Author Topic: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2  (Read 1186106 times)

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2900 on: October 22, 2020, 05:39:38 PM »
Forgot to mention that I made last night's instant pudding with a mixture of chocolate breakfast drink and almond milk. I bought over 20 bottles of the breakfast drink on a screaming deal, then found out that even though the label says 'lactose intolerance safe' or something like that, it's not. I've been diluting it with almond milk and that works ok. The pudding wouldn't set up and now I have a sort of breakfast shake. Tastes good, though!

Dinner was the last of the saltine crackers broiled with the dregs of two bags of shredded cheese and sprinkled with taco seasoning. Actually really good! I'm trying to clear out the cabinets and see what I really eat and enjoy preparing versus buy and let languish in the pantry for a year.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2901 on: October 25, 2020, 02:04:05 PM »
You've got some brave kitchen combos, going @okcisok ! Love it.
What we've been up to:
-We finished off the rest of the chicken (repurposed from dumplings) & then froze the remainder.
-I've also been working through the mozzarella left over from a recipe, and have been adding it to my breakfast sandwiches in the morning.
-Our tomato production is slowing way down, so we should be good there.
-I froze a ton of jalapenos for future use.
-We had steak last night for dinner, and I discovered 4 close to compostable potatoes in the pantry. Was able to use them to make roasted potatoes, which were fabulous
-Used parsley (garden) to make a chimichurri sauce to go with the steak. Also yum
-My husband attempted to buy me cupcakes for our anniversary (all gift giving occasion  for me require only two "gifts" - cupcakes & champagne). The cupcake shop was out of cupcakes, but had bars & pound cake. He brought home five bars (individual pieces), that I will graciously eat. ;-) I'll also share them with the teens. Gotta do what you gotta do to eat all of the food in your house.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2902 on: October 25, 2020, 03:10:22 PM »
We ate half of the frozen portion of plum cake, about two portions per person. The other half will need to wait for another time.

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2903 on: October 25, 2020, 07:59:35 PM »
You've got some brave kitchen combos, going @okcisok ! Love it.

I'm inspired by the thread! Also, I had wanted to make it to a certain day before i sent in my grocery order. Then they didn't have any pickup times until the next day, so I made it work :)

horsepoor

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2904 on: October 26, 2020, 09:03:30 PM »
Yesterday I made green soup with some broccoli that wasn't looking the best, a handful of parsley from the garden, a brick of frozen spinach from the beginning of the pandemic, and a jar of frozen carrot top pesto.

I also made an apple crumble using up some chopped pecans and some of the remaining apples from my tree.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2905 on: October 27, 2020, 08:01:56 AM »
My lunches are usually a salad topped with whatever protein leftovers are in the fridge. No great protein options yesterday, but I took a bit of the mixed greens (still trying to use up the giant tub before it spoils) & added a few raviolis & roasted potato leftovers (cleared out both) & topped with a greek yogurt/cucumber/dill sauce my husband made. It was an interesting combo, but used up plenty of potential waste.

Tonight is carnitas from the freezer, so that will also free up some freezer space.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2906 on: October 27, 2020, 08:57:53 AM »
My lunches are usually a salad topped with whatever protein leftovers are in the fridge. No great protein options yesterday, but I took a bit of the mixed greens (still trying to use up the giant tub before it spoils) & added a few raviolis & roasted potato leftovers (cleared out both) & topped with a greek yogurt/cucumber/dill sauce my husband made. It was an interesting combo, but used up plenty of potential waste.

Tonight is carnitas from the freezer, so that will also free up some freezer space.

Canned refried beans might be an option if you have run out of leftovers, or tuna.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2907 on: October 28, 2020, 03:02:35 PM »
@horsepoor, not sure which sounds tastier, the soup or the crumble!

@MaybeBabyMustache, I'm the same with my lunches.  Today's was baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, stuffed olives, with leftover Halloween party London Broil.  Yummy!

Speaking of:  We had SO much food leftover party food!  Here' what I've done thus far:

~Beanless chili:  DH has been taking some for his lunches, and I made a pan of enchiladas with some last night.
~London Broil:  I brought it back to life by warming it up in the slow cooker with balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire all day Monday.  We made nachos with some of it that night, and I then split the rest in half for DH and my lunches.
~Tray of deli sandwiches:  DH and I each bagged some up for lunches, and we gave the rest to our neighbor who is home virtual schooling this week with her children.
~Stuffed eggs:  Been munching on them for a quick protein meal/snack.
~Salsa/tortilla chips left behind by a guest:  Been munching on them, and some were used in Monday's nachos
~Leftover goodie bags:  I removed the adult items from them, and will fill them up with candy for the neighborhood trick or treaters Saturday.
~Random chips and candy:  I bagged some up for DH's lunches.

« Last Edit: October 29, 2020, 12:30:13 PM by MountainGal »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2908 on: October 28, 2020, 04:30:00 PM »
I want to be at your house, @MountainGal !

Thanks, @Roadrunner53 - I should think of tuna more often. It would be a good quick & easy option.

-Finished off the last of the beef kebabs & rice from this weekend
-Sooo close on the giant tub of mixed salad greens. One more salad or so to go to finish them off.
-Made a pico de gallo with a lonely jalapeno from the garden. Unclear why, but this one was probably 2-3x as spicy as any previous jalapenos. I had to add 3 more tomatoes, and it still makes my mouth go numb. I can handle most spicy foods, but this was a sleeper jalapeno. Unclear how the pico will get used up. Hopefully my husband can handle it.
-For tonight, my son has practice, so we'll do an early dinner. We will be having leftover steak, chicken & I'll make a baguette. I need to think of another low touch side, because both of the meat leftovers are quite small options. Perhaps there's a TJ's appetizer or something lingering in the freezer. We also have salad (every night).

Need to figure out how to use up 20 or so persimmons (the hard crunchy kind). They were a gift, and we don't typically eat them.

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2909 on: October 28, 2020, 04:34:43 PM »
We put off grocery shopping another week which means we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel more than we like to these days. It also means we’re finishing some things off, like a meal of frozen pumpkin soup made exciting again by serving it with bread toasted with some Parmesan cheese and garlic. Yum.

My partner made some chicken noodle soup using up the last of the celery out of the freezer.

And today I took a thermos of hot water along to the office and got to have hot tea without using the shared kitchen. That didn’t use anything up in particular but it did help me feel happier with my slapped together pbj lunch.

SquashingDebt

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2910 on: October 29, 2020, 08:35:54 AM »
Anyone have any ideas about how to use up fresh apple cider that's not just drinking it?  I don't want to take the calorie hit of drinking a bunch of glasses of cider, but my CSA keeps giving more to me!

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2911 on: October 29, 2020, 12:48:27 PM »
@MaybeBabyMustache, LOL!  Anytime!

@SquashingDebt, all I can think of is making a hot toddy, though I know that defeats the calorie concern.  :)

Munching on another leftover London Broil baby spinach salad as I type this.  It also features thinly sliced mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and blue cheese dressing.

Last night I made canned chicken (bought during the food shortage earlier this year) Alfredo with minced garlic, parmesan and freshly ground black pepper, on top of spaghetti squash with a side of tempura eggplant and sweet chili sauce.  This menu used the last of the bit of the old bottle of the chili sauce, the spaghetti squash that had been lounging on the counter for a few weeks, and the eggplant bought last week.  My menu plan for the next week and a half focuses on the fresh produce on hand in order to avoid waste.

I've also been making DH overnight oats to use up the milk purchased for last weekend's party.  This is good, because I bought a HUGE container of oatmeal last month.

I trimmed and washed the carrots our neighbor pulled fresh out of their garden while DH was visiting last Saturday.  Instead of me cooking them, I'm going to wait for my friend to come visit so she can make her infamous glazed carrots.

parkerk

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2912 on: October 29, 2020, 02:04:56 PM »
Anyone have any ideas about how to use up fresh apple cider that's not just drinking it?  I don't want to take the calorie hit of drinking a bunch of glasses of cider, but my CSA keeps giving more to me!

You can use it in stew, reduce it to make a glaze for things, use it to braise/marinate meats, make a salad dressing... depends what kind of foods you like!  Here's a good list to start with:  https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/recipes-to-make-with-apple-cider/

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2913 on: October 29, 2020, 07:12:15 PM »
Cider will freeze and thaw nicely later if that’s an option for you.

Tonight was another success. We had a couple bites of chicken with some barley and some green beans we froze out of the neighbors garden. Sprinkled a little feta on top. My partner got seconds which is unusual for green beans.

We’re planning a big grocery pick up over the weekend. We’ve skipped a few weeks are things are really empty.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2914 on: October 30, 2020, 04:41:06 AM »
How about ice cubes. You could add the cubes to seltzer.

Maybe you could add it to gelatin to make jigglers.



nobody

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2915 on: October 31, 2020, 11:03:43 AM »
@MaybeBabyMustache - As the persimmons ripen, they soften up, and are delicious as is, at least to me.  Some possible uses for them, in a salad, in oatmeal, in a salsa.


Going to attempt to spend $15/week or $60 this month on groceries.  Everything else is going to come from what I already have in my pantry, fridge/freezer.

Spent $62.29 this month.  I couldn't help it, and bought 4 pounds of apples yesterday, and that put me over.

I'm going to try to do this again for November, $60 for the month, which should be even more challenging, since it's my turn to bring dinner for a game night, and I may be making a turkey for Thanksgiving.

Some things I'm planning on making to keep costs low for November, of which, with the exception of the chicken and dumplings, I already have the ingredients for.

-Any left over chicken and dumplings from game night
-Dirty rice with ground beef and lentils (I should have carrots, celery, and onions to add to this from what I don't use in the chicken and dumplings)
-Black bean or lentil chili with ground beef
-Chickpea flour flatbread with lentil soup (probably going to end up going Indian on the spices here)
-Polenta with some sort of pork dish
-Congee with salted pork and salted duck eggs
-Seaweed salad
-Sweet mung bean soup with seaweed(Except I don't have any mung beans left, so I'm going to attempt using puy lentils instead)

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2916 on: October 31, 2020, 11:27:15 AM »
I just made us biscuits with sausage, egg and pepper jack cheese for lunch. So delicious. My spouse commented “You make meals out of nothing. I thought the fridge was empty.”  I just said thank you. It is a peculiar talent cultivated by this thread.

Dinner tonight will be vegetarian chili using some beans from the freezer and the last can of tomatoes and some of the last peppers and onions hanging on in the garden. I might add some frozen spinach just to get it out of the freezer, too.

We are doing a big grocery pick up tomorrow and I’m trying to get things cleaned out and ready for the influx.

I’m also hungry for apple butter and we’ve still got apples from the orchard bushel. But is it worth the work? 

Ooh! Another success.  I bought a (new in the box!) frother at the thrift shop for a $3.99!  I was anxious to try it out but we’re long out of fresh milk and dry milk just isn’t appealing for drinking, but I really wanted to try the frother, so I gave the dry milk a try and it made mountains of beautiful foam and a delicious latte. I added just a bit of cocoa. A little sugar. And little sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the foam. Very sip-able.

Catbert

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2917 on: October 31, 2020, 03:28:30 PM »
MaybeBaby - I find that chili peppers get hotter toward the end of the season.  You may find more than one in the near future.

I like the fuji persimmons just cored and sliced with a squeeze of lime.  If you have limes available it really helps the taste pop.  Or you can slice and dehydrate.  I've never done it but my farmer's market sells their dried fruit.

For Friday night drinks I finished up bottles of Compari, soda and tonic water.  Still gin left, but I really looked like a lush with all the empty alcohol and mixer bottles.

Dollar Slice

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2918 on: November 01, 2020, 01:05:57 AM »
Anyone have any ideas about how to use up fresh apple cider that's not just drinking it?  I don't want to take the calorie hit of drinking a bunch of glasses of cider, but my CSA keeps giving more to me!

Smitten Kitchen has a good recipe for apple cider caramels - really delicious. You need a candy thermometer, but otherwise it's a simple recipe and it would be a nice way to turn it into a gift if you want to offload the calories to someone else. :-) (If you want to make gifts for the holidays, reduce the cider to a syrup now and freeze it to make the caramels later.)

nobody

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2919 on: November 01, 2020, 07:47:12 PM »
Anyone have any ideas about how to use up fresh apple cider that's not just drinking it?  I don't want to take the calorie hit of drinking a bunch of glasses of cider, but my CSA keeps giving more to me!

I'm not sure how this will turn out, but maybe use it as the liquid for making oatmeal, in lieu of typically water or milk?

SquashingDebt

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2920 on: November 02, 2020, 05:50:28 AM »
Thanks for all the apple cider ideas!  I ended up freezing my extra for now, but I suspect I may get more cider this week, so I'll pick a recipe to try :)

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2921 on: November 02, 2020, 01:09:03 PM »
What a weekend!

~Saturday morning I made breakfast burritos which used most of a remaining package of bacon, the last 2 sausage patties, and most of the tortillas.
~A few neighbors stopped by with their kiddos, and I laid out a snack buffet consisting of Halloween party leftovers:  Spicy okra, 2 types of olives, spicy pickle chips, tortilla chips, Doritos, dip and salsa.  The children enjoyed the leftover caramel popcorn.
~For Saturday supper, I wrapped little smokies, also leftover from the Halloween party, in a few remaining slices of bacon, and sliced the rest of them for the top of a cauliflower crust pizza, along with extra mozzarella.  On the side was shrimp two ways and leftover tempura eggplant from last week.
~Along with last night's prime rib, we had the aforementioned glaze carrots (yum!) which used up some of the very dried out dark brown sugar and a dark beeer.  And I mashed the cauliflower bought 2 weeks ago which was on it's last leg.
~Today's lunch was leftover pizza and riced cauliflower from last week.
~I'm taking my out of state friend and DH out to dinner tonight, and we'll get take out tomorrow night.  I need a break from doing dishes.
~Wednesday's supper will be fish, shrimp, asparagus and a warm bacon spinach salad.

SquashingDebt

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2922 on: November 10, 2020, 12:41:41 PM »
In an effort to prevent future food waste during this time of pandemic stock-up, I went through my pantry this weekend, updated my inventory spreadsheet, and noted anything that will be expiring in the next 6 months or so.  I also noted things that won't technically expire but will be better if used sooner (mostly dry beans).  This way I can make sure to eat things before they go bad.

On the topic of pandemic stocking up - I think I've reached a good spot where I have a higher food inventory than usual, but not a ridiculous one.  My plan moving forward is to simply replace the pantry food that I eat, to keep steady levels of everything.

As for eating all the food in my house - I'm working on eating all the odds and ends, mostly in my fridge and freezer, that are cluttering both the physical space and my inventory spreadsheet.  Recent wins include the last 2 bagels in my freezer, spread with the last of my homemade caesar salad dressing, the last of some homemade caramel drizzled on apple slices, and some overcooked white beans from the freezer made into a yummy tomato-bean-garlic soup.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2923 on: November 10, 2020, 12:48:08 PM »
The fridge is getting sparse, as tonight is monthly grocery pickup night.  We are running low on proteins and produce.

Lately:
~Sunday DH smoked ribs.  I made baked turnip and carrot fries to serve with them.  The carrots were fresh from our neighbor's garden.
~Last night's Meatless Monday:  I made spinach and zucchini lasagna which used up the zucchini and yellow squash, and 1/3 bag baby spinach.
~Tonight's Taco Tuesday will use up a bag of cod fillets and the last 2 or 3 tortillas.
~Thursday's ground turkey Sloppy Joe's will use the pound of ground turkey bought a few months ago
~Used up a bag of blueberries frozen during summer in cocktails and pancakes
~We've still been nibbling on Halloween party leftovers including Doritos, cheese crackers, black M&M's, and orange Jelly Belly jelly beans
~Next week's Crock Pot BBQ chicken will use up some of the opened bottles of BBQ sauces
~Also next week, leftover chili from the freezer

slackmax

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2924 on: November 11, 2020, 06:17:14 AM »
Finished off an ancient jar of apple butter from the fridge, rinsed it out and put it in recycle bin.

Used up the last packet of (also ancient) powdered instant potato soup. Had a spoonful of the soup, tasted awful,  poured it down drain, recycled the cardboard box.   

Found an old box of english pudding mix with 5 packets. Made up one of these guys. These are downright good! Will gradually use it all up. May become a pudding fan, though, and buy more, ha ha.     

Roadrunner53

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2925 on: November 11, 2020, 08:07:39 AM »
I have had these Christmas Lima beans hanging around for over a year. I found this recipe and made it and it is really good. I didn't use the dressing in the recipe and decided to use balsamic vinegar, olive oil and gray poupon mustard, salt and pepper. It came out pretty good and I used up a lot of the beans but have a lot more to go.

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/christmas-lima-bean-salad.html

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2926 on: November 11, 2020, 08:13:46 AM »
@slackmax - it goes against the thread a bit, but I'm with you, sometimes the best thing you can do is toss something that is gross & you won't eat.
@MountainGal - so much progress! Great work.
@Roadrunner53 - I've never heard of those beans before. They sound delicious.

-We've been making progress on the meals we made this weekend (I cook on weekends & then we eat leftovers during the week). I always keep a close eye on how we're tracking to using everything up.
-Kids used up the last of a getting beyond the point of usage pineapple
-It's been pretty cold here (upper 30s at night), so I picked all of the tomatoes that were close to ripe, and they are now ripening inside.

Roadrunner53

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2927 on: November 11, 2020, 09:22:49 AM »
MaybeBabyMustache, somehow I found out about the Christmas Lima Beans about a year ago and ordered them on line. I think the first time I tried them whatever I did with them was ho hum. This time with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil, it was pretty tasty. To me they taste a bit like Kidney beans. I really like the bean salad for something different.

horsepoor

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2928 on: November 11, 2020, 09:35:17 AM »
I bought a 2# bag of rolled oats this spring during pandemic craziness. We don't eat many carbs, so gave it to my dad, who eats oatmeal every morning. I also used up most of the rice I had stashed while he was here. Might replace that as I do want to keep some non-perishables on hand going into winter in an increasing covid hotspot.

Little bits can be used up in unexpected places. I had a couple tablespoons of apple butter leftover from canning, and added it to a pot of chili a couple days ago.

We are getting a small lamb in a week or two, so need to make space in the freezer again, after just filling it with a beef quarter.

Just pulled a pack of pork spare ribs out of the freezer to cook on Saturday. I think the pork has been in there for about a year, so I need to use it up. It's from kune kune pigs that are super fatty, so it tends to be a whole ordeal to cook, and I tend to avoid it. I'm thinking I'll cook it down into a kind of ragout and serve it over cauliflower rice that is also taking up space in the freezer.




Hula Hoop

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2929 on: November 12, 2020, 02:06:31 PM »
Our friend just gave us a huge quantity of cooking apples (too sour to eat) and potatoes.  Anyone have any advice about what to do with all those apples?  Potato recipes would also be great.

I was thinking maybe of making apple sauce and freezing it.  We've already had apple crumble and I might make a pie this weekend.  Any other ideas?

Roadrunner53

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2930 on: November 12, 2020, 02:17:07 PM »
Our friend just gave us a huge quantity of cooking apples (too sour to eat) and potatoes.  Anyone have any advice about what to do with all those apples?  Potato recipes would also be great.

I was thinking maybe of making apple sauce and freezing it.  We've already had apple crumble and I might make a pie this weekend.  Any other ideas?

Make mashed potatoes and freeze in meal size portions.

horsepoor

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2931 on: November 12, 2020, 02:21:50 PM »
You might try an apple cake like this: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/french-apple-cake.html I used to have a similar recipe and it was so good, now I kind of want to make it again.

For the potatoes, it kind of depends on what type, but I would look at Spanish tortilla, scalloped potatoes and colcannon or for smaller types, simply roasted in their jackets with salt and pepper until crispy outside and soft inside.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2020, 02:24:11 PM by horsepoor »

PMG

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2932 on: November 12, 2020, 05:33:07 PM »
We peel slice and freeze apples as they are to use in baking later. If you’re prompt they don’t brown and it’s less work than applesauce, though nothing beats homemade applesauce.

NotJen

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2933 on: November 12, 2020, 08:06:26 PM »
Our friend just gave us a huge quantity of cooking apples (too sour to eat) and potatoes.  Anyone have any advice about what to do with all those apples?  Potato recipes would also be great.

I was thinking maybe of making apple sauce and freezing it.  We've already had apple crumble and I might make a pie this weekend.  Any other ideas?

Take the applesauce a step further and make apple butter - it freezes well.  https://www.browneyedbaker.com/apple-butter-recipe/  I use a crock pot, and usually end up reducing for another 5 hours after blending.

You can also use them in baked oatmeal, and freeze in breakfast-sized portions.


Roadrunner53

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2934 on: November 13, 2020, 12:27:50 PM »
OMG, yes...apple butter is awesome!

birdie55

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2935 on: November 15, 2020, 08:25:53 AM »
Winter squash soup (butternut or kuri squash are great) with sautéed apples and onions tastes like fall.  Sautee the onions and apples with some cinnamon.  Add broth and the cooked squash and puree.  Pinch of cayenne if you like a little spice too.  Salt and pepper to taste.  My favorite winter soup. 

Hula Hoop

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2936 on: November 15, 2020, 01:35:44 PM »
We ended up peeling and slicing the apples.  I froze some for making pie later, made an apple pie and also made two containers of apple sauce.  Thanks for the ideas.  I like the idea of apple butter but no one else in my household would eat it apart from me.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2937 on: November 18, 2020, 01:46:13 AM »
We have been eating selfcaught fish from the freezer every week. Still, there is more, but we are approaching the final amounts.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2938 on: November 18, 2020, 10:53:47 AM »
-Repurposed roasted chicken into a pasta sauce & another dinner
-I've been using cranberry sauce on a bagel with cream cheese & an egg for breakfast, and it's surprisingly good

We had a bunch of fruit go to waste. Sad to see that, and definitely need to a better job of rotating it through with the kids. If they self serve, it's lazy bananas every day, vs taking the time to cut a piece of fruit.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2939 on: November 19, 2020, 12:39:53 PM »
@MaybeBabyMustache, I hear you regarding the fruit.  We have the same issue with vegetables.  I've been planning suppers specifically around them because of that.  Recently:

~Made skinny baked cauliflower tots with a head of cauliflower
~Made a casserole using eggs, baby spinach and artichokes
~A package of frozen cauliflower went toward two different meals
~Portobello mushrooms were stuffed with shrimp and then grilled
~A bunch of asparagus was good for two meals
~Yellow squash and zucchini will go into a stir fry tonight
~An eggplant will be used for my first eggplant parmesan next Monday
~Baby spinach continues to be a base for my office lunches
~Cherry tomatoes.  Ah, the cherry tomatoes.  I usually wash a handful and serve them on the side of our entree, or toss them on a lunch salad.

The former me wouldn't know the current me based on the variety of veggies I eat these days.  I consider that a good thing.  :)

okisok

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2940 on: November 24, 2020, 08:05:17 PM »
Used up some bits and bobs to make cookies to take to work tomorrow. Used up two packets of trail mix and a half jar of pumpkin seeds. Turned out delicious and got four packages out of the cabinet.

MountainGal

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2941 on: November 25, 2020, 10:43:10 AM »
@okcisok, those cookies sound delicious!

Much to my chagrin, last night I tossed some leftover sloppy Joe ground turkey and a few BBQ chicken breasts we didn't get to last week.  I need to keep an eye on that, whether via better meal planning or freezing portions.  On a positive note, all produce but the baby spinach has been consumed.

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US!  :)

carozy

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2942 on: November 28, 2020, 02:15:29 PM »
I'm getting back into budgeting and keep rejiggering my budget to make it work and my food money keeps going down so I'm following for ideas.

Luckily my kitchen and "pantry" (little closet with some Costco items and under my bed) are well stocked - maybe even beyond December for the most part.  It's really just a matter of me preparing the food.  On that note, this weekend I plan to make a kale salad and also a large batch of mashed potatoes, and possibly some other meals so I can have them ready to eat when my week gets busy.

horsepoor

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2943 on: November 28, 2020, 08:13:30 PM »
Thickened a soup (asparagus, leek and Basque chorizo) with leftover gravy and mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2944 on: November 29, 2020, 12:25:14 PM »
So much food in the house, due to Thanksgiving.
-Used up two chicken patties that were lingering, and turned them into a couple of breakfasts. Added cranberry sauce, to use some of that as well
-Eating up all of the Thanksgiving side dishes (stuffing, beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sprouts, etc). We don't do turkey, but we do have a piece of steak left
-Used a goat cheese spread (Thanksgiving appetizer leftover) to add some extra flavor to the stuffed squash I made last night for dinner
-Using kale that was part of our Thanksgiving salad in other meals (salads, & added to the stuffed squash mix I made yesterday)
-In totally random leftover usage, we had flat sparkling cider (kids drink for Thanksgiving), and I was making a stuffed squash dish that called for farro cooked with apple cider. No farro or apple cider, but made rice with the flat cider & it added a nice flavor
-Used tortillas for breakfast this morning in an egg wrap
-Have leftover guac, sour cream, tortillas & chips leftover from a meal last week. I used sour cream in a batch of muffins I was making (called for yogurt) & we keep working through the rest. Have several other meals planned that will pair well with the sour cream, guac & tortilla chips
-Made a taco quesadilla for the kids, using up leftover shredded cheese & the very end of the taco meat
-Continuing to ripen tomatoes from the garden inside, and using them up in various dishes
-Made a menu plan through mid-December to ensure we're rotating through freezer food & making the most of leftovers

It's been a busy week to keep on top of food waste!

Zoot

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2945 on: November 29, 2020, 01:18:10 PM »
Made a savory bread-pudding-type breakfast casserole this morning from the rejected parts of the Thanksgiving stuffing (the "drier" parts that didn't get soaked through as well with the chicken broth):  added a couple of beaten eggs, a little cream, some cubed chicken sausage, and some shredded cheese, and baked for about 15 minutes.  Super-tasty, especially with a little added hot sauce.  :)  It was so good that I am looking for a way to make it happen without leftover stuffing--thanks to all in this thread for the inspiration to get creative with leftovers!

Roadrunner53

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2946 on: November 29, 2020, 02:17:01 PM »
A couple of months ago I made stuffed peppers and had the stuffing concoction left over (ground meat, rice, tomato sauce, onions) and froze it thinking I would make stuffed peppers in a few weeks time. That never happened so today I used that stuffing to make a stuffed pepper soup. I added a couple cans of tomatoes, chicken broth, a cut up green pepper and the stuffing to the pot and heated it up. It was really delicious! Glad I got it out of my freezer and it wasn't wasted.

SquashingDebt

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2947 on: November 29, 2020, 04:59:52 PM »
Today I froze all my Thanksgiving leftovers except for what I'll eat in the next few days.  So preparing now to eat this food in the future :)

My freezers are now pretty much at absolute maximum capacity (over-fridge freezer plus 2 small chest freezers).  Now that the growing season is over, it's time to shift into full eat down the freezers mode.  Should be fun!

centwise

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2948 on: November 30, 2020, 11:50:12 AM »
Covid is really spiking in my province. We are eating pretty well from the pantry and freezer, and limiting grocery shopping trips.

This week:
--Curry made from frozen spinach, frozen paneer cubes, and a yam; served over basmati rice. Accompanied by frozen samosas (heated up in a little oil).
--For the curry leftovers, I also thawed a small amount of leftover home-made lamb curry. There was not enough lamb curry for a meal but it was perfect for a side dish. The two curries plus samosas made it as good as a restaurant outing!
--Pasta sauce from canned tomatoes + tomato paste, frozen ground beef, and butternut squash -- turned out very yummy! Served over tortellini (from the freezer), with grated fresh parmesan and a kale salad.
--Made slow-cooker tapioca pudding for dessert. Might not be your cup of tea, but it's a family favourite.
--Corn tortilla quesadillas with small red beans (I have lots of cooked beans in ziploc bags in the freezer), salsa and sour cream. I buy corn tortillas in bags of 90 and they last a very long time in the fridge.
--Thawed a loaf of bread and made deli sandwiches for daughter's work lunches

Unfortunately now I'm OUT OF CHEESE which is pretty much a grocery emergency. Will be heading out to shop in a couple of days.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2020, 12:56:13 PM by centwise »

centwise

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Re: Eat All The Food In Your House - Take 2
« Reply #2949 on: November 30, 2020, 11:53:31 AM »
Made a savory bread-pudding-type breakfast casserole this morning from the rejected parts of the Thanksgiving stuffing (the "drier" parts that didn't get soaked through as well with the chicken broth):  added a couple of beaten eggs, a little cream, some cubed chicken sausage, and some shredded cheese, and baked for about 15 minutes.  Super-tasty, especially with a little added hot sauce.  :)  It was so good that I am looking for a way to make it happen without leftover stuffing--thanks to all in this thread for the inspiration to get creative with leftovers!

Sounds delicious Zoot!