Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1185936 times)

Dutch Comfort

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2800 on: July 28, 2020, 01:57:39 AM »

Still need to figure out what to do with an enormous amount of: fresh mint, basil & parsley.

Make your own home-made pesto from basil and/or parsley. Put it on toast with some fresh tomatoes....... delicious!!!!

Dicey

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2801 on: July 28, 2020, 06:52:46 AM »
I was looking for a place to post this and this thread seems appropriate.  Until yesterday, I had two refrigerators and an upright freezer in my garage. I've been working on eating enough down to stop using the larger, older fridge and yesterday, we literally pulled the plug. Today, I'll scrub the heck out of it, then I'll list it on Next Door. Hopefully by the weekend it will be gone. I'm hoping to see a drop in our utility bills, too.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2802 on: July 28, 2020, 11:05:32 AM »
We have a glut of tomatoes (yay!) but no kitchen, so I need to figure out easy recipes to use them that require minimal clean up or prep.

Caprese salad comes to mind.  :)

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2803 on: July 28, 2020, 11:12:36 AM »
We are working on the last bit of beef and pork from last season in anticipation of more this year.  I asked DH to dig around the garage freezer to ensure we missed nothing.  He came up with just one freezer burned beyond recognition item, which he tossed.

~Sunday DH BBQ'd a bacon wrapped tenderloin, and cooked up a lot of the homemade bacon.  We served it with leftover asparagus and Crock Pot corn bread I made that afternoon.  Yum
~Last night we had the last two pork chops with 4 different veggies
~Tonight I'll cook up the last pound each of ground beef and sausage for a Taco Tuesday of sorts.  I'll serve leftover cauliflower rice and a can of beans on the side.

All that's left of the beef is one cubed round steak for next week.


« Last Edit: July 29, 2020, 12:40:46 PM by MountainGal »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2804 on: July 28, 2020, 01:35:40 PM »
We've done pesto before, but don't want to use the food processor & dishes required (no dishwasher, and no good drain for washing dishes). We have done a few caprese salads, but are now out of fresh mozz.

The (almost) pico de gallo I made yesterday was fantastic. Tomatoes, jalapenos, shallot, garlic, lime juice, S&P. I'll make more tonight. We ended up having a rotisserie chicken salad, as that was uncovered in the back of the freezer.

Also:
-Finished the last of the grilled then frozen chicken sausages
-Have made excellent progress on 4 bagged salads my husband inadvertently bought
-Emailed local neighborhood group & had tons of takers for fresh herbs. They have been cut, sorted & labeled on our porch for others to enjoy.
-Figured out what the mystery frozen dish is (enchilada chicken rice), which is less scary now that I know what it is. :-)

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2805 on: July 28, 2020, 10:21:26 PM »
Ate the Chinese food leftovers for breakfast. Had the last few tablespoons of rice with some hummus and carrot sticks and pumpkin muffins for a clean-up dinner.
Made the pumpkin muffins to use up the frozen puree I put up last fall from the Halloween pumpkin.
Will take the rest of the hummus and carrot sticks to SO's house tomorrow so they get finished off before they go bad.
Making real progress on the random freezer items! Made smoothies and syrup from the frozen strawberries.
Doing better about putting things in the freezer or using them up before they go bad! Thanks to this challenge

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2806 on: July 29, 2020, 12:44:23 PM »

Making real progress on the random freezer items! Made smoothies and syrup from the frozen strawberries.

Thank you for this idea, @okcisok!  I shall try this with fresh blueberries this weekend. :D

Catbert

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2807 on: August 01, 2020, 10:36:15 AM »
We have a glut of tomatoes (yay!) but no kitchen, so I need to figure out easy recipes to use them that require minimal clean up or prep.

Caprese salad comes to mind.  :)
If you still have freezer space just core the tomatoes and freeze.  When you take them out and start to defrost the peel will just slip off.  Then you can can them or use in cooked items.  Not a long term solution but they will be fine for several months.

Zamboni

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2808 on: August 01, 2020, 12:53:12 PM »
Well, we need to get back to doing this. I'm good at stocking up, apparently.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2809 on: August 03, 2020, 10:21:23 AM »
I have a rotisserie chicken to use up, and found a chicken chili recipe that looks straightforward enough to convert to a crockpot. That will give me a chance to use up chicken broth (freezer) + jalapenos (garden).

My husband grilled burgers yesterday, as we were able to pull the barbecue out of the construction area. Having a new food item was such a treat!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2810 on: August 03, 2020, 12:10:29 PM »
Made salads last night instead of grilling elk steaks.  Those two salads and salads for the next two lunches used up the rest of the baby spinach.  Also used up last night were the rest of the cherry tomatoes, an avocado, two boiled eggs, and a lime.  DH will grill the steaks and portobello mushrooms tonight.

Made brownies in the slow cooker for the first time using up the rest of the unsweetened cocoa powder and granulated sugar.

Yesterday's brunch included grain free blueberry pancakes and the rest of the link sausage.  And yes, I made blueberry syrup we talked about last week.  :)

I ended up tossing an entire container of strawberries due to mold.  I am disappointed I didn't get to them in time, and will watch the fresh produce even closer in the future.

DH made homemade margarita mix over the weekend, and I'll use the leftover freshly squeezed lime and orange juices as a fish marinade tomorrow.

The aforementioned remaining round steak will go in the slow cooker Wednesday.

Our neighbors gave us fresh beets out of their garden last Friday, and I sliced and grilled them the next day.  So good, fresh, and caramelized.  They also gave us fresh green beans which I'll toss with locally raised bacon and saute everything.  Life is good.

ETA:  Oh, yes, a half baggie of frozen blueberries, and an entire bag of frozen strawberries went into frozen sangria yesterday.  Delish!!!
« Last Edit: August 03, 2020, 12:12:19 PM by MountainGal »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2811 on: August 03, 2020, 05:13:37 PM »
@MountainGal - you had me at sangria!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2812 on: August 04, 2020, 01:28:13 PM »
@MountainGal - you had me at sangria!

LOL!  Thanks, @MaybeBabyMustache!  They were so refreshing!

Dutch Comfort

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2813 on: August 05, 2020, 04:25:49 AM »
I'm off to making banana pancakes from the overdue/brown bananas for lunch. I do not think my son will complain.......

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2814 on: August 05, 2020, 07:49:41 AM »
Food happenings:
-Had to toss a few apples & cucumbers that my husband had purchased at Costco, as they were bad. This is happening more & more regularly, as I assume they are having supply chain issues. Frustrating to waste food.
-Used a hot dog bun (toasted) as a side dish for soup, and topped it with a delivery produce box misfire (I ordered something else that I didn't receive, but ended up with an oatmilk "butter" flavored with parmesan & garlic). It was actually really good. Tasted like garlic toast.
-Ate the chicken chili we prepped on Tuesday. It used rotisserie chicken (leftovers) & jalapenos (garden)
-Almost done eating the egg frittatas we bought as an easy breakfast (no oven). They are fine. I would never, ever buy them if we had a kitchen, as they are both super pricey & not as good as something we'd make at home. However, they are cheaper than takeout.
-Finished off a giant watermelon.
-And, the chicken chili used up a giant tub of chicken broth, that's been on my "get it out of the freezer" list for a long time!

Today we need to finish:
-The last two grilled hot dogs
-Grilled burgers (freeze remainders)

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2815 on: August 06, 2020, 02:41:23 PM »
I topped yesterday's round steak with the last remaining can of both black beans and enchilada sauce.  I had a late lunch and didn't have any, but DH reported it was good.

Tonight we'll finally have the marinaded cod tacos I mentioned earlier this week, along with the fresh green beans and remaining slice of homemade bacon.

Friday will be our usual weekly takeout.

Saturday we'll grill up some of the extra cheddar brats I mistakenly double ordered in June's online grocery order, served with leftover green beans from tonight.

Sunday we'll BBQ elsewhere with family.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2816 on: August 06, 2020, 03:11:59 PM »
Proud of us for cooking and eating real food last night including an eggplant that was only just salvageable.  Trimmed off the bad parts and the rest tasted so good!

I chopped and froze some peppers just before they needed tossed. We have been doing really well at eating things up.

I did have to toss a whole pack of tortillas that had been chewed on by a mouse!? I emptied out the cupboard but found no droppings and no crumbs, so I am hoping (as awful as it is) that the damage happened before I bought them and I just missed seeing it in the store.


MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2817 on: August 06, 2020, 04:59:03 PM »
-Picked all of the ripe garden tomatoes & made a pico de gallo. Ordered cilantro from my produce box, so it was actually a real pico de gallo, vs the cilantro-less one we've made do with lately
-Finished off the remaining burgers & froze the rest
-Prepped ahead for tomorrow's dinner, and defrosted previously prepped taco meat. (Taco + pico de gallo)
-My husband keeps buying excessive amounts of bagged salads and I keep eating it. Had another giant salad for lunch
-Meeting a friend for a socially distanced visit tomorrow, and confirmed that she does like/cook with jalapenos. Will bring over a bag for her to enjoy, so ours don't go to waste

Dutch Comfort

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2818 on: August 07, 2020, 02:08:34 AM »
Finished up all fresh produce in the fridge. Perfectly timed, since we're leaving for a 3 week holiday tonight! Made a nice Greek pasta with the last bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms and some leftover feta cheese. Kids indulged on this one and we have leftovers for our lunch today!
DD will make some meatballs out of the ground beef to take for our trip.
Have to clean out the fridge today. Hopefully no surprises behind any tupperware boxes....

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2819 on: August 07, 2020, 12:00:34 PM »
@Dutch Comfort, that pasta sounds delicious!


It's time for the weekly clean-out-the-office-mini-fridge lunch!  Today's menu includes the remaining blueberries, blue cheese stuffed green olives, a string cheese and some pecans from the cupboard.  :)

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2820 on: August 08, 2020, 09:46:46 AM »
Anyone have an idea to use up some frozen black bean broth? It's too hot for the soup I originally envisioned when I froze it. There's about four cups and I'm at a loss.

Continuing the pantry/freezer cleanout that I started before vacation last week. My goal was to not have to buy groceries until I came back. I'll have to grab some eggs and fresh produce this weekend, but otherwise I still have so many meals! I've changed my mindset from 'things in freezer are food for later' to 'make a plan for those later meals'. I've worked really hard on defrosting and scheduling batch cooking. It helps that there's no cold cereal, sandwich fixings, or frozen pizzas left :)

Made a double batch of lemonade from bottled lemon juice. It's so refreshing and since I'm making it with stevia, much healthier than sugary soft drinks

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2821 on: August 09, 2020, 09:37:47 PM »
Made some black bean quesadillas with frozen corn and onions and canned black beans. Absolutely delicious, and some went back in the freezer for future meals.

My frozen almond milk experiment worked! I put it in pint Mason jars and froze small portions. When it thaws, I just shake it up to use it. Tastes the same.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2822 on: August 11, 2020, 12:54:40 PM »
@okcisok, that is good info to have about the almond milk!


We returned from a family trip to a cabin yesterday.  Here's what I did with leftovers:

~Brunch casseroles went into two containers for DH's breakfasts.
~Blueberries went into containers for our lunches.
~Cake was divided into 3 containers for the week.
~Leftover canned beverages went into the kitchen and garage refrigerators.
~The unopened OJ and cranberry juices went back into stock rotation.

I just polished off a salad topped with Saturday's leftover ribeye.  :)

Yesterday I put away last week's Sam's Club purchases and performed an impromptu pantry and freezer inventory to plan suppers for the next few weeks.  Tonight's Taco Tuesday will consist of a can of Rotel and chopped chilies.  Tomorrow night will use up 2 cans of chicken and a can of coconut milk in a curry chicken.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2823 on: August 11, 2020, 01:24:43 PM »
@okcisok - were you originally planning to use the black bean broth in soup? If it's too spicy, can you just cut back the amount & use veggie or beef/chicken broth in the place of the bean broth? You would still use it up, just more slowly. I'm coming up empty on other ways to use it up.

I tapped out on creative (non kitchen) cooking, so my husband picked up some quick & easy Costco options. The fresh tri tip burgers were fantastic.
-Had the last tri tip burger patty on a salad
-Prevented my husband from buying even more bagged salads, & dutifully continue to eat them.
-We are finally out of lettuce & spinach, so can use some of the bagged salads as dinner salad replacements
-Continue to ripen a few green tomatoes (fell off the vine when picking other tomatoes) in a brown bag
-Have used about half of the ground chicken burger patties that my husband picked up. Definitely not as good as the tri tip, but fine & easy. We'll have the rest tomorrow.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2824 on: August 16, 2020, 07:48:56 AM »
I can't remember adding tomatillos to my produce box, but apparently I did. I looked up a salsa verde recipe & made it yesterday. I had all of the ingredients on hand, and it used both all of the tomatillos, a couple of jalapenos, & the last of a bunch of cilantro that was going past its prime.

Other things:
-Finally finished off the bagged salads my husband bought.
-Ate all of the leftovers for the week, minus one piece of lasagna that I'll convince a teenager to finish
-Froze the extra bananas that were accidentally purchased, & ripened too quickly in the sun

Noodle

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2825 on: August 16, 2020, 10:34:45 AM »
For awhile there I was in accumulation, not "using up," mode but I am feeling more adjusted to the new shopping rhythm (grocery stores every 3-4 weeks, produce and dairy box every other week) so I feeling more comfortable starting to work through the backlog. Plus I am even more motivated not to waste anything now that shopping is such a chore. Yesterday morning I did a big refrigerator clean/rearrange so I could find everything, as the most urgent job is to catch up with the perishables. So far this weekend have turned quite a bit of raw produce into various forms that I am more likely to eat.

Mixed success--the mini-crisps I made with plums plus part of an apple on the way out and a little granola left over were tasty (I charred the tops both times but not beyond deliciousness). Unfortunately, the cucumber agua fresca I tried to use up some assorted produce had a bitter undertaste...it's partly my fault--the recipe writer specified that it would have that note, and I didn't scroll far enough down to see the footnote and adjust accordingly. Used up bacon fat and a couple of random squares of dark chocolate in cookies.

One upside of the current situation is that I have had success working through some of the random food that had accumulated over time---a package of pierogies, a few frozen side dishes from Trader Joe's I had bought back at the holidays, a jar of specialty pasta sauce, some fancy olives. My cupboards have much more space for actual staples now!
« Last Edit: August 16, 2020, 10:00:24 PM by Noodle »

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2826 on: August 16, 2020, 11:56:40 AM »
@okcisok - were you originally planning to use the black bean broth in soup? If it's too spicy, can you just cut back the amount & use veggie or beef/chicken broth in the place of the bean broth? You would still use it up, just more slowly. I'm coming up empty on other ways to use it up.


I should have clarified--it's too hot outside to make soup :)

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2827 on: August 17, 2020, 11:27:16 AM »
Saturday, per my request, DH made spaghetti sauce out of the unused Crazy Sauce from the prior week's stuffed breadstick purchase.

Last night DH grilled a box of leftover burger patties and the package of Better with Cheddar leftover from our Solstice party.

Saturday afternoon, our neighbor's gave us more beets, green beans and a small handful cherry tomatoes from their garden.  I tossed peeled and sliced beets in olive oil and seasoning salt, then smoked them last night on the Traeger, yum!  We had them with some of the aforementioned protein, with a side of cherry tomatoes and sliced avocado.

Tonight I'll serve some of the green beans sauteed with bacon with spinach artichoke spaghetti squash.  It's my pseudo attempt at Meatless Monday, LOL.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2828 on: August 17, 2020, 12:12:03 PM »
-Finally used all of the grapefruits that have lingered for well over a month. Made mixed drinks last night, and sipped them by the pool, once it finally cooled off enough to be outside.
-Used garden tomatoes for salad & to top burgers
-Found the last of the prepped frozen egg purchases (no kitchen) & used 1 frittata for breakfast today, will have the second one tomorrow.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2829 on: August 19, 2020, 10:55:36 AM »
-Finished all of the frozen egg breakfast options we purchased in advance of our kitchen remodel. We're supposed to be done by end of week. Hurrah
-Dinner tonight will wrap up last of the corn tortillas & salsa from Costco street taco purchase, as well as the last of the prepped ground beef taco mix.
-Need to finish all of the burgers tomorrow for dinner, and freeze any leftovers

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2830 on: August 19, 2020, 12:36:13 PM »
Congratulations, @MaybeBabyMustache!  So close!

My sister gave me leftover taco fixin's from a luncheon she hosted:
~Ate some of the sliced spicy chicken breast on top of baby spinach for lunch Monday, and tossed some in leftover spinach artichoke spaghetti squash for yesterday's lunch.  I froze the other half.
~I warmed up half of the leftover shredded pork on the stove last night, and we had them in tortillas with beans, the last of a mozzarella wedge, cheddar, the last avocado and sour cream.  I froze the other half.  Oh, and we enjoyed the first tomato from DH's garden.  Woot!

Tonight I'll marinade some tuna steaks in OJ leftover from our cabin trip, and juice from some limes which need to be used up.  I'll serve it with the green beans I mentioned Monday, asparagus and broccoli.  I didn't know this, but fresh green beans can be frozen.  So, Monday I froze half of what was in the large grocery bag the neighbors gave us.  It will be a tasty treat this winter.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2020, 12:59:20 PM by MountainGal »

Noodle

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2831 on: August 22, 2020, 09:51:00 PM »
Quite proud of myself for this one...I have an inordinate number of odd ends of condiments/seasonings/etc kicking around in my fridge...I bought them for one recipe and they are taking up too much space. So my mission is to try to clear out some of them. I had a jar of mole paste with about a quarter cup left in it. I thought about enchiladas, but then came across a recipe for a mole pasta with chicken. Used that as the basis for invention and it turned out really well, although I'm sure it would give anyone who actually cooks authentic Mexican or Italian food heart palpitations.

Also made a casserole involving rice and Italian sausage. Needed two cans of green chiles, and only had one, so substituted some jalapenos left over from a Mexican food order and for the cheese used a bag I had gotten out of the markdown bin. Felt frugal!
« Last Edit: August 24, 2020, 09:56:23 PM by Noodle »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2832 on: August 23, 2020, 08:13:24 AM »
-Used up a bunch of garden tomatoes & jalapenos in one fell swoop with a big batch of pico de gallo.
-Used a few overripe bananas from the freezer to make banana muffins

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2833 on: August 23, 2020, 08:19:16 AM »
I found a satchet of herbs to put with sour herring, bought it more than a decade ago, but never used it. I think I bought it by accident. It has been staring at me from the kitchen cupboard. Now I plan to use it next time I put mushrooms in oil or in water/vinegar.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2834 on: August 25, 2020, 01:29:07 PM »
I've concluded cooking, "baking" on the Traeger and in the slow cooker, and meal prepping has kept me sane over the past XX months.

Over the weekend, I organized the fridge:
~Tossed 3 expired condiments and apple cider much to my chagrin.  I hate wasting food!
~Hot sauces and BBQ sauces are now grouped together on the right side door, and mustards, mayo and ketchup on the left
~Gave our neighbor an unopened bottle of mayo we won't get to by next month's expiration date, and the leftover OJ from the cabin trip
~Washed, filled and put onto a shelf the plastic bin for cans, the plastic bin for plastic bottle beverages will be delivered today
~Three different kinds of pickles are grouped together, as are food in tubs such as yogurts, the sour cream, etc.
~Designated a specific space for leftover containers

Food:
~Also over the weekend, I made frybread and pancake mix, both from scratch.  Very pleased with how they both turned out.  This used up the flour, which was then added to next month's grocery list.  There's enough leftover pancake mix for 3 more brunches.
~Sunday's eggrolls used up a can each of black beans and corn, and half a package of wontons
~Last night's Meatless Monday meal used a zucchini (just 2 more to go!), some cherry tomatoes, both portobello mushrooms, and most of the asparagus.
~Tonight we'll have the leftover frybread, ground beef, and ranch beans.  Yum.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2020, 02:14:26 PM by MountainGal »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2835 on: August 25, 2020, 01:38:22 PM »
Nice work @MountainGal !

We've been staying on top of the garden tomatoes. Tomatoes for everyone! On everything!

I need to break my dependency on bagged salads. I'm so tired of tossing the remainder of the "extras" pack (croutons, dressing, etc). Not only is it wasteful, not environmentally friendly, etc) it makes a mess in the fridge. Now that my kitchen is back, it's my goal to eliminate this purchase.

We have a new fridge as part of the kitchen remodel, & I also need to figure out the best way to use it. We tossed things in, and we are both not making the most of the space, and need to organize what's in there.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2836 on: August 25, 2020, 02:12:18 PM »
Thanks, @MaybeBabyMustache!  And, LOL re: tomatoes for everyone!  I hear you re: utilizing the fridge space.  What I ended up doing a few weeks ago is searching online for refrigerator organization pictures for inspiration.  I found some went a bit overboard when it came to bins.  And, did you know they make lazy Susan's for fridges/freezers?

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2837 on: August 25, 2020, 03:59:21 PM »
Crazy times on the lazy Susan's, and now I'm going to have to go look for fridge organization!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2838 on: August 26, 2020, 09:21:35 AM »
I washed, dried, filled and put the bottle bin in the fridge last night.  It looks really good, and the water bottles are now corralled.  Note:  When home, I fill a large cup from the 5 gallon jug we keep on hand.  The bottles are for the trail, errands, parties, etc.  We've been in single digit humidity levels lately, and it's important to keep hydrated.

Used the rest of the cherry tomatoes and an avocado on last night's frybread.

A not so win:  I woke up very early this morning and had some extra time.  When I was feeling around the back of the drawer where I keep my prepped lunch items (assembled salads, prepped produce, etc), I came across a container of hulled strawberries.  As I opened it I wondered aloud:  I wonder how old these are?  Yep.  They had grown fur coats.  Gag!!!  I'll watch that in the future.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2839 on: August 26, 2020, 06:08:56 PM »
I seriously need to investigate fridge organization systems. We have our stuff strewn between various fridges (we will be getting rid of one soon, but need help moving it), & I still haven't gotten the hang of the new fridge.

But, progress:
-Defrosted a bag of rotisserie chicken, & used it to make chicken salad for dinner
-My produce box came just as I was finishing the salad, so I was able to add celery
-The produce box also came with fresh pita bread, so I'll have my chicken salad in the pita bread, with tomatoes of course
-My husband will finish off the last of the salmon tonight

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2840 on: August 28, 2020, 08:41:06 AM »
Cooked up the last free Hello Fresh entree today. It was still delicious nearly two weeks after the delivery. Had it for lunch and dinner and finished it up completely.

Created new trail mix out of the dregs of an old bag, a few lonely almonds in the bottom of another bag, about a tablespoon of dried cranberries in a jar, and some mini chocolate chips. Delicious! And two bags out of the pantry.

Made chocolate milk with the thawed frozen almond milk, baking cocoa that expired in December, and agave sweetener my SO got as a shopping service substitute. Whirled it up in the blender and it is delicious! Better than chocolate milk made from chocolate syrup. Now I know what to do with the last bits of baking cocoa in the tin and the rest of the agave syrup. I was frustrated with myself because I opened a new tin before I finished the old tin and I'm not doing much baking these days. Now I can make chocolate milk!

I wrote out a new list of items I can make from what I have on hand after last week's shopping trip.

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2841 on: August 28, 2020, 01:04:48 PM »
We’ve had to throw some things out recently.  Some zucchini, half an eggplant. I’ve been really busy with work and my partner has been doing the cooking and it’s just hard to keep after that stuff with the fridge so much fuller due to buying 3 weeks at a time vs 2! 

So today I am prepping our next grocery pick up and I also planned 2.5 weeks of dinners and ordering a few less fresh veg and few more frozen. We’ll see how we like having a menu to work from. 


MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2842 on: August 28, 2020, 01:17:15 PM »
-Continue to eat tomatoes & peppers from the garden.
-Need to make pico de gallo with tomatoes & jalapenos this weekend, which will helpfully use up the dregs of some cilantro
-Will eat the remaining kebabs & rice, leftover dinner
-We've had Impossible Burgers in the fridge taking up space for a while. I have plans to get them on the grill this weekend.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2020, 07:45:06 AM by MaybeBabyMustache »

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2843 on: August 29, 2020, 08:50:06 PM »
One step backward. I tried a thing to use up a mistakenly-purchased can of creamed corn, and I love the thing!! Now I have to buy more creamed corn.

Thing: A box of Jiffy cornbread mix and about 2/3 the can of corn. No milk, water, eggs, just the mix and corn. Bake it following package directions, preferably in a cast iron pan oiled up with plenty of bacon grease.

Best slathered with your mama's homemade blackberry jelly, but if you don't have homemade, store-bought is fine (shout out to Ina Garten).

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2844 on: August 30, 2020, 01:17:31 PM »
My kitchen is about half back, and I'm making all of the things.
-Double batches of pico de gallo
-Coleslaw
-Used up a few lonely raspberries & blueberries to make muffins
-Making chicken curry & rice tonight

Speaking of eating all of the food in your house, yesterday the cabinet guy was installing kitchen cabinets. It was dusty work, and not a good time to sort lunch for the kids. I picked up three foot long sandwiches. One for a 13 year old, one for a 14 year old, and one for me. I figured I'd have the second half for lunch today. Except, 14 year old son ate both his foot long & half of mine yesterday for lunch... I guess no leftovers is a good thing? I came back from an 8.5 mile hike, ready to destroy that sandwich, and was quite disappointed when it was MIA. :-)

moneypitfeeder

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2845 on: August 30, 2020, 04:05:51 PM »
Still need to figure out what to do with an enormous amount of: fresh mint, basil & parsley.

A few options to use up a bunch of mint and parsley you can make a fresh tabbouleh salad [soaked bulgar wheat, onion, garlic, tomato, cucumber, parsley, and mint, and EVOO]. Mint sun tea [toss mint and tea bags in a jar with water and/or sugar, set in the sun for a few hours till desired strength is reached]. Or chop the herbs and freeze in ice cube trays for later use.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2846 on: August 31, 2020, 01:09:58 PM »
Busy weekend!

Yesterday turnips and leftover potatoes went into the Crock Pot, were mashed and served with smoked ribs, a lonely garden fresh tomato, and leftover deviled eggs.

Pinto beans were soaked, cooked, and are in the Crock Pot today along with last year's ham hocks.

Tomorrow night we'll have chicken quarters from the freezer since March, with whatever BBQ sauce we have on hand.

Wednesday I'll cook the last of the tuna steaks.

Fresh produce wise, we're down to an avocado, a few cups baby spinach, a tiny garden tomato and some fruit.  Time for a grocery pick up!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2847 on: September 02, 2020, 01:12:09 PM »
~Forgot to mention Saturday's slow cooker lasagna which used up the last two zucchini, cottage cheese remnants, a bunch of mozzarella, and a jar of spaghetti sauce.  I'm eating the last portion of it now.

~Last night's BBQ chicken used the rest of a bottle of BBQ sauce.  We had the rest of the tater tots from the freezer, and 2 tomatoes from the garden on the side.

~There is just one serving left of the mashed turnips and potatoes.

~Yesterday I counted:  There are 6 different types of cheeses in my fridge drawer.  Too many, LOL!

~The produce list has been compiled and is ready for pick up :)

GermanStache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2848 on: September 05, 2020, 03:44:39 PM »
Hi everyone!
I am so excited.... we are buying a house 🏡! Moving will be January or Februars so I do have time to eat everything we have. We are only moving a few miles but I dont want to move Food. In Addition we need to save money because the house came up somewhat unexpected and we just bought a new to us car the week before 🙈. But we are so happy.... this house is everything we ever looked for in a house.


So lets the eating begin😊😎

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2849 on: September 06, 2020, 08:35:20 AM »
Way to go on buying a house @GermanStache ! Thanks for the herb tips, @moneypitfeeder

We are grilling this weekend, and eating through all kinds of things. We also have a bunch of now prepped food in the fridge. We added bacon to burgers yesterday, to go through breakfast bacon. It was quite a sacrifice. I made up one of my favorite summer salads (nectarines or peaches, basil, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, S&P) to use up nectarines & basil.

Today I'll make muffins to use up some berries that are going bad. I also lost a large vine off of my cherry tomato plant. Picked all of the green tomatoes (20+?) & put them in a bag to ripen with a banana. Hopefully that will do the trick.

 

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