Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2

[slackmax]

Finished off the bag of lentils. Threw out the plastic bag. Not recyclable.

Now on to the box of tapioca that is almost empty. I have it on the kitchen counter so I won't forget about it.  Box is cardboard so I can recycle it when empty.

[Dutch Comfort]

Made a banana-bread yesterday evening out of the 3 brown bananas which will serve a few breakfasts / snack / lunches. Will freeze what's left after today.
Other fresh fruits are almost gone. Will need to restock after the weekend.
Husband snacked on the last piece of french cheese yesterday evening, so that is out of the fridge as well.
It's half-term holiday here, so with a teenager and a pre-teen in the house for a week, I expect the food in the house to diminish in no-time!

[MountainGal]

@MaybeBabyMustache, regarding the oranges and limes, may I suggest skinny margaritas?  DH started making his own margarita mix out of fresh citrus and it is so much more tastier, with less citric acid content than the pre-made bottled stuff.  aka, less heartburn.  :)

Continuing my baked oatmeal focus, I made https://southernbite.com/raspberry-baked-oatmeal/ for DH last weekend using fresh raspberries which I froze last summer.  DH really likes it and said the one batch is going a long way.

Also last weekend I made smoothies using coconut milk, 3 types of berries from the freezer, a bunch of the baby spinach, and a squirt each lime juice and honey.

Wednesday night I didn't feel like cooking, so we had what I call snack plates for supper:  Leftover keto eggplant fries, a bit of cheese, a few olives, and some nuts.

I celebrated my birthday for about a week and a half which meant lots of meals out with friends and family.  I ended up tossing a container of homemade stir fry leftovers, a few boiled eggs, and I didn't get to my shrimp chow mein leftovers.  I need to watch that in the future.

This weekend I'd like to focus on odd items in the pantry and freezer in order to use them in meals next week.  The jar of cherry chipotle curry, jars of homemade peach jam, and mulling spices immediately come to mind.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

[seemsright]

@seemsright You might want to start your pizza dough the evening before and put it in the fridge/cool place overnight. Sourdough takes ages to puff and it might be stressful to get your pizza ready for dinner time.

Thanks for the tip. I am learning that sourdough does take forever to puff. I am also learning that if I make the dough in the mid morning in the day before I want to use it it has a much more sour flavor which I am really enjoying. I started my pizza dough for this evening yesterday at 11am. I added a bunch of garlic and herb, thyme and rosemary. Bread is a great way to use up random from the spice cabinet.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@MountainGal - happy belated birthday! Love the idea for skinny margaritas and we definitely make our own mix as well. We can't get through all of the citrus fruit with that, though, or margaritas would need to be our primary beverage. ;-)

-I used up most of the remaining fried rice (takeout, son's birthday) for breakfast, adding eggs & bacon. One serving left.
-Last night, I ate the remaining two pieces of flatbread, while the boys had teriyaki chicken & rice. Fridge - almost cleared out! These are exciting times.
-Continued mixing the OJ with son's juice

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-We've eaten another freezer meal (taco slaw) & prepped taco meat. We have a bit leftover in the fridge of each, but they've been moved out of the freezer.
-I've been eating a seasoned bulgur side dish on top of my taco salads. It's okay, not my favorite
-I've continued to add OJ to the other juices, and have now gotten rid of a large jug of fresh squeezed juice.

I have a head of bok choy leftover from a recipe. I've never cooked with bok choy. Any ideas? Favorite ways to use it?

[MountainGal]

@MaybeBabyMustache, what a problem that would be:  Margaritas as a main beverage.  ;)  Regarding bok choy, I've steamed it as well as used it in stir fries.  It's good stuff!

Last weekend:
~I made Muddy Buddies out of the remaining chocolate Chex cereal and mini marshmallows leftover from Christmas baking.
~DH added one of the jars of apricot (not peach, I was mistaken last week) to two pork tenderloins before grilling them.  I gave a jar to a neighbor, and will give a third to yet another neighbor.
~Found a tea recipe for the mulling spices, now it's a matter of drinking it.
~I also found a recipe to use the cherry chipotle which I'll make in a few weeks.
~We'll have one of two containers leftover white chicken chili from the freezer for dinner Friday night.
~And because I bought both cherry and snacking tomatoes last week, I've been adding them to suppers as a side and to my lunch salads whenever possible.

[MountainGal]

The white chicken chili reheated really well Friday night!  I topped it with mozzarella and served it with breadsticks and veggies.  Over the weekend, I also:

~Made tuna casserole which used up a small container of sour cream, cream cheese, a bag of broccoli and cauliflower, a partial can of coconut milk, a remaining package of mozzarella, and 3 cans tuna
~Made blackberry baked oatmeal which used up a bag of blackberries, the rest of a container of oatmeal, and the rest of the coconut milk
~Made artichoke dip which used up artichokes, some mayo, and parmesan cheese
~Doctored up a grilled pizza which used up most of the pepperoni.  I served it with sauteed portobello mushrooms

~Tonight will be locally raised turkey and bacon quesadillas which will use up the sliced turkey from the freezer.  I'll serve them with the reamaining two flounder fillets.  Yay!  Also included will be the last avocado and open can of black olives.

[Linea_Norway]

DH used up a the last portion of a pack of rice and used up a jar with teryjaki (not sure about spelling) sauce. He also used some of my home made Kim chi.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Thanks, @MountainGal - bok choy has now been used!

We've been pretty on top of the food waste. We had to toss an entire Costco container of cauliflower, but that was day after purchase, because it smelled so bad the entire fridge was stinky.

I ate through the current batch of protein balls, made the 14 y.o. a chicken caesar salad for lunch, and need to start stocking up on more easy lunch options for the kids. They are both back to playing full sports, with our county moving into a lower COVID tier. With that, comes more laundry & more food consumption.

[MountainGal]

~DH made spaghetti sauce from scratch last night, which used up a package of ground beef, ground pork, and various cans of tomatoes.  I served my sauce on top of baby spinach in lieu of pasta.
~Tonight's shrimp supper will use up more baby spinach, and the asparagus.
~Tomorrow night I'm making a stir fry which will use a zucchini, yellow squash, and a can of chicken.  This will empty the fresh produce drawer leaving just 3 turnips and some baby spinach.
~I just had the rest of Sunday night's cauliflower crust pizza for lunch.
~I moved various almost empty jars of jam and preserves from the back of the fridge to the front so DH might remember to use them on his morning toast.  I'll then wash the empty jars for reuse elsewhere.
~While doing the above, I found a 2/3 full jar of jalapeno jelly.  I love that stuff!  I'll combine it with cream cheese and serve it with pork rinds sometime this weekend.
~Also this weekend, I am going to make keto chocolates using store brand macadamia nuts which aren't very tasty by themselves.

[Dutch Comfort]

Made cheese rolls for lunch out of leftover spring roll sheets, leftover mozzarella and leftover cheese (added some pepper and basil). Tasted great and DD could not be happier!

So now the fridge is close to empty and grocery delivery is tonight. Dinner will be from the freezer (defrosted some ham, some potato patties and will add some canned veggies and leftover celery sticks / cherry tomatoes / bell pepers).

The only thing that needs meal planning is the kitchen cabinet, which is still overflowing. No food left on the counter top anymore, so I count that as progress.

[slackmax]

Used one packet of Lipton Recipe Ranch powdered dressing in a meatloaf. Not crazy about the taste, so have to come up with another option for the remaining packet.

Thinking about making some more oatmeal raisin cookies, in order to use up some more of the ancient but still usable Karo corn syrup in the cabinet.   

Update: Didn't make the cookies. Decided to make some more meatloaf, with the large amount of hamburger I have. Tore open the ranch powder, thinking I would only use half a packet this time, didn't like the smell of it, mercilessly and callously threw it out.   Made the meatloaf a different way. Turned out fine.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Defrosted homemade meat sauce from the freezer for dinner tonight. Added the half empty jar of Ragu from the fridge, along with a few meatballs.
-Used four different tiny containers of leftovers (pulled chicken, fajita chicken/veggies, bok choy/rice, tomato salsa) & dumped them all onto a plate for dinner. The flavors were surprisingly fine together, and I'm thrilled to clean out the fridge.

[MountainGal]

@Dutch Comfort, those cheese rolls sound delicious!

DH finished the small jar of strawberry preserves, and the rather cute jar cleaned up nicely.

I took yesterday off from work, and nibbled on a lone piece of banana bread and a bit of ice cream, both from the freezer.

Sunday I'll use up the rest of the baby spinach with our beer can chicken.

For Monday's college basketball game night, from the freezer I'll serve appetizers leftover from the holidays and Super Bowl Sunday:  Taquitos, mini quiche, and Little Smokies wrapped in crescent roll dough.

And yesterday I noticed we have two open tortilla packages.  So, next Tuesday will be burritos, and Wednesday will be turkey and bacon wraps.

[Linea_Norway]

We have eaten the last selfcaught fish. That was a lot of free food, but it won't stay good in the freezer forever. So I am glad we finished it.

Tonight I plan to make a dish with some of the freen beans and peas that we have in the freezer.

Currently we have an acceptable amount of meat and no fish at all in the freezer. But I haven't made much of a dent in the selfpicked greens. Maybe I should make some green burgers.

And I still have a lot of mushrooms to handle. I will try to desalinate the last part of my salted mushrooms. The first time I tried, that didn't work good enough and they tasted way too salty. I will do many more rounds of cooking now and see it I can save them. Salting looked like one of the easy preservation methods, and it is. But it is one of the most hassle to use afterwards. While confiting in oil is more hassle upfront, but easy to use afterwards.

[SquashingDebt]

My partner (who currently lives a 2-day drive away) has come for an extended visit.  Hooray!  One of the benefits is that I'll be able to go through my freezer and pantry foods more quickly.  My goal is to pick some of the oldest freezer foods each week and design a meal around them.  This weekend, we made homemade focaccia and used it to make roasted eggplant and goat cheese sandwiches (eggplant and goat cheese from the freezer).  We also made pumpkin-millet-chocolate chip muffins that used up some cooked butternut squash from the freezer and chocolate chips that are past their best-buy date.

[MountainGal]

@Linea_Norway, please tell us about your green burger recipe!

@SquashingDebt, so glad you get to see your partner.  How do you prep the eggplant for freezing?

Over the weekend:
~I made blueberry pancakes from the homemade mix I prepared and jarred a few months ago.  Just add milk, and one egg, and blueberries in this instance and we were good to go.  It used up the rest of the thawed blueberries.
~Last night we had 3 different leftover veggies with our beer can chicken.
~Next Monday we'll have leftover peach pork from the freezer from December.
~I didn't get to making the macadamia chocolates yet.

[SquashingDebt]

@MountainGal I roast it with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Usually cubed, but these were slices.  It's great tossed in pasta dishes or grain bowls, or as a pizza topping.  Yum!

[Linea_Norway]

@MountainGal

Green burgers are lots of selfpicked plants, or green veggies. Chopped fine in a kitchen machine. Mixed with mashed beans, some eggs, some flour and herbs and spices. You could also add additional protein products, like milk powder.
Baked in a skillet.

I am not so presise when cooking. I am sure there are recipees only for burgers made of weeds.

[MountainGal]

Thank you very much, @SquashingDebt and @Linea_Norway!!

[halftimer]

I really like the crushed nuts plus creamy sauce or mustard to bread fish. Great idea.

IKEA just published a free cookbook about using up scraps. Lots of ideas similar to what we usually see in this thread, and a few new ideas like banana peel bacon that looks pretty good. Of course, the cookbook also has lots of pictures of their kitchen products, but the idea still seemed worth sharing. Here is the Scrapsbook https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/files/pdf/a1/bb/a1bb8178/scrapsbook.pdf?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210316_NEWS_IF_CA_en_ScrapcookingEbook_AWAR_Email_1_1_V3&sfmc_id=52999047&utm_term=B_SplitText_BTN_1

[MaybeBabyMustache]

We are attempting to adjust our eating again, after things have opened back up here, and the kids are once again all in with sports. I need to remember that I can't make dinners during the week & need to get back to our system of prepping food on weekends and reheating during the week.

As for today, I valiantly attempted to eat an overcooked chicken dinner my son prepped for us in advance. I had popcorn instead. In my defense, the popcorn has been in the pantry for awhile.

For lunch, I had leftover grilled chicken on a salad. For dinner tonight, my husband will have a piece of cauliflower crust pizza, coleslaw, & salmon. (All leftovers.)

[Linea_Norway]

We are attempting to adjust our eating again, after things have opened back up here, and the kids are once again all in with sports. I need to remember that I can't make dinners during the week & need to get back to our system of prepping food on weekends and reheating during the week.

As for today, I valiantly attempted to eat an overcooked chicken dinner my son prepped for us in advance. I had popcorn instead. In my defense, the popcorn has been in the pantry for awhile.

For lunch, I had leftover grilled chicken on a salad. For dinner tonight, my husband will have a piece of cauliflower crust pizza, coleslaw, & salmon. (All leftovers.)

Still, it is good for him that your son learns to cook. And in the beginning everything is difficult and he will fail a lot. Overcooked chicken can be good if it is slow cooked in sauce. Or in the oven in a baking bag with fluid in it. Maybe you should teach him that?
The budget bytes slow cooked chicken tiki massala (with a lot more spices than in the recipee) is really nice.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

We are attempting to adjust our eating again, after things have opened back up here, and the kids are once again all in with sports. I need to remember that I can't make dinners during the week & need to get back to our system of prepping food on weekends and reheating during the week.

As for today, I valiantly attempted to eat an overcooked chicken dinner my son prepped for us in advance. I had popcorn instead. In my defense, the popcorn has been in the pantry for awhile.

For lunch, I had leftover grilled chicken on a salad. For dinner tonight, my husband will have a piece of cauliflower crust pizza, coleslaw, & salmon. (All leftovers.)

Still, it is good for him that your son learns to cook. And in the beginning everything is difficult and he will fail a lot. Overcooked chicken can be good if it is slow cooked in sauce. Or in the oven in a baking bag with fluid in it. Maybe you should teach him that?
The budget bytes slow cooked chicken tiki massala (with a lot more spices than in the recipee) is really nice.

We've tried meal kits & he does very well with the recipe & instructions. This was one of the rare fails. Our problem right now is time. Kids activities & sports are re-opening now due to reduced COVID restrictions, and our kids are just very busy & need rides when I'd normally prep food (or, have one of the teenagers cook).

[fuzzy math]

Yesterday I cooked a jambalaya mix that's been taking up space in my pantry for 3 years. Added some beef sausages in it that everyone's been refusing to eat. DH ate it last night and liked it. Its a triple win because I'm also headed on vacation in a week and its helping me not grocery shop.
Also slowly working my way through an 8 oz container of red curry sauce. That stuff lasts forever at 2 Tbsp per recipe.

[fuzzy math]

The concept of eating everything in your house vs having enough food to survive 2 weeks without shopping is a fine balance. I like to have stuff in store, like now when the shops have been out of lentils for 2 weeks. I wish I had bought many mire packs last time they had it, as it is such a convenient ingredient to use.

It sure is! I seem to be at the point where the stuff that's left over was purchased on a whim and isn't very appealing, or isn't the type of thing we make on a regular basis. So I see my eating through journey as a way to be able later to purchase things that are regularly used and are a good idea to keep 2 weeks of. I definitely cannot buy as many jars or bottles of sauces as I have in the past.

[seemsright]

had some leftovers to use up today. And came up with a soup that was so damn good I am sad I will never be able to reproduce it.
 
I had some cincinnati chili leftover, some cooked cabbage from St. Pattys Day, some bacon, some beef leftover from last night, I took all of that added some onion, mushrooms, carrot, canned tomato and stock from my freezer along with some white beans. I cooked it all down added some taco seasoning, and some onion powder that needs to be used up.

It turned out like the best stuffed cabbage (minus the rice) soup I have ever had. The seasoning from the chili made it unbelievable.

Take this as a tip sometimes thinks workout to be the best thing to eat ever.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@seemsright - that sounds delicious.

Over the last few days:
-2 containers of curry out of the freezer
-1 container of Keto chili (note to self, don't make again, it's not popular) out of the freezer
-My husband made mashed potatoes out of the last of a bag that was very close to going bad
-Used an orange from our tree in a cranberry muffin recipe. Bonus: used yogurt from the fridge & frozen cranberries
-Used rosemary (from our planters) on steak
-Used leftovers from a Blue Apron meal (brussel sprouts & potatoes) to go with steak tonight
-Cut up the last container of strawberries that were about to go bad, and put them in the freezer for smoothies

And, in a heroic move, discovered a partially opened bottle of champagne (from last night) in the freezer, and we had it by the pool today while the kids were both out for a bit.

[MountainGal]

The champagne sounds fun, @MaybeBabyMustache!

It's been quite the few weeks!  Lately:

~Finished up the last three drink mix packets given to us by a neighbor's mom
~Finished up the last of a bottle of mayo
~Per my request, DH used the remaining bit of a jar of BBQ sauce
~Ate down all but one bag of frozen vegetables before last week's grocery pickup
~Gave the 6 remaining bags of chamomile tea to a neighbor whose daughter was under the weather.  Bought another box last week.
~We (finally) secured a time-frame for the half cow we've been waiting for.  We'll go halves with a widowed friend of ours.
~Still working on the frozen appetizers from holiday season and the Super Bowl.  We'll have more taquitos tonight, and perhaps mini quiche sometime later this week?

I need to make another batch of homemade pancake mix and taco seasoning blend soon.  Oh, and I still haven't gotten to making the macadamia nut chocolates, LOL.

[halftimer]

had some leftovers to use up today. And came up with a soup that was so damn good I am sad I will never be able to reproduce it.
 
I had some cincinnati chili leftover, some cooked cabbage from St. Pattys Day, some bacon, some beef leftover from last night, I took all of that added some onion, mushrooms, carrot, canned tomato and stock from my freezer along with some white beans. I cooked it all down added some taco seasoning, and some onion powder that needs to be used up.

That soup sounds awesome. I still remember a soup from leftovers I had as a teen that a neighbour made, it had mashed potatoes, and various other things that can never be replicated but it was so tasty.

I used up the last of some roasted red peppers plus their oil in a fried rice dish. I also used fresh and frozen veg and a half piece of breaded chicken left over from supper, and fried an egg in it. So good. The red pepper jar was a gift that I didn't know what to do with at first. Then I discovered adding it to rice and eggs and I will definitely be buying more if I see it in the store.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-Baked up the last of a bag of tater tots from the bottom of the freezer
-Managed to reheat leftover steak without making it inedible
-Used the last of the brussel sprouts

[Catbert]

had some leftovers to use up today. And came up with a soup that was so damn good I am sad I will never be able to reproduce it.
 
I had some cincinnati chili leftover, some cooked cabbage from St. Pattys Day, some bacon, some beef leftover from last night, I took all of that added some onion, mushrooms, carrot, canned tomato and stock from my freezer along with some white beans. I cooked it all down added some taco seasoning, and some onion powder that needs to be used up.

It turned out like the best stuffed cabbage (minus the rice) soup I have ever had. The seasoning from the chili made it unbelievable.

Take this as a tip sometimes thinks workout to be the best thing to eat ever.

Many years ago my sister worked at a restaurant that was mostly a lunch during the workweek place.   On Fridays they had "Hobo Soup/Stew" which was apparently all the  leftovers from the week that were still good but wouldn't be by Monday.  Some people didn't understand why it wasn't the same the second time they ordered it.

[seemsright]

had some leftovers to use up today. And came up with a soup that was so damn good I am sad I will never be able to reproduce it.
 
I had some cincinnati chili leftover, some cooked cabbage from St. Pattys Day, some bacon, some beef leftover from last night, I took all of that added some onion, mushrooms, carrot, canned tomato and stock from my freezer along with some white beans. I cooked it all down added some taco seasoning, and some onion powder that needs to be used up.

It turned out like the best stuffed cabbage (minus the rice) soup I have ever had. The seasoning from the chili made it unbelievable.

Take this as a tip sometimes thinks workout to be the best thing to eat ever.

Many years ago my sister worked at a restaurant that was mostly a lunch during the workweek place.   On Fridays they had "Hobo Soup/Stew" which was apparently all the  leftovers from the week that were still good but wouldn't be by Monday.  Some people didn't understand why it wasn't the same the second time they ordered it.

That place sounds like a fun place to work at. I can never repeat the same dish. While I was learning how to cook I decided to learn how flavors went together than recipes. I have friends who cannot understand how I can open the fridge and make dinner. For example tonight I had some Greek seasoned chicken breast that was grilled leftover, about a cup of tomato sauce leftover, some sad looking fresh spinach, a half of a shallot. and a jar of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil in the back of my fridge, I took all of that and added some cooked pasta, topped with some chopped hazelnuts from the pantry that was leftover from pancakes from a few weekends ago. OMG...it was so good. and it helped clean out the containers from the fridge and in the morning I will fry a egg and eat the leftovers cold for brunch.

I have enough random in my fridge that I am concentrating using all of it up this week. I have some miso paste, tofu, eggs, some carrots, and a cabbage. Some kimchi. So I am thinking miso soup and kimchi fried rice for our main meals, I may also make some sourdough english muffins and make some breakfast sandwiches. I am sure I have some random in my freezer and we will make awesome meals for not much effort and the best part is my 10 year old does dishes...:)

[slackmax]

Drizzly Sunday morning, so perfect for making pancakes. I finally used up the last few ounces of the expensive blueberry syrup on them. Quite good.

I rinsed and shook out the bottle completely with cold water and put it in the glass recycling (for the win, lol).

 

[horsepoor]

I have accidentally ended up with 5 large ripe avocadoes, so it looks like it's time to make guac and freeze some of it unless some of them are nasty when I cut them open.

This morning made a breakfast hash with some leftover veggies and chorico. More leftovers for dinner tonight.

Yesterday I finally cut into the pineapple that has been ripening on the counter for a few weeks. It's cut up in the fridge and I've been snacking on it so it should be gone in a few days.

The food supply in our house seems to have swelled again, so this week will be about using things up and not shopping at least until we run out of eggs and veggies.

[slackmax]

Gave in to my frugal streak, and used some very old frozen margarine to bake some flounder and halibut. It was OK, but had an off taste of some sort. Maybe that's just what margarine tastes, like, I don't know.

Anyway, I had almost a whole pound of the frozen margarine left over, and even though it was edible, it tasted enough 'off', and nowhere near as good as butter,  that I convinced myself it was OK to throw it out. 

Yay! One less clutter item in the fridge. I have another pound of old frozen margarine to check out next. Probably will be tossing it out too. Depends how it tastes. Woohoo !     

[MountainGal]

Happy Friday, everyone!

Over the past week and a half:
~Used up two packages of tortillas, an open can of black olives, a can of green chilies, and cheddar cheese to make 1.5 pans beef enchiladas.  Served on the side was one of two ripe avocados.
~A tuna casserole used two cans of tuna, and the rest of a jar of mayo.
~A stir fry used up the HUGE bok choy and three portobello mushrooms
~Snack plates took care of the strawberries, some cherry tomatoes, a bit of cheese, and remaining pepperoni slices
~Last night's veggie frittata used up the cherry tomatoes and the 2/3 bag of baby spinach
~Tonight's homemade cupcakes will use up some baking goods, along with a tub of frosting bought 1.5 years ago
~Sunday's salmon and next Wednesday's pork chops will use the jar of cherry chipotle sauce given to us at Christmas

I finally made the taco seasoning blend.  Haven't gotten to mixing up another batch of pancake mix or chocolate mac nut clusters.  :)

Happy weekend, everyone!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I used two overly ripe bananas from the freezer, plus four ripe bananas from the counter to make sugar free/almond flour muffins for my husband. He didn't want chocolate chips, so I added in a bit of chopped ground peanuts I had leftover from a recipe. I only had a crumb that was stuck to the muffin tin, but they are definitely not sweet. A hint of sweetness from the bananas, but i suppose in positive news, he won't have to worry about the teens making their way to the kitchen & eating all of his muffins. ;-)

In case anyone wants to check out the recipe:
https://ifoodreal.com/almond-flour-banana-muffins/

[MountainGal]

@MaybeBabyMustache, that recipe sounds delicious, and will fit our household's needs nicely.  I bookmarked it for future use.

Lately:
~Been focusing on some ripe avocados by serving them as supper sides
~Put the rest of the peanut butter filled pretzels and mixed nuts into containers for lunches
~Made deviled eggs with the leftover Easter eggs
~Poured the remaining jalapeno jelly over cream cheese and ate it with chips
~Easter ham and potatoes went a long way for lunch leftovers
~Made a supper of leftovers:  seared salmon covered in a Christmas gift basket cherry chutney sauce, a bit of ranch beans from earlier in the week, leftover restaurant beef brisket and 1/4 baked potato, a quartered strawberry, and deviled eggs from the week prior.
~Friday night was finger food night which included some mini quiche from holiday season.  Just half a tray left!
~Sliced a cucumber and two bell peppers for lunches
~Per my direction, DH put the rest of the artichoke hearts and spicy pickles into containers for his lunches
~The rest of the fridge fresh produce is the focus for the next few days

Here's to an upcoming grocery pickup!

[Dutch Comfort]

Baked a nice apple pie from a few wrinkled apples, some yoghurt instead of butter, a few eggs and some leftover flour. Taste was very good and it was gone in 2 days.
Just 1 orange left in the fruit basket. Refill is tomorrow, so good planning!
Holiday is in 2 weeks, so I try to empty the fridge before we leave.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

-We're having lasagna tonight, and before a store trip, I remembered that we had a leftover jar of tomato sauce. Used that up.
-Made protein bars to keep in the freezer (using up peanut butter, honey, oats, etc) for an easy homemade snack

[Dee_the_third]

Items to use up from last year's garden:
-frozen roasted green peppers
-canned jalapenos
-a bunch of canned serviceberry jam
-a quart of dried tomatoes
-cheese & sausage (not from the garden)


Meal plan:
-green chicken chili (peppers, jalapenos)
-jam bars (serviceberry jam)
-pizza (tomatoes immersion blended with oil to make a concentrated sauce, cheese, sausage) 

[Hula Hoop]

I need to use up some frozen chicken thighs, frozen apple slices from the fall, artichokes and two large eggplants. This is the meal plan for tonight:

chicken thighs in the instant pot (need to decide on a recipe)
mashed potatoes
artichokes - steamed with olive oil dip

dessert - apple crumble and the rest of the ice cream in the freezer

I'm also planning to make preserved eggplants under oil to consume with my future lunches:https://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/2007/07/16/eggplant-melanzane-sottolio/

[Dutch Comfort]

Made DD French Toast for lunch, she did not complain and it used up the last few slices of bread.
Made myself a chicken sandwich from leftover smoked chicken, some greens and mustard.
Tonight will be baked potatoes, some meat from the freezer (need to decide on which one....) and some canned veggies / celery sticks / carrots. This will give more room in my fridge. Planning on cleaning it before we leave for holiday next week, so it should be pretty empty by then.

[seemsright]

I need to clean my fridge. The most annoying chore ever. So this week I just forgot to go to the store. I had major side effects due to the first covid vaccine and I just did not feel good. So I did not go. I am using this week to start teaching my preteen that cooking and making things biased on what what is on hand and no recipes is a major skill.

So tonight (and tmrw eve) we will have some grilled chicken thighs, and salads. I made some potato salad, using up cooked potatoes, some pickled carrots, random fridge door condiments, some boiled eggs, and a chopped onion. I made some cole slaw with some cabbage that needed to be used and a green bean salad with frozen green beans that have been in the freezer for a very long time. I was able to use up the homemade vinaigrette that was in the back of the fridge. A great dinner that hit the spot.

We used tonights dinner to explain to DD that I am not going to the store, there are some frozen berries in the freezer, some bags of frozen veggies, and cheese sticks in the bottom of the fridge. So she has what I make for meals, and we have a fruit source, a veggie source and a dairy source so as long as our food groups are accomplished we are not going to the store. We also have a stocked pantry and some proteins in the freezer. So I figure we should be good for a while.

It is nice to have a DD who is becoming old enough to not freak out that we are out of milk...or bananas.

And I will be able to get my fridge sparkling clean here in a week or two. So all is good. It is fun and a great teaching episode.   

[Dutch Comfort]

Pre-holiday fridge cleaning in full progress. I can see the fridge emptying itself (well..... all family members help). So far no complaints from anybody, they just know I'm not going to the supermarket for only 1-2 things, so this is what they will eat for the remainder of the week!
Dinners:
Yesterday: made baked potatoes, green beans and some meat from the freezer
Today: I think it will be pasta with a salad on the side
Tomorrow: more green beans, some meat and a bag of pre-cut potatoes still waiting to be eaten
Friday: will make a pizza and put on whatever veggies/ham/sausage I can still find in the fridge.

Lunches:
Yesterday: sandwich with leftover boiled eggs
Today: salad from celery, cucumber, beans and some leftover grilled chicken
Tomorrow: sandwiches stuffed with leftover boiled ham/cheese and leftover salad (if any)
Friday: leftover pasta

We should be pretty cleaned out by then.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

It's been a busy week, so I've loved having a few prepped meals in the freezer:
-We finished off the chicken enchiladas my dad made last week
-I made a bag of edamame for dinner last night. It had been in the freezer for a long while
-Tonight we're having leftover lasagna, and turning the leftover French bread into garlic bread
-I'm working through the giant tub of bok choy my husband brought home on a whim
-We're using the garden radishes in salads, and I think I'll sautee the greens with some of the bok choy
-I finally finished off a giant container of spicy pickle almonds. The flavor was actually great, despite the unusual combo

[MountainGal]

It's been a busy few weeks here, too.  I am currently munching on the remaining bit of Gouda purchased a few months ago paired with deli turkey slices.  Lately:

~I brought the last of the cherry tomatoes and feta stuffed olives with me on a business trip
~Baked 6 more mini quiche to serve with dinner
~Brought cucumber slices to eat on the trail while camping
~Sauteed zucchini and asparagus were enough for two suppers and a lunch
~Ate the rest of the strawberries with yogurt earlier today
~I need to dive in to the unopened bag of baby spinach.  We'll have some in veggie wraps on Monday, and in taco salads Tuesday
~Wednesday we'll have the shirataki noodles I bought last month, with shrimp and the veggie stir fry mix purchased earlier this year
~Next Friday grilled blue cheese burgers will take care of the rest of the blue cheese bought a few months ago

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

@MountainGal - let me know what time I should be over next Friday! :-)

-The sauteed radish greens were really great (so said my husband) with olive oil, garlic salt & a little red pepper.
-Added orange juice (juiced from yard oranges) into my son's apple juice for smoothies. He thinks he doesn't like "yard orange juice". He's been drinking it for months ;-)
-My teen turned leftover French bread into garlic bread

Up next:
-I've defrosted four bananas to make into muffins for the freezer tomorrow
-I need to juice all of the lemons tomorrow. I fell while running & have road rash on my palms, so may need to bribe one of the kids to help. Can't imagine the lemon juice will be a lot of fun with the road rash
-Tonight we're having some sort of spicy (pre-made) chicken that my husband bought on impulse at Costco. I'll make it with cheese tortellini that's been sitting in the fridge, and salad
-Oh, and I'll do my best to have the last glass of wine. #hardships :-)