Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1183475 times)

chasingthegoodlife

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #250 on: January 14, 2015, 04:47:56 PM »
I agree! Maybe it's my need for control, but there is something calming about using up all the stray bits. Having space also makes it easier to keep everything organised and visible, so it sometimes feels like MORE of a back up stockpile than when you have no idea what's in the packed freezer :) I use masking tape for my freezer labels, works really well and peels off easily.

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #251 on: January 14, 2015, 04:52:46 PM »
I agree! Maybe it's my need for control, but there is something calming about using up all the stray bits. Having space also makes it easier to keep everything organised and visible, so it sometimes feels like MORE of a back up stockpile than when you have no idea what's in the packed freezer :) I use masking tape for my freezer labels, works really well and peels off easily.

Where do you put the freezer labels? I'm in desperate need of organizing my 2 deep freezers .. ugh!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #252 on: January 15, 2015, 10:31:34 AM »
I agree! Maybe it's my need for control, but there is something calming about using up all the stray bits. Having space also makes it easier to keep everything organised and visible, so it sometimes feels like MORE of a back up stockpile than when you have no idea what's in the packed freezer :) I use masking tape for my freezer labels, works really well and peels off easily.

Where do you put the freezer labels? I'm in desperate need of organizing my 2 deep freezers .. ugh!

Personally, I put the freezer tape either across the lid or around a side.  Either works really well.  To start, maybe keep proteins on one side of your freezer, veggies on the other, and misc in the middle?

Added:  I keep proteins in the bottom freezer drawer, veggies in the drawer above it, fish and a frozen gallon of water (to take up space) on the shelf above, and leftover containers on the shelf above that.  The door holds a small baggie of celery bits, vodka :D, chilled beer mugs, and rolls of ground meat.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2015, 10:34:13 AM by MountainGal »

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #253 on: January 15, 2015, 05:15:18 PM »
I've been thinking this same thing about my tea CUPBOARD.  I think there must be about 15 types of tea in there! I do love tea, and drink probably 4 large mugs a day, but really need to get a handle on this overstock!

GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #254 on: January 16, 2015, 07:10:15 AM »
Had a similar tea stash with at least 8 different types of tea squirreled away.  Currently down to two types and told myself that I'm not buying more until I'm on the last container.  Feels good to get rid of the "meh, that was OK" varieties.  Soon I get to shop for the varieties I really love. 

savedough

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #255 on: January 16, 2015, 12:19:26 PM »
If the flavor is not very strong, you can use it to brine poultry.   I got an apricot tea, I wasnt a fan of and used it in this recipe.   I've made it a dozen times and couldnt tell a difference when I used the herbal tea.

http://bakedbree.com/sweet-tea-brined-chicken

The other thing I've done with too much tea is add it in place of water to scones or other baked goods.   It's a subtle flavor difference, but somehow makes the dish seem guest worthy. 


alleykat

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #256 on: January 16, 2015, 09:46:43 PM »
Took a couple of boxes of power bars to work.  Wasn't getting to them, didn't care for them, so figured I will grin n bare it for breakfast.  I couldn't finish one because of the taste so I put them out for people.  The other flavor isn't so bad so I will eat those.  At least, they didn't go to waste.  Also, finished a package of cookies.  Will organize my pantry and begin using stuff done. Need to come up with some new recipes.

wintersun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #257 on: January 17, 2015, 01:31:19 PM »
This business of eating down the pantry is quite fun.  We are having some odd mixtures of stuff but the shelves are thinning out. I also gave away some food we no longer consume and had to toss some sauce that had a rusted top (how long have we had that???)

I need help eating the boatload of miso we have, any ideas???

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #258 on: January 17, 2015, 02:11:13 PM »
This business of eating down the pantry is quite fun.  We are having some odd mixtures of stuff but the shelves are thinning out. I also gave away some food we no longer consume and had to toss some sauce that had a rusted top (how long have we had that???)

I need help eating the boatload of miso we have, any ideas???

Quite frequently we will make an "instant" miso soup if we are feeling a little under the weather. Miso, bone broth, a little grated garlic and ginger, splash of soy sauce and sesame oil and whatever mix-ins you want (I make my own freezer packs of shredded Asian veggies) leftover rice, grains, noodles, bits of chopped up protein from the fridge - whatever needs to be used up. I'll take out hubby's portion and crack an egg into mine to soft poach - the yolk makes it slightly thicker and richer.

alleykat

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #259 on: January 17, 2015, 04:16:42 PM »
I have been dragging my feet on tossing some junk food.  I have so much in the house and really cant see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It hasnt stopped since Halloween.  I was determined to get through it because I keep bringing it in, but at this point, I am not sure it is worth it.  I need to lose  about 10 lbs and am getting nowhere fast.  So, yup, I am going to get up off my keaster and start tossing some things. I hate to be wasteful but just have so much and it is not worth consuming it all. 

Juslookin

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #260 on: January 19, 2015, 07:20:43 AM »
I have been dragging my feet on tossing some junk food.  I have so much in the house and really cant see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It hasnt stopped since Halloween.  I was determined to get through it because I keep bringing it in, but at this point, I am not sure it is worth it.  I need to lose  about 10 lbs and am getting nowhere fast.  So, yup, I am going to get up off my keaster and start tossing some things. I hate to be wasteful but just have so much and it is not worth consuming it all.

I don't know if you have a food bank near you, but our food bank loves it when we bring candy. The director told me that they put handfuls of it into the emergency boxes they pass out.  She said it's not great nutrition but everybody loves a piece of candy and it makes folks smile. To even out the score I will take a bag full of cans of soup and leftover candy to donate.

WESTOFTHEHUDSON

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #261 on: January 19, 2015, 01:51:32 PM »
It's been a fun creating new meals around here. I have been trying to use up all the home canned products we have. We found a bongs jar of mango chutney which was great. We thought we had used it all up.

I also did a taco bar so we could use up some produce and beans.

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #262 on: January 19, 2015, 03:19:07 PM »
Took a turkey out of the freezer to thaw from Thanksgiving when turkeys were cheap.

Cooking up 4 lb. of ground beef from freezer supply (side of beef) to use in taco salad and other meals this week.

GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #263 on: January 19, 2015, 05:51:30 PM »
Do any of you have an alternative food item to chips?  We have all this food in the house but DH keeps buying chips!  Something salty/crunchy that I can make ahead of time so he can snack on it when he gets home from work.   

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #264 on: January 20, 2015, 10:45:37 AM »
Do any of you have an alternative food item to chips?  We have all this food in the house but DH keeps buying chips!  Something salty/crunchy that I can make ahead of time so he can snack on it when he gets home from work.

I'm a low carber and instead of chips, I eat pepperoni slices, fresh veggies, fried radishes or pork rinds.

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #265 on: January 20, 2015, 11:45:42 AM »
Do any of you have an alternative food item to chips?  We have all this food in the house but DH keeps buying chips!  Something salty/crunchy that I can make ahead of time so he can snack on it when he gets home from work.
I got my DH off tortilla chips by air popping popcorn (or you could do it on the stove).  I melt a little butter and add a little bit of Parmesan cheese. Popping corn is cheap, doesn't take up much space in the pantry, and is shelf-stable.  Also, popcorn is a perfect snack. 

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #266 on: January 20, 2015, 11:11:51 PM »
4alpacas Thanks for the reminder about popcorn! Doh!

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #267 on: January 21, 2015, 03:57:01 PM »
4alpacas Thanks for the reminder about popcorn! Doh!
I'm a HUGE fan of popcorn.  When I want something sweet, I'll make kettle corn.  I've put sriracha on it.  I've used cinnamon and sugar.  Old Bay is another favorite. 

GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #268 on: January 21, 2015, 06:23:42 PM »
4alpacas Thanks for the reminder about popcorn! Doh!
I'm a HUGE fan of popcorn.  When I want something sweet, I'll make kettle corn.  I've put sriracha on it.  I've used cinnamon and sugar.  Old Bay is another favorite.

Thank you MountainGal and 4alpacas.  Great ideas that I can try!

Lyngi

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #269 on: January 21, 2015, 06:30:52 PM »
Made navajo tacos (fry bread) with some REALLY old beignet mix.  Used a can of chili,  cans of beans, can of tomato sauce, old spices.   Used the last of left over shredded cheese.   Close to expiring sour cream. 

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #270 on: January 22, 2015, 10:27:17 AM »
This weekend I'm planning to cook 4 different recipes to help use up canned goods, frozen vegetables, and panko

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/04/sriracha-chicken-strips/
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/09/snap-challenge-creamy-chicken-black-bean-enchiladas/
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/05/kung-pao-chicken-vegetables/
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/01/not-butter-chicken/

I have to purchase 5 pounds of chicken breasts ($1.99/pound).  We have almost everything else! 

SisterX

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #271 on: January 22, 2015, 11:01:22 AM »
We're at the point where our chest freezer is less than half full.  We're even starting to run low on fish and I've had to purchase frozen fruit, since we were almost totally out.  I even bought beans for chili, because we had none left.
I also solved the "what to do with the frozen breastmilk" dilemma because my daughter, it turns out, has a milk allergy.  Doh!  So she's going through the stash (and I'm still nursing her a bit too).

Things to do soon to clear more space:
Cook up the freezer-burned fish for the dog.
Use up some of the baking items/dried fruit/nuts.
Cook another moose roast.
Make zucchini pancakes this weekend.

The one complicating factor: my husband and I are planning a "cut" in Feb.  (Weight cut.)  So we'll be eating a bit less, but we're going to make sure it's healthy food so probably we'll be eating even more fish, more smoothies (goodbye, frozen fruits/veggies). 

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #272 on: January 22, 2015, 02:51:18 PM »
New trick:  We usually end up tossing 1/2 can refried beans.  This week I added them to cooked ground beef to stretch the meat.  I made 7 burritos for the freezer.  Next up:  Breakfast burritos.  :)

Sunday we smoked a 7.5 pound pork butt bought on sale with coupons.  That night we had it by itself with sides.  Some of the meat went into fried burritos Tuesday night.  DH has been eating some for lunch.  Tonight I'll make ham steaks for supper.  The ham hock will go into the crock pot with dried beans tonight.

Monday morning I put a whole chicken in the slow cooker.  I shredded it that night for quesadillas, put some on two salads for my lunches, and DH has been eating some for lunch.  The 6 cups of broth will be used for African Soup.

Monday night I processed 6 large chicken breasts:  2 plain went into freezer bags separately, 2 packages of 2 breasts each were put into bags with spicy orange sauce for later use.

Currently I am working on using up a carton of unsweetened almond milk.

Later on this month:  Fun with Beef Roast.  Stay tuned.  :D

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #273 on: January 22, 2015, 04:56:14 PM »

Later on this month:  Fun with Beef Roast.  Stay tuned.  :D

This is great, MountainGal! Made me smile!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #274 on: January 22, 2015, 05:00:24 PM »

Later on this month:  Fun with Beef Roast.  Stay tuned.  :D

This is great, MountainGal! Made me smile!

Thanks, 67mama!  When I'm in the right mood, I LOVE cooking.  I just don't care for the messy aftermath, LOL!

GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #275 on: January 23, 2015, 09:23:11 AM »
Made beef stroganoff using the free meat I got with a wine purchase during Christmas (welcome to WI).  Combined with the ridiculously cheap noodles purchased on clearance and free onions from the garden stash, the whole meal cost around $2 total.  Score!

Now onto the fish....have salmon in freezer but can't work up the desire to eat it.  I know I'll probably be surprised how good it is once I cook it, but every time it is mentioned as an option, DH gets a "that doesn't sound good, we may order pizza that night" look on his face.  Which results in this face from me.... :-/

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #276 on: January 23, 2015, 09:46:55 AM »
Now onto the fish....have salmon in freezer but can't work up the desire to eat it.  I know I'll probably be surprised how good it is once I cook it, but every time it is mentioned as an option, DH gets a "that doesn't sound good, we may order pizza that night" look on his face. Which results in this face from me.... :-/

LOL, GardenFun!  We have a version of this at our house.  When I try new recipes and ask DH what he thinks, his responses:  Pretty Good, Good, Different.  If it's the latter, I know not to repeat it.  ;)

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #277 on: January 23, 2015, 10:15:05 AM »
Now onto the fish....have salmon in freezer but can't work up the desire to eat it.  I know I'll probably be surprised how good it is once I cook it, but every time it is mentioned as an option, DH gets a "that doesn't sound good, we may order pizza that night" look on his face. Which results in this face from me.... :-/

LOL, GardenFun!  We have a version of this at our house.  When I try new recipes and ask DH what he thinks, his responses:  Pretty Good, Good, Different.  If it's the latter, I know not to repeat it.  ;)
I'm not a great cook, so I keep a frozen pizza round for my DH's "pizza look."

swick

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #278 on: January 23, 2015, 01:50:55 PM »
Now onto the fish....have salmon in freezer but can't work up the desire to eat it.  I know I'll probably be surprised how good it is once I cook it, but every time it is mentioned as an option, DH gets a "that doesn't sound good, we may order pizza that night" look on his face. Which results in this face from me.... :-/

LOL, GardenFun!  We have a version of this at our house.  When I try new recipes and ask DH what he thinks, his responses:  Pretty Good, Good, Different.  If it's the latter, I know not to repeat it.  ;)

I have gotten into the habit (whenever possible) of giving Hubby a taste test of whatever I am making before serving and asking him what he would change. Sometimes it is perfect, sometimes he wants more spice or more acid or whatever. He gets to feel like he is helping and his feedback is important to the finished dish, and he always eats it :)
I'm not a great cook, so I keep a frozen pizza round for my DH's "pizza look."

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #279 on: January 25, 2015, 11:37:34 AM »
Now onto the fish....have salmon in freezer but can't work up the desire to eat it.  I know I'll probably be surprised how good it is once I cook it, but every time it is mentioned as an option, DH gets a "that doesn't sound good, we may order pizza that night" look on his face. Which results in this face from me.... :-/

LOL, GardenFun!  We have a version of this at our house.  When I try new recipes and ask DH what he thinks, his responses:  Pretty Good, Good, Different.  If it's the latter, I know not to repeat it.  ;)

I have gotten into the habit (whenever possible) of giving Hubby a taste test of whatever I am making before serving and asking him what he would change. Sometimes it is perfect, sometimes he wants more spice or more acid or whatever. He gets to feel like he is helping and his feedback is important to the finished dish, and he always eats it :)
I'm not a great cook, so I keep a frozen pizza round for my DH's "pizza look."
My DH would add cheese and salsa to everything I made. 

I spent more time than usual in the kitchen yesterday.  I planned 5 recipes that used up a lot of stuff from our kitchen.  My DH and I are in a food rut.  Last week, we went out to eat twice because we didn't like what we had in our kitchen.  4 of the 5 recipes were new.  All of the recipes used chicken breasts, so I didn't have to buy a bunch of different cuts of meat.  I bought another 5 pounds of chicken breasts for my bulk cooking this weekend, but I used the last of the chicken in the freezer too. 

This weekend I've done a great job of getting rid of canned goods that we've had for too long.  I made enchiladas with the enchilada sauce.  I used 3 cans of diced tomatoes, a can of black beans, a can of green chilies, and a few small cans of tomato sauce.

I made a huge pot of mashed potatoes because we have a huge bag of potatoes that started to sprout.  I also used an onion that has grown a green shoot.  I still have a few pounds of potatoes and two onions. 

I also brewed a large pot of iced tea with wedding favor tea bags.  I still have another five tea bags, so I will probably brew a bit more tea today. 

I've been running our rice cooker quite a bit (ours can only make 4 cups at a time).  Most of the dishes that I made are served with rice.  When I freeze individual portions, I freeze the rice in the bag with the rest of the food.  It makes "packing" my lunch a breeze.  I'm considering buying mason jars to store my single serving meals, but I think the jars will take up too much freezer space.


MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #280 on: January 26, 2015, 02:37:39 PM »
Nice work, 4alpacas!

This weekend's mission was to use up the unsweetened almond milk:

DH put some in his almond flavored cereal
I made several homemade java mochas
Made cauliflower curry soup for the first time.  YUMMY!  4 servings
Made a huge mound of almond flour blueberry pancakes for the first time.  Not too bad.

All but 2 TBS or so was used up.

Saturday I made ham hocks and beans from last weekend's pork butt.  Comfort food!

I also washed Romaine for this week's lunches, boiled and processed eggs, and made Eggplant Parmesan for the first time last night.  DH liked it, but carefully cut off the skin.  SIGH.

The 6 cups of chicken broth from last week will be made into African peanut soup tomorrow.  I did toss about a cup chicken from last week because we didn't get to it in time.  It was hiding out in DH's fridge lunch drawer.  I've gotta keep an eye on that.

GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #281 on: January 26, 2015, 03:41:19 PM »
Using turkey stock and freezer turkey meat, along with celery flakes/carrots/onions and gnocchis to make some turkey and dumpling soup.  The gnocchis are a few years old and the celery flakes were an "oh my gosh, how old are these things!" find in the pantry.  Also found some rice pilaf hanging out with the celery flakes, so easy side dish to make in the next week or so.   

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #282 on: January 26, 2015, 11:42:56 PM »
Used up 6 cups of frozen blueberries today making a triple batch of the excellent blueberry muffin recipe posted below (from tammysrecipes.com) -- only 40 pounds to go! Ugh! I bought too many blueberries 2 summers ago!

-------------------------
Soft, sweet, and bursting with blueberries: these blueberry muffins are our favorite homemade blueberry muffins, and super easy to make, too!

Yield:
12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk, warmed in microwave
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and oil. Add the warm milk and vanilla extract.

3. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir.

4. If using fresh blueberries, wash and drain them, and then stir into batter. If using frozen blueberries, place them in a colander and run hot tap water over them for about 20 seconds. Drain berries for 5-10 seconds, then stir into batter.

5. Use muffins papers or grease 12 muffin cups (can also use mini muffin pans). Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees. If making mini muffin size, bake for about 14 minutes.

Muffins are done when top springs back.

SisterX

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #283 on: January 27, 2015, 10:52:31 AM »
Does anyone have experience using almond milk to make a white sauce?  I mentioned earlier that my daughter is allergic to milk and I'm trying to figure out how to keep making some of our favorite things with milk substitutes.  I looked it up and people have tried it but I'm curious how it actually tastes?  I don't want to ruin an entire meal by trying it and then finding out that we all think it's nasty.
I suppose I should just make a tiny test batch, huh?

homehandymum

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #284 on: January 27, 2015, 12:52:28 PM »
Does anyone have experience using almond milk to make a white sauce?  I mentioned earlier that my daughter is allergic to milk and I'm trying to figure out how to keep making some of our favorite things with milk substitutes.  I looked it up and people have tried it but I'm curious how it actually tastes?  I don't want to ruin an entire meal by trying it and then finding out that we all think it's nasty.
I suppose I should just make a tiny test batch, huh?

I haven't used almond milk, but I have had success with white sauces and chowders etc using rice milk - which you can make really cheaply yourself.  I wouldn't use rice milk for everything, since it's basically just white water, and the nut milks have way more nutrition, but for a sauce, the absence of any particular flavour and sweetness of its own is a big bonus.

recipe here (scroll down the post):  http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2013/09/dairy-alternative-homemade-rice-milk-2/

JLR

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #285 on: January 27, 2015, 02:49:49 PM »
I'm going to join in on this, as my husband's contract at work finishes next week and we are not sure what to expect over the coming weeks.

I based our shopping list off pantry items last fortnight. This week I'm going to base it off fridge items (eg. using up sauces and meal bases).

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #286 on: January 27, 2015, 04:15:14 PM »
We've started to acquire weird food items again.  We received a few gift baskets around the holidays.  Our friends also bring food over when they hang out.  I'm not sure what to do with two jars of olive bruschetta, a bag of IKEA meatballs, and a jar of lemon curd.  We also have an insane amount of meyer lemons. 

Any advice?

1967mama

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #287 on: January 27, 2015, 04:32:38 PM »
We've started to acquire weird food items again.  We received a few gift baskets around the holidays.  Our friends also bring food over when they hang out.  I'm not sure what to do with two jars of olive bruschetta, a bag of IKEA meatballs, and a jar of lemon curd.  We also have an insane amount of meyer lemons. 

Any advice?

Olive Bruschetta - if you like olives (we don't) you could mound a thick layer on slices of baguette and warm them up in the oven for a few minutes. Maybe sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese??

IKEA Meatballs - you could add these to a marinara sauce. Or you could make sweet and sour meatballs (google for a sauce or I have one if you'd like?)

Jar of Lemon Curd - my kids like it on homemade biscuits. Its almost like lemon meringue pie filling. Could be good on those sweet (but expensive) Rainforest Crackers from the health food store.

I received a few odd items in gift baskets as well, so that is a good reminder to me to get them out and USE them up!

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #288 on: January 27, 2015, 04:41:51 PM »
We've started to acquire weird food items again.  We received a few gift baskets around the holidays.  Our friends also bring food over when they hang out.  I'm not sure what to do with two jars of olive bruschetta, a bag of IKEA meatballs, and a jar of lemon curd.  We also have an insane amount of meyer lemons. 

Any advice?

Olive Bruschetta - if you like olives (we don't) you could mound a thick layer on slices of baguette and warm them up in the oven for a few minutes. Maybe sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese??

IKEA Meatballs - you could add these to a marinara sauce. Or you could make sweet and sour meatballs (google for a sauce or I have one if you'd like?)

Jar of Lemon Curd - my kids like it on homemade biscuits. Its almost like lemon meringue pie filling. Could be good on those sweet (but expensive) Rainforest Crackers from the health food store.

I received a few odd items in gift baskets as well, so that is a good reminder to me to get them out and USE them up!
Good ideas!  I'll have to make some biscuits this weekend.  http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/07/basic-biscuits/

We have a few people coming over for the Superbowl on Sunday.  I think the Sweet and Sour Meatballs sound like a nice snack item (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-sweet-and-sour-meatballs/).  I will probably put out chips and salsa.  I'm thinking about making kettle corn for something sweet.  http://www.food.com/recipe/sweet-and-salty-kettle-corn-rachael-ray-271419

I received a two lovely gift baskets this year, but I've struggled to eat the last bit.  I hate the idea of food going to waste, so I need to get creative!

Juslookin

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #289 on: January 27, 2015, 07:17:51 PM »
I have had a cooking breakthrough at my house. I was injured last week and DH and my teenagers are pitching in.

On Saturday I had them thaw some meat and on Sunday they cooked.

We made homemade granola to go with yogurt for snacks. Gluten free pumpkin waffles from scratch and popped into the freezer for breakfast. DH made two meatloafs for dinners this week and a potato augratin kind of thing.  Some sweet tea from scratch and some gluten free chocolate chip cookies.

DH said to me today, "it's so nice to have food ready to eat in the house."  Breakthrough!!!!!

savedough

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #290 on: January 28, 2015, 11:09:33 AM »
We've started to acquire weird food items again.  We received a few gift baskets around the holidays.  Our friends also bring food over when they hang out.  I'm not sure what to do with two jars of olive bruschetta, a bag of IKEA meatballs, and a jar of lemon curd.  We also have an insane amount of meyer lemons. 

Any advice?

Funny the odds things that people have.  I love olives and I mix them with chicken salad, or put them on salad or make muffalettas.   
I would kill for some Meyer lemons.   We make candied lemons from them and use the cooking syrup as tea sweetener all year long.  I haven't had any since leaving CA.  You can also make a lemon cake using the peel and all.  Salad dressings, lemonade, marinade for meat, lemon green beans.    Lemons are not something I have trouble using up :)

I do, however, have a bag of Bob's Red Mill gluten free baking mix that we really don't like.   Gluten free is not for me.   Can I mix it 50-50 or 75-25 with regular flour in regular recipes?

I also finally cracked open the 21 lb Hubbard squash.  We've made enchiladas, shrimp curry, muffins and I put two gallon sized bags of diced squash in the freezer and have 6 cups of roasted puree for baked goods.   The thing took up my whole island!  We roasted the seeds and they were wonderful.  My kids ate them all in two days but only because I made them wait the first day.

I have had a cooking breakthrough at my house. I was injured last week and DH and my teenagers are pitching in.

On Saturday I had them thaw some meat and on Sunday they cooked.

We made homemade granola to go with yogurt for snacks. Gluten free pumpkin waffles from scratch and popped into the freezer for breakfast. DH made two meatloafs for dinners this week and a potato augratin kind of thing.  Some sweet tea from scratch and some gluten free chocolate chip cookies.

DH said to me today, "it's so nice to have food ready to eat in the house."  Breakthrough!!!!!

That's awesome.  Did you see a lightbulb above his head?

SisterX

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #291 on: January 28, 2015, 11:21:52 AM »
Does anyone have experience using almond milk to make a white sauce? ...  I looked it up and people have tried it but I'm curious how it actually tastes?  I don't want to ruin an entire meal by trying it and then finding out that we all think it's nasty.
I suppose I should just make a tiny test batch, huh?


I haven't used almond milk, but I have had success with white sauces and chowders etc using rice milk - which you can make really cheaply yourself. 


I regularly make "cheesy" sauces that are vegan - I use a combination of almond milk, soaked raw cashews, nutritional yeast & other ingredients for seasoning depending on the dish. You can probably find some by googling - the cashews add a creamy texture. I like it, but I have been limiting dairy for many years, so my taste expectations may be different than yours.

This is a really good source for very tasty dairy-free recipes, by the way, by my favourite cookbook author, Isa Chandra Moskowitz - http://www.theppk.com/

Oh, and be sure to used "original unsweetened" almond milk! you don't want vanilla or sugar ;)

Thanks for the link!  I'll look through it.
And, always unsweetened almond milk.  At the very least, I don't think my 1-yr-old needs a whole bunch of added sugar in her diet.  If I want it sweetened for something I can do it myself.  :)

Juslookin

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #292 on: January 28, 2015, 11:25:10 AM »
We've started to acquire weird food items again.  We received a few gift baskets around the holidays.  Our friends also bring food over when they hang out.  I'm not sure what to do with two jars of olive bruschetta, a bag of IKEA meatballs, and a jar of lemon curd.  We also have an insane amount of meyer lemons. 

Any advice?

Funny the odds things that people have.  I love olives and I mix them with chicken salad, or put them on salad or make muffalettas.   
I would kill for some Meyer lemons.   We make candied lemons from them and use the cooking syrup as tea sweetener all year long.  I haven't had any since leaving CA.  You can also make a lemon cake using the peel and all.  Salad dressings, lemonade, marinade for meat, lemon green beans.    Lemons are not something I have trouble using up :)

I do, however, have a bag of Bob's Red Mill gluten free baking mix that we really don't like.   Gluten free is not for me.   Can I mix it 50-50 or 75-25 with regular flour in regular recipes?

I also finally cracked open the 21 lb Hubbard squash.  We've made enchiladas, shrimp curry, muffins and I put two gallon sized bags of diced squash in the freezer and have 6 cups of roasted puree for baked goods.   The thing took up my whole island!  We roasted the seeds and they were wonderful.  My kids ate them all in two days but only because I made them wait the first day.

I have had a cooking breakthrough at my house. I was injured last week and DH and my teenagers are pitching in.

On Saturday I had them thaw some meat and on Sunday they cooked.

We made homemade granola to go with yogurt for snacks. Gluten free pumpkin waffles from scratch and popped into the freezer for breakfast. DH made two meatloafs for dinners this week and a potato augratin kind of thing.  Some sweet tea from scratch and some gluten free chocolate chip cookies.

DH said to me today, "it's so nice to have food ready to eat in the house."  Breakthrough!!!!!

That's awesome.  Did you see a lightbulb above his head?

You could see it...."ting" :)

Now about your gluten free flour.  I have celiacs so I bake a lot gluten free but I am not a fan of bob's blends. I am assuming you have flour and not a biscuit mix.  If you have the GF flour that already has xanthan gum in it so I think you would be fine to blend it in with regular flour.

The more of the gf flour you use the denser your product will be so if you're trying to hide it I would go 75/25 regular to GF.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #293 on: January 28, 2015, 11:55:08 AM »
Making Fathead pizza for the first time tonight with my own homemade sauce.  This will use up leftover olives and tomato sauce.  :)

nora

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #294 on: January 29, 2015, 04:28:52 AM »
Determined to eat everything in our house. Or throw it out if we won't ever eat it!

Ate a can of plums last night which had a best before date of december 2014! Hate to think when we bought them! And a pack of frozen blueberries which have been in there for several months. Also found a pack of frozen crumpets which were frostbitten. I don't know why I store these things, they taste better newer.

4alpacas

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #295 on: January 29, 2015, 10:08:34 AM »
Determined to eat everything in our house. Or throw it out if we won't ever eat it!

Ate a can of plums last night which had a best before date of december 2014! Hate to think when we bought them! And a pack of frozen blueberries which have been in there for several months. Also found a pack of frozen crumpets which were frostbitten. I don't know why I store these things, they taste better newer.
I am in the same boat!  I just a can of tomato sauce in a recipe that was past its best before date last weekend.  I need to keep a better eye on how long food sits. 

I've mapped out my Superbowl menu.  We're having a few people over for an informal party.  The only item I need to buy is avocados.  I'll pick them up at the small grocery store a block from my apartment.
I'm making:
*Sweet and sour meatballs with Ikea meatballs in the freezer based on this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-sweet-and-sour-meatballs/  Thanks for the tip, 1967mama
*Kettle corn (http://www.food.com/recipe/sweet-and-salty-kettle-corn-rachael-ray-271419) for something sweet
*Guacamole and chips, I have to pick up two or three avocados.  I don't usually use a recipe, but this is close to what I do http://altonbrown.com/guacamole-recipe/
*Soft pretzels http://altonbrown.com/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe/  These are my husband's favorite.  I haven't made them in about 6 months.  I'll probably make a double recipe and freeze half of them.
*lemonade.  We're still swimming in Meyer lemons.  Our tree is full even though we've given away a LOT of lemons. 

For the week,
I'm making black bean quesadillas with a little shredded chicken that I have in the freezer.  Loosely based off my favorite quesadilla recipe http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/02/hearty-black-bean-quesadillas/
I'm going to try making lemon scones http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amazing-lemon-scones/

GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #296 on: January 29, 2015, 03:14:38 PM »
Made raisin bran muffins using an old box of cereal.  Had to remove the dust off the top prior to opening!  One old box left to go. 

Turned pulled turkey leftovers hiding in the freezer into awesome turkey pot pie.  Must remember that trick for future leftover freezer turkey.

On a sad note, threw away about 5lbs of last fall's onion harvest due to sprouting.  We store them in the basement but have to throw some away every January.  Surprisingly, a lot of the red onions were still good so salvaged 3 lbs of them.   

chasingthegoodlife

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #297 on: January 30, 2015, 09:40:24 PM »
Two weeks until moving day!

My fridge is pretty much empty, freezer has a third of a small carton of vanilla icecream (finishing that will NOT be a problem!), a bag of beetroot and a carton of cream. Not a big cream user so still thinking about that one.

At my boyfriend's place this weekend and working through some of his supplies. A pork fried rice used up some leftovers from the fridge and slow cooked lamb leg on the stove will get rid of odds and ends of frozen veg tomorrow. Also made a chocolate cake, some coconut choc chip biscuits, and spiced sunflower seeds for snacks.

Next up is a chilli con carne using dried kidney beans and tomatos from the garden, and oatbran pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.

I threw out 2 half used sugar free drinking chocolates, because they were absolutely disgusting. I am willing to suffer through healthy/nutritious food to use it up, but I can't see how it makes any difference whether that cup of chemicals is in the bin or inside me.

There is still a big package of regular drinking chocolate powder that I am on the fence about. Has anyone tired subbing this for cocoa powder and sugar in recipes?





GardenFun

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #298 on: February 02, 2015, 12:18:38 PM »
Found a pork sirloin roast in the freezer that had a 10/24 date on it.  Thought "hmm, I don't remember purchasing this a few months ago?"  Yeah, it was from 2013 - but still delicious. 

Also used some tart cherries from 2013 to make jam.  Something about that year led to major stockpiling. 

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #299 on: February 02, 2015, 12:31:25 PM »
Tossed about a cup of the cauliflower curry soup I made a week ago.  Shoulda, coulda tossed it in the freezer before it got too old.

Was able to use up a bit of celery and a cucumber found at the bottom of the produce drawer as crudites for yesterday's pre-game afternoon snack.  Used up the last of the cream cheese in Fathead pizza dough made into a calzone and for buffalo chicken dip.  One can of tomato sauce has translated into pizza topping, calzone topping, and eggplant parm.  I love it!

Fun with roast beef has begun!!  DH smoked it in the Traeger yesterday, we ate it with sides last night, he'll have some for lunches, and I'll add it to nachos Wednesday.  I'll probably freeze some, too.