanced gourmet meals, right?  Sometimes it's healthy but not excessively appetizing, other times it's delicious but not excessively nutritious, if you know what I mean.

Tonight for a late but light-ish dinner, I defrosted one of my ciabatta rolls from the freezer (bought from reduced price rack a little while back).  Yummy one - poppy seeds and something else, maybe onion or garlic?  Toasted with a little mayo, lots of sliced cucumber.  Sliced tomato with a little cilantro lime dressing on the side.  I'm not sure it was quite enough to tide me over to bed, I might need a nibble more.

Lunch today was some chickpea/potato curry (channa) with roti that a church lady brought for me.  With an avocado on the side.  Had a very healthy breakfast of an apple and some greek yoghurt.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1531 on: March 15, 2017, 06:41:05 AM »
This morning I opened a several year old pack of dried beans, washed it and set it to soak. I will cook them tonight and make some different recipes with them. I bought some fresh coriander that I hope will go well together with them.

It's not going so well. I put the beans to soak before going to work. I started cooking them 1 and a half hour ago and they are still not soft. I will let them cook some time more. But if it doesn't work out today, I'll throw them away.

I soak them overnight, cook until soft (takes several hours), then make these:  https://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/not-refried-beans/

They are Alubia beans. They became tender at the end of the evening. Now waiting in the fridge for what to do with them.
Yasterday I tasted 5-6 of them so check if they were ready and I have had stomach cramps at night. Might have been the beans. So I want to test eating a few more to see if the pain repeats. If not, I'll check out various recipees.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1532 on: March 15, 2017, 10:08:38 AM »
Ended up being home for dinner yesterday, so I stretched the defrosted ground beef with a serving of the soy braised beef & an onion.  Put it on top of roasted squash I did on Sunday.  It worked really well to cut down on the excessive salt, and it tasted yummy.

Today's lunch was chicken (freezer), bell pepper (freezer), cauliflower (freezer) roasted eggplant (Sunday prep), and the last of some miso dressing, which I'll count as a win even though I still have most of the container of miso.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1533 on: March 15, 2017, 10:40:03 AM »
Well done on salvaging the too salty meal, plainjane.

And Linda, yes, do another little taste test, if you're concerned.  Making yourself sick with old food is not warranted!  Did you eat anything else that could have made you kind of gassy?

seemsright

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1534 on: March 15, 2017, 11:44:52 AM »
I am attempting to make some roasted veggie dip using some freezer burnt zucchini and kale from last summer and some soy beans that were in the back of the pantry. I figure add some tahinni and seasonings it should be okay dip. I have some dehydrated cucumber chips from last summer that I need to eat up and of course I am the only one that will eat them. I also have some carrots and celery that I just got because I was out of fresh veggies and needed a veggie for girly's lunch. All though she just looks at veggies in her lunch and ignores them....hummm gotta get the 6 year old to eat more veggies.

Hubby has been such a help eating leftovers at lunch time. I told him every time we eat leftovers we are that much closer to FIRE. I am in charge of all food in our house. And it is time to get our food bill as low as it can go without giving up nutrition.

seemsright, you aren't really "selling" your roasted veggie dip with that description, but I've been there a couple of times lately myself, with things that turn out "meh," or like Freshwater above, have required liberal applications of cheese to encourage myself to eat them.  That's ok, they don't all have to be perfectly balanced gourmet meals, right?  Sometimes it's healthy but not excessively appetizing, other times it's delicious but not excessively nutritious, if you know what I mean.

Tonight for a late but light-ish dinner, I defrosted one of my ciabatta rolls from the freezer (bought from reduced price rack a little while back).  Yummy one - poppy seeds and something else, maybe onion or garlic?  Toasted with a little mayo, lots of sliced cucumber.  Sliced tomato with a little cilantro lime dressing on the side.  I'm not sure it was quite enough to tide me over to bed, I might need a nibble more.

Lunch today was some chickpea/potato curry (channa) with roti that a church lady brought for me.  With an avocado on the side.  Had a very healthy breakfast of an apple and some greek yoghurt.

I just made the dip, I added some olive oil, some sea salt,  tahinni and cider vinegar. And it is crazy good. Sometimes working with what you have is interesting. But yes the starts of the dip were in sad shape. I will have to figure out better way to preserve the excess veggies from the garden and CSA this coming season.

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1535 on: March 15, 2017, 11:58:24 AM »
I am attempting to make some roasted veggie dip using some freezer burnt zucchini and kale from last summer and some soy beans that were in the back of the pantry. I figure add some tahinni and seasonings it should be okay dip. I have some dehydrated cucumber chips from last summer that I need to eat up and of course I am the only one that will eat them. I also have some carrots and celery that I just got because I was out of fresh veggies and needed a veggie for girly's lunch. All though she just looks at veggies in her lunch and ignores them....hummm gotta get the 6 year old to eat more veggies.

Hubby has been such a help eating leftovers at lunch time. I told him every time we eat leftovers we are that much closer to FIRE. I am in charge of all food in our house. And it is time to get our food bill as low as it can go without giving up nutrition.

seemsright, you aren't really "selling" your roasted veggie dip with that description, but I've been there a couple of times lately myself, with things that turn out "meh," or like Freshwater above, have required liberal applications of cheese to encourage myself to eat them.  That's ok, they don't all have to be perfectly balanced gourmet meals, right?  Sometimes it's healthy but not excessively appetizing, other times it's delicious but not excessively nutritious, if you know what I mean.

I just made the dip, I added some olive oil, some sea salt,  tahinni and cider vinegar. And it is crazy good. Sometimes working with what you have is interesting. But yes the starts of the dip were in sad shape. I will have to figure out better way to preserve the excess veggies from the garden and CSA this coming season. 

Hey, that's great!  Glad to hear it turned out yummy :-)

And yeah, not letting the produce go to waste is a huge money saver.  I'm doing better these days, but still some things slip past me.  When they're unappetizing but not actually too bad to eat, I can feed them to the dog.  She doesn't care if things are wilty!  But that's not the most economical use of my "people food," it's just slightly less wasteful.  Recognizing when you're not going to get to something in time, and getting it cooked up into something for the freezer, or just straight up prepping and freezing it, seem to be the keys.  Unless you're a canner, in which case that opens up another option.

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1536 on: March 15, 2017, 03:24:02 PM »
At this point in the year, we are able to shut down one of the deep freezers and combine two into one. Always a happy day for me. Good electricity savings anda good indication that we are using up our 2 sides of beef and 60 chickens!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1537 on: March 15, 2017, 05:17:14 PM »
This morning I opened a several year old pack of dried beans, washed it and set it to soak. I will cook them tonight and make some different recipes with them. I bought some fresh coriander that I hope will go well together with them.

It's not going so well. I put the beans to soak before going to work. I started cooking them 1 and a half hour ago and they are still not soft. I will let them cook some time more. But if it doesn't work out today, I'll throw them away.

I soak them overnight, cook until soft (takes several hours), then make these:  https://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/not-refried-beans/

They are Alubia beans. They became tender at the end of the evening. Now waiting in the fridge for what to do with them.
Yasterday I tasted 5-6 of them so check if they were ready and I have had stomach cramps at night. Might have been the beans. So I want to test eating a few more to see if the pain repeats. If not, I'll check out various recipees.
Glad they became tender, but sorry for your discomfort.  :(

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1538 on: March 16, 2017, 02:34:31 AM »
At this point in the year, we are able to shut down one of the deep freezers and combine two into one. Always a happy day for me. Good electricity savings anda good indication that we are using up our 2 sides of beef and 60 chickens!

Good idea to shut it down when empty.

My follow up question in a separate thread as it is a bit off-topic in here:

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/does-it-pay-off-to-buy-a-separate-deep-freeze/

PJ

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1539 on: March 16, 2017, 12:35:31 PM »
Hey Linda_Norway, inquiring minds want to know ... what was the final verdict on the beans?

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1540 on: March 16, 2017, 12:54:11 PM »
*Blinks* I felt the bottom of my 25 lb bag of buckwheat flour this morning! I can't quite believe it! I also used up a bag of frozen peas.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1541 on: March 16, 2017, 01:52:40 PM »
Congratulations, Swick!  <<high fives>>

Did my monthly grocery shopping trip last night (saved 25% using coupons, woot!).  I refrained from buying stockpile items, regardless of the fact I had coupons.  I was going to buy teriyaki for some ribs bought on sale, then I decided I can make some sort of homemade sauce using a combination of the plethora of condiments we still have in the fridge door.

The potential buyers who looked at our home this morning called our realtor asking for a second viewing this afternoon.  Fingers crossed!

recklesslysober

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1542 on: March 16, 2017, 02:31:54 PM »
The other half is away for a week so I'm working on completely clearing out the kitchen while he's gone before I buy any groceries. Day 1 (yesterday) was $0 and I've finished: salami, provolone, and some wilted green onions. I'm working on the bread, eggs, and produce first. Then I have some canned soup and a few things in the freezer that I can go through.

Inventory:
fridge: eggs, bread, salami, provolone cheese, green onions, tomatoes, avocadoes, carrots, lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, purple cabbage, green cabbage, mushrooms, bell peppers, kiwis, apples, cucumber, pickled beets, pickles, dates
freezer: kale, spinach, mango, cherries, bananas, chili, chicken nuggets and fries (yay!), ground beef, tomato sauce

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1543 on: March 17, 2017, 03:06:08 AM »
Hey Linda_Norway, inquiring minds want to know ... what was the final verdict on the beans?

Although they did finally become "well done" they still didn't taste good. Then (a bit late) I checked the date on the package and the last use date was in 2008. I also read somewhere that beans do not become very good with years. So I decided to ditch the cooked beans.

At least the are now in the composting bin and will turn into earth.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1544 on: March 17, 2017, 06:56:00 AM »
Last night I used up a bit more of the flopped caramel sauce (uh, from november...) to make a caramel corn, I melted the last two squares of chocolate over it.  Delightful.  The caramel still isn't right, but it's good.

I recently got chili out of the freezer, only to discover when it thawed that it was chocolate milk. hah! 

Other than that my cupboards are pretty bare. In addition to using up foods I don't like this thread has helped me eliminate duplicates and keep stock items fresh.  I know what I have and I know I can run out of certain things and still have enough food. 


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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1545 on: March 17, 2017, 07:00:53 AM »
Hey Linda_Norway, inquiring minds want to know ... what was the final verdict on the beans?
Although they did finally become "well done" they still didn't taste good. Then (a bit late) I checked the date on the package and the last use date was in 2008.

I'm a big believer that some things can go past their use by date, but even _I_ agree 2008 is pushing it.  The caramel sauce I'm using in my tea right now is best before Feb 2016, but it's caramel and still tastes yummy.

I bought more curry paste yesterday as we were out, and the SO bought curry paste yesterday because we were out.

This week I am committed to working through more of the sweet red chili sauce.  Maybe fish cakes?  Other suggestions welcome.

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1546 on: March 17, 2017, 07:26:11 AM »
I found out yesterday that we'll probably be getting a 1/4 beef.  I've been sort of rationing the beef in the freezer thinking we wouldn't get another until fall, but now that's changed.  Going to pull a roast out to make this weekend.

In the meantime, I think I might make more pork and beans.  I bought a big bag of cranberry beans from a farmstand while driving through Washington State last summer, and they are wonderful for that type of dish.  There was actually nothing left to freeze from the big batch I made last week, but I have lots more dried beans and lots more sliced pork belly. 

Smoothies are going to be on the menu too.  Still have a large jar of blueberries and an equal jar of cherries from my tree sitting in the freezer.  Also impulsively grabbed a 6 pack of coconut milk (the thinner kind) that was on sale at CostCo right after I got home from DC, and then discovered that I already had a 6-pack in storage.  Oh well, needed to finish off the protein powder anyway.

Grocery bill last night was around $40 for eggs, bacon, cheese, some veggies to make kimchi, and four bottles of Sriracha, because it was on sale 2/$5.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1547 on: March 17, 2017, 07:44:32 AM »
Hey Linda_Norway, inquiring minds want to know ... what was the final verdict on the beans?
Although they did finally become "well done" they still didn't taste good. Then (a bit late) I checked the date on the package and the last use date was in 2008.

I'm a big believer that some things can go past their use by date, but even _I_ agree 2008 is pushing it.  The caramel sauce I'm using in my tea right now is best before Feb 2016, but it's caramel and still tastes yummy.

I bought more curry paste yesterday as we were out, and the SO bought curry paste yesterday because we were out.

This week I am committed to working through more of the sweet red chili sauce.  Maybe fish cakes?  Other suggestions welcome.

I am not a date freak either. But this was so many years. But I was mostly sceptic for the taste. I am not very fond of beans to start with. And eating beans 7 years after the best before date will not give me the best bean experience. I rather stick to kidney beans from a pack, which I do like.

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1548 on: March 17, 2017, 08:55:25 AM »

This week I am committed to working through more of the sweet red chili sauce.  Maybe fish cakes?  Other suggestions welcome.

Sweet red chili sauce can be a great addition to a Thai peanut sauce! Before I went (mostly) sugar-free I use to use it anywhere that sweet/spicy flavour made sense. A dollop in a tomato sauce works to round out the acidity and bring out the flavour of the tomatoes.  Poured over a brie and baked or on top of cream cheese instead of pepper jelly as an appetizer. Added to anything stir-fried.

Dinner last night: Sausages (freezer) with a hash made from some caramelized onions (from a bag that really needed using up) some red pepper, white beans (pantry) spices and some Vermont maple syrup flavored balsamic vinegar we were given as a gift. Was super tasty and we have enough leftover I don't have to cook tonight!

Despite thinking we were mostly out of fresh fruits and veggies last weekend, I have managed to make do. Mostly because I had a supply of homemade frozen meals hubs could take for lunches. That supply is dwindling so I'll have to restock this weekend, but having them means I don't have to worry about stretching all my dinners out for an extra lunch so allows me to use up stuff that might not stretch or reheat at work as well and still provide some variety :)

recklesslysober

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #1549 on: March 17, 2017, 12:42:35 PM »
The other half is away for a week so I'm working on completely clearing out the kitchen while he's gone before I buy any groceries. Day 1 (yesterday) was $0 and I've finished: salami, provolone, and some wilted green onions. I'm working on the bread, eggs, and produce first. Then I have some canned soup and a few things in the freezer that I can go through.

Inventory:
fridge: eggs, bread, salami, provolone cheese, green onions, tomatoes, onions, avocadoes, carrots, lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, purple cabbage, green cabbage, mushrooms, bell peppers, kiwis, apples, cucumber, pickled beets, pickles, dates
freezer: kale, spinach, mango, cherries, bananas, chili, chicken nuggets and fries (yay!), ground beef, tomato sauce

Day 2 - $0

Used up a few more things yesterday and am on track to spend $0 today. The weekend should be fairly easy. I'm planning on making a tomato sauce with most of the leftover vegetables tomorrow.