The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: Hotstreak on October 23, 2013, 09:37:17 PM
-
I'm forced in to this a bit. After almost a year of mustacian living, I got and accepted an offer on a new job about 5 hours away from home. Space on the move is a premium. I'm tossing some cheap furniture so I can get a smaller, fuel efficient moving truck, and cutting back absolutely everywhere I can. One thing I'm planning on is not moving ANY food. I keep a huge freezer of meat, a full stocked pantry, and fridge with produce on a regular basis. I am:
Eating all meat in the freezer
Using all condiments
Eating all canned food
This is not a challenge to go a certain period of time without buying food. It's about eating what you have, mixing and matching odd ingredients, and ending up with nothing left!
I can't wait to stock a new pantry without all the old hold-ons from purchases two years ago.
Anybody else in??!
-
I keep a pretty low stock in the first place so I won't be participating, but I do want to point out that the Skip This Week's Grocery Shop thread (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/fire-drill!-skip-this-week%27s-grocery-shop/) has a significant amount of the "use up what's in your pantry" spirit along with the obvious "don't buy food for a while". Feel free to carry on here, but check it out for some inspriation.
-
Do this probably semi-annually, probably more out of being busy or lazy - and usually when we do this it goes beyond the list you cited such that we use up all the grains and even try to extend it by making flatbread/dumplings so we use up the flour that we have.
DW hates the fridge/pantry empty - I love it. I hate it so much when I open the fridge and it is completely full - not because we waste stuff, because we don't, its because I hate the cluttered look and also don't like my kids having food always at their fingertips - its human nature to graze and thats what they do if it is full. Good news is that it is mostly fruits, veggies and dairy.
-
A friend of mine used to do this semi-regularly when she was a single mom as a way to reduce waste and keep grocery bills down. Her and her son kind of made it a game to see how bare the cupboards could get and hence, refer to it as Mother Hubbarding. I tend Mother Hubbard when I find myself looking into a pretty full cabinet thinking "there's nothing to eat." Its probably that time...
Good luck Mother Hubbarding! I moved this summer and although it was only across town, moving the food was one of the most annoying parts.
-
Yay! I'm already doing this! I like to make big batches of food and then get sick of eating leftovers. So my husband made a big pot of noodles (yummy!) and I ate the last bit of it last night (still yummy!) and now I'm working on the last bit of soup I made. I told myself not to cook anything new until those two are out.
I am so IN! We have a stocked freezer and lots of pantry essentials to go through.
-
I do this on a weekly basis... Only way to ensure nothing gets wasted in a single bachelor environment
-
OP: how's it going? You needed to clear out for a move, so maybe had much more motivation than other posters.
I'm *not* moving yet (I will be in four months), but I usually try to eat most everything I have before buying more groceries.
-
I'm in. I still have a bunch of nonperishable stuff from last year that needs to go.
There is not a move on my horizon, so I'll keep buying produce and dairy, but I'm going to try sticking to that "perimeter" of the grocery store until the cupboard is significantly more bare.
-
I'm in too! My pantry is full, my freezer (small on on top of fridge is full), my fridge is full. It'll be easier with my hubs out of town (not that he's a picky eater, but he is more likely to suggest stopping on the way home for take-out).
I'll even try to turn it into a game with the kids--love the concept of Mother Hubbarding.
I may have to fill in a little with fruits, veggies, milk, and eggs (have found egg bakes are a great way to use up random things in the fridge or cupboard).
-
I definitely should sit down with my two brothers here and set up "Operation: Eat Up All That Crap We've Been Avoiding/Forgetting".
-
Can't do, must have fresh fruits and vegs. I just stop buying things when the freezer approaches "full". That's why I won't get a deep freezer - I would just fill it up.
-
I did this a year ago in preparation for a big move. I was mostly successful, but wound up giving away a few things like almost a pound of dried dill (didn't feel too bad about that as it had been gifted to me by some neighbors when they moved!).
In our current place we have a batch cook day every few months and stock up the freezer, then mix between freezer meals and fresher cooking. At some point we realize that the freezer is *almost* bare but not quite ready for another batch cook, and then have a week or two of "must empty the freezer!" eating. We're just embarking on one of those right now. It's nice, as my grocery bill this week was only $25 (basically just fresh fruit/veg to round out the defrosted meals). I think we're going to be working this way until the 16th, and there's definitely going to have to be a little inventiveness with the freezer contents to keep things interesting!
Today I pulled all the chicken bones I had been stashing in the freezer out and now have them going in the crockpot to make broth. Some of that will be used to thin out some super thick zucchini and chickpea soup, some is going right back into the freezer to be used on batch cook day (so for our purposes, the freezer is effectively more empty).
-
I'm about a month into this operation. I bought a ton of dried lentils ( split gram, beans, black eyed peas, chickpeas, spices, etc) and some rice at the start of the year and am now sorely regretting it... especially the kidney beans. Somehow, they never turn out right.
Its going to take me a couple more months. I intend to soldier on and get this done... so I have an empty pantry that I can go shopping to stock up again!!! facepunch.
-
^That always happens to me when I buy dry beans. It always seems like such a good idea at the time.
I made some progress this weekend by wiping out 2 cans of soup, 2 cans of tomatoes, 2 packs of Ramen, 1.5 cup of rice, 3 cups of flour, half a can of mushrooms, half a can of black olives, half a jar of pizza sauce, and what was left of the Cheerios from the pantry and some sausages and chicken from the freezer. Now I'm plotting wiping out more pieces of chicken and some potatoes on Monday and the rest of the mushrooms and olives along with more flour and the rest of the pizza sauce on Tuesday. I'm not going to keep track of perishables because they get polished so fast around here that there is no point.
I did go to the grocery store tonight to get bananas, yogurt, and greens and ended up buying 4 boxes of Chex cereal that was a really good price to make homemade Chex mix. Whoops. That type of opportunistic purchase will likely continue to happen as I buy perishables, but I'm going to keeping trying to not go down the aisles at the store (the Chex was on the end of the aisle calling to me) until my canned goods and dry goods are mostly wiped out.
-
Heh. I ended up with 4 boxes of Chex for party mix too - but it was buy one get one free, and a $1 coupon that was doubled! I rarely coupon, but that was easy.
I go through the pantry pretty well except for some weird stuff that was in a gift basket - sweet pepper jelly and apricot preserves. No clue what to do with those.
-
Either of those would probably be good in some curried chicken salad.
The apricot preserves will likely be great on just plain old toast.
Just google the ingredient name and see what comes up! That's a fun way to make something new with a weird ingredient. I've done it with spices like marjoram.
-
I made the Italian wonderpot. Used ingredients in our pantry and freezer and had lunch for two days. Gonna make chicken and dumplings tomorrow.
ETA
Yummy!
(https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/1460235_10151824016979125_1734315808_n.jpg)
I used budgetbytes' recipe for slowcooker chicken and dumplings. The only thing I didn't have already was parsley so I skipped it.
-
I reorganized the pantry a few weeks ago after realizing I didn't have any crushed tomatoes in. I would have sworn I did, since I bought by the case when they were on an unbelievable sale ~8 mos ago.
Realizations: I have 25lbs of pasta. Need to be mindful w/ this. I fell into automatically stocking up when it fell below my researched stock-up price, and wasn't evaluating how often we actually eat it.
Beans!!!!!
Hubs and I also set aside a section of shelf front and center for ingredients we want to use up.
All in all was pleased with the re-org, because I didn't find that many surprises that had been forgotten about, am motivated to use up some unusual items, and that running out of cases of tomatoes means we are using them to cook!
-
I just jumped on this challenge this week. In an effort to get our grocery bill down as well as eat the food in our freezer I’ve challenged my husband to only buy fresh food (veggies, dairy etc) for the next month. We moved a few months ago, and even though we knew the move was coming for a few months, we still had 2 FULL medium sized freezers, plus the fridge freezer. Granted, the move happened in August, so we had a year’s worth of Salmon and berries from the 2013 stored, but still as we were emptying the freezer there were things that I’d completely forgotten about, including fish heads from 2 years ago that I kept meaning to bury in the garden…I still have them.
My goal is to eat all of the frozen veggies, as well as completely eat through anything in the fridge freezer. We will eat the salmon sparingly because we want it to keep till next year as well as enjoy the berries over the long term, but everything else MUST GO! I have a plan this weekend to go through everything and come up with a meal plan for using it all. There are going to be a lot of beet recipes on that list….
My goal is to spend $300 of our usual $800 on groceries for a family of 4. I’m hoping this process will kickstart us on a smaller food budget, I’m hoping closer to $500 on a regular basis.
-
After finding some bulk white kernel popcorn way in the back on the bottom shelf of my pantry the other day (after thinking I needed to go buy some), I had decided DH and I really need to consume what is in our cupboards and in the freezer. I used to have a full separate freezer, but gave it up when we got a new fridge with the big bottom drawer (instead of the narrow side-by-side style). I always have to keep in mind the available space in my freezer when I go to Costco! My pantry shelves are full and are no longer organized. Reading this post is good motivation to commit to what I knew I needed to do -- consume what is already purchased -- it will avoid waste and save me grocery money for the next few weeks. Time to get creative without having DH say yuck, let's eat out!
-
I threw chicken wings and drumsticks in the crock pot added a can of crushed pineapple, 2 bags of frozen vegetables, soy sauce, red pepper flakes. Ate it with rice.
-
I was originally not going to join this challenge because we need to keep a fair stock on hand during the winter as we can be cut off from the rest of civilization if our one highway out of town is closed.
But...then one of my freezers died and while moving everything I realized I do have quite a lot of food beyond what we need to have stock piled, and if something happen to our other freezer we would be out thousands of dollars worth of food. So We are going to cook from the pantry and freezer (and ironically, probably eat better then buying from our store in town)
I have been going through our frozen chickens, crock potting them, shredding the meat and returning the bones for stock. Been using the chicken in soups and stews (lots of cornmeal dumplings because we got a 25 pound sack of organic cornmeal in the summer)
Anyone have any ideas for candied ginger? I got a really good deal on it (you usually can't even find it here) and Hubby loves the stuff as a snack and in oatmeal and such - but we still have a ton.
I also have a ton and ton of dried spices - need to figure out something to do with these too.
-
I love this! We're slowly working through our freezer and cupboards. I think we're going to eat a lot of pasta in the next few weeks!
-
I love this too!
I usually have things like rice, macaroni and cheese, cans of tuna, frozen vegetables, etc.. usually i can throw together quite a tasty meal that costs me nothing
-
I was originally not going to join this challenge because we need to keep a fair stock on hand during the winter as we can be cut off from the rest of civilization if our one highway out of town is closed.
But...then one of my freezers died and while moving everything I realized I do have quite a lot of food beyond what we need to have stock piled, and if something happen to our other freezer we would be out thousands of dollars worth of food. So We are going to cook from the pantry and freezer (and ironically, probably eat better then buying from our store in town)
I have been going through our frozen chickens, crock potting them, shredding the meat and returning the bones for stock. Been using the chicken in soups and stews (lots of cornmeal dumplings because we got a 25 pound sack of organic cornmeal in the summer)
Anyone have any ideas for candied ginger? I got a really good deal on it (you usually can't even find it here) and Hubby loves the stuff as a snack and in oatmeal and such - but we still have a ton.
I also have a ton and ton of dried spices - need to figure out something to do with these too.
Could you throw some of the candied ginger in a sugar cookie?
-
Could you throw some of the candied ginger in a sugar cookie?
My sister has an amazing recipe for chewy triple ginger cookies, I am going to be making A LOT of them as soon as I get the recipe :)
I was also thinking if I decrease the sugar in the sauce, candied ginger might make a very tasty addition to ginger beef.
-
I have to work on this. We are STOCKED (freezers especially) and...there is a chance that will may need a termite tenting as a condition of our refinance. Oh goodness I cannot imagine double bagging everything we have. So...I'm going to do my best to eat up what we have in the next couple of weeks...
-
I was going to do a no grocery December, since I've gotten overstocked on several items due to sales. But maybe I will extend that and try to clean out everything. I've got emergency rations in the basement, so I'm still covered there. And it would be more of a challenge (I think I have enough to do the December plan without much change in my routine). Plus it's a reminder of older times, when stocks ran low as winter progressed....
-
Just wanted (well, didn't really "want") to report in and say I've failed miserably at the challenge. My life is so chaotic right now, with many people coming and going in my house and the holidays and entertaining and being overwhelmed with my husband out of the country...SO, I would like to give it another go in January!
-
Yeah, for health reasons I've added some new, mostly perishable foods to my diet, which pretty much killed the no-grocery plan for me. I can still whittle down the stockpile, but it won't be the "pure" make-do experience I was anticipating...
-
I've started working on consuming all of the spices, condiments, flour, rice, rice noodles, etc. that I have so I have less to move at the end of February.
I actually have to make sure I don't eat the rice too quickly. I don't have much left, and I don't intend to buy more before I move, so this will be a balancing act.
But I have lots of flour! Tortillas galore incoming.
I don't want to eat the rice noodles ever, which is why I still have them after months, so that will be a perhaps unpleasant challenge.
The condiments are interesting so far, though. Who knew egg sandwiches with thousand island dressing were so delectable?
-
What kind of rice noodles are these? If they're the asian style ones you're in luck =) There are some amazing stir fried rice noodle dishes. Check this one out, or google 'mi fen'
Good luck
http://savory-bites.com/2010/03/mi-fen-%E7%B1%B3%E7%B2%89-fried-rice-vermicelli/
-
What kind of rice noodles are these? If they're the asian style ones you're in luck =) There are some amazing stir fried rice noodle dishes. Check this one out, or google 'mi fen'
Good luck
http://savory-bites.com/2010/03/mi-fen-%E7%B1%B3%E7%B2%89-fried-rice-vermicelli/
Yep yep--asian. I live in Korea, so they might be thicker than the ones in the linked recipe. It looks nice, but I'd have to make it without curry powder.
Worth a shot!
-
OT, but this thread title reminds me of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DleceyAO34M
-
I'm not going so far as to eat down spices and such but as I posted in the declutter thread, I'm working down my stockpile so items don't expire on me and I don't have to move things. Other than items such as milk, and fresh green beans for my contribution to thanksgiving dinner, we haven't been grocery shopping since the beginning of November, I'm pleased to say. (Unfort, we have done takeout several nights though.) I can see space in my cabinets and freezer! We've eaten down about 20-25% of our stockpile.
Items left to eat include (woe is us...): Girl Scout cookies, homemade canned applesauce and peaches, frozen fruit for smoothies...
-
Items left to eat include (woe is us...): Girl Scout cookies, homemade canned applesauce and peaches, frozen fruit for smoothies...
:O I'll eat all that!
My list is such a total bummer in comparison.
In the pantry: Flour, rice, rice noodles, baking powder, bread crumbs, French onion soup mix, sugar, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, black tea, chamomile tea, green tea
On the spice shelf: salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, rosemary
In the fridge: Thousand island dressing, red wine vinaigrette, ketchup, mustard, bulgogi marinade, donkassu sauce, a few packages of pizza delivery parmesan cheese, salsa
In the freezer: My vegetable scraps I use for stock (gotta do that this weekend--it's full now), frozen ginger I have no idea what to do with
Also: A large box of processed snacks my students gifted me. They'll be good for another year at least, but I'll probably eat most of them away before I move anyhow.
For me, it's not really a matter of trying to beat expiration dates--I just want less to move. And it's a fun challenge to try to use up what I have!
Of course I buy fruits, vegetables, and eggs weekly to make actual meals possible. Meat? Not so much lately.
-
In the freezer: My vegetable scraps I use for stock (gotta do that this weekend--it's full now), frozen ginger I have no idea what to do with
Ginger: gingersnaps, chai tea, Thai curry/stir fry.
-
I do this (with my fridge only) every time I go away for more than four weeks. Which is about once every year.
However I keep a well stocked pantry, including food I have 'put up' myself, and so using all that up doesn't make sense. Also, I purchase some commonly used items (such as passata) in bulk because it is that much cheaper. So to keep the inventory rolling, this is what I do:
- Purchased items: every six months I put a sticker dot on everything in the pantry. All the stickers need to be gone from the pantry in six months.
- Everything I 'put up' is dated when I dry/preserve it. Everything older than eighteen months gets a sticker dot on it and needs to be either consumed or given away in the next six months.
However, I think the challenge is admirable, although i will not take part in it. Wishing you all the best in your creative food journeys!!!
-
I tried to do this without buying anything at all, but it started to get pretty rough with no fresh food. So, I've amended my rules to allow myself to buy only produce and almond milk (and tea, should I run out). It's MUCH easier this way, and healthier.
I've managed to mostly work my way through a huge stash of grains and various flours. Now to tackle the many varieties of pasta I've been avoiding, as well as the 5lbs of millet flour I can't remember why I bought.
-
I tried to do this without buying anything at all, but it started to get pretty rough with no fresh food. So, I've amended my rules to allow myself to buy only produce and almond milk (and tea, should I run out). It's MUCH easier this way, and healthier.
I've managed to mostly work my way through a huge stash of grains and various flours. Now to tackle the many varieties of pasta I've been avoiding, as well as the 5lbs of millet flour I can't remember why I bought.
We are going to do the same thing, Ashley. Planning on only replenishing fresh produce as we run out. We have been doing it since this past week and already the freezer is becoming more and more depleted. It's cool to see it go down.
-
Hah!!! I'm finally down to the last packet of kidney beans. I will never buy this in bulk again. After this, I'll move on to better items like black eyed peas, chick peas, and split dried lentils.... which always turn out fabulous :-).... especially with Ciabatta rolls or garlic bread and cheese!!
I'm down to my second last packet of egg noodles, second last bottle of olive oil and finished half the bag of rice.
What would be good substitutes for rice? tofu? I want to try something different in 2014. Like different types of bread that I might not have tried as of now. Any suggestions?
I've got 2 extra large containers with whey protein.... which were supposed to help me build muscle. Just never got around to the strength training part. Is there any dish I could make with them ?
My exercise this year has mostly been a brisk walk. I have a very high metabolism so cannot gain weight.......... which reduces my resolve to persist with strength training.
-
You are better than me. I got tired of eating cans so started to order pizza instead. :( Time to go grocery shopping for a few things to mix it up.
-
Legacy, how to do you feel about other grains as subs for rice? Quinoa? Barley?
I LOVE tofu (I'm vegan and eat a lot of it), but I wouldn't think to use it like I'd use rice. If you decide to try it, I recommend buying the firm or extra firm variety, pressing it between plates or cutting boards (weighted with cans or something else heavy) to get all of excess water out. Then slice or cube it up, let it marinate like you might do with meat (even if all you use is balsamic vinegar and soy sauce, it will be good), and then bake it in a hot oven until it gets nice and crispy. It's delicious this way with rice and vegetables, or cold in a sandwich. I think tofu scares a lot of people because they have never had good tofu and associate it with flavorless mush. If you cook it right, it's excellent.
-
Ashley, thanks for the tips on tofu. How long do you marinate it for ? How long does it need to stay in the oven?
What if I skip marinating the tofu and pan fry in sesame oil ? Any chance that would come out right? I've had mushrooms sauteed in sesame oil and they were delicious.
-
The longer you let it marinate, the better it is. If I'm planning ahead, I will do it overnight. If not, an hour or so is fine. You just want to get some flavor into it because on its own it's more or less flavorless. I usually bake it for maybe 30 minutes at 425, but it will depend on the thickness or your slices and how chewy/crispy you want it. If I don't have time to marinate, I will just brush it liberally with soy sauce (and sometimes sesame oil!) and it's still good.
Pan frying will be good too. Just make sure to press it. That is the most important step, regardless of how you cook it.
-
What kind of rice noodles are these? If they're the asian style ones you're in luck =) There are some amazing stir fried rice noodle dishes. Check this one out, or google 'mi fen'
Good luck
http://savory-bites.com/2010/03/mi-fen-%E7%B1%B3%E7%B2%89-fried-rice-vermicelli/
Yep yep--asian. I live in Korea, so they might be thicker than the ones in the linked recipe. It looks nice, but I'd have to make it without curry powder.
Worth a shot!
Okay--I tried it. I hate it. I just really don't like rice noodles when I make them. Maybe I'm making them wrong, but the texture is just gummy and bleh. No me gusta.
I have to find some willpower to finish eating this mess. I used the rest of the package to get rid of it in one fell swoop.
-
rice noodles should not be gummy. I suspect that you are oversoaking them and/or overcooking them. They also need to be strongly flavored (much like tofu) to taste luscious and yummy.
I found this on thekitchn.com: "Make sure you're not overcooking the noodles. As you note above, the best way to cook thin rice noodles is to simply submerge them briefly in hot water. Drain and rinse with cold water. They will finish cooking in your stir fry or in the hot sauce. But if you overcook them they will turn gummy and get much more clumped up. It is normal, though, for them to clump up to a certain extent; tossing them with your sauce in your stir fry should loosen them as they get coated with the sauce."
With that being said, some people simply don't like the texture of these noodles. If so, then those noodles will be your last!
-
rice noodles should not be gummy. I suspect that you are oversoaking them and/or overcooking them. They also need to be strongly flavored (much like tofu) to taste luscious and yummy.
I found this on thekitchn.com: "Make sure you're not overcooking the noodles. As you note above, the best way to cook thin rice noodles is to simply submerge them briefly in hot water. Drain and rinse with cold water. They will finish cooking in your stir fry or in the hot sauce. But if you overcook them they will turn gummy and get much more clumped up. It is normal, though, for them to clump up to a certain extent; tossing them with your sauce in your stir fry should loosen them as they get coated with the sauce."
With that being said, some people simply don't like the texture of these noodles. If so, then those noodles will be your last!
It sounds like I've been overcooking/oversoaking (I've tried both preparations) them, then! I just followed the instructions on the package. Oh well--not buying those ever ever ever again. ;-D
Because I *did* order pizza instead of stressing over cooking another meal after that failure, I haven't eaten anything the past couple days other than pizza and a banana. Oops.
Right now I have a lot of fresh produce to eat through. Potato spinach tacos tonight, methinks.
-
Last night I made a huge pot of seriously gross pumpkin soup, and I'm so mad at myself for using the last of my vegetables on something I don't even want to eat. I will force myself to eat it, though. 6 torturous meals coming up!
-
Last night I made a huge pot of seriously gross pumpkin soup, and I'm so mad at myself for using the last of my vegetables on something I don't even want to eat. I will force myself to eat it, though. 6 torturous meals coming up!
Any chance you can save it? What flavour profile did you use?
-
Curry-ish with cumin, coriander, and coconut milk. I think my first mistake was using canned pumpkin, which doesn't taste good to begin with. I roasted an onion and some carrots to start with, and pureed the whole thing at the end. Too much sweetness, maybe. It just tastes off.
-
That's a tough one, maybe a splash of acid to balance the sweetness? some lime or lemon juice or vinegar of some sort?
-
Last night I made a huge pot of seriously gross pumpkin soup, and I'm so mad at myself for using the last of my vegetables on something I don't even want to eat. I will force myself to eat it, though. 6 torturous meals coming up!
I just tossed my rice noodle failure Friday night. That's totally an option instead of suffering through it. I give you permission to dispose of the gross pumpkin soup.
-
That's a tough one, maybe a splash of acid to balance the sweetness? some lime or lemon juice or vinegar of some sort?
I tried apple cider vinegar (I think lemon would have been better!), which maybe helped a little but I think the soup is just beyond repair. I've accepted defeat! I'm still going to eat it because I just can't stand to waste. I had another bowl tonight with lots of homemade whole wheat croutons, and it was better that way. Still not good, but edible. If it really starts to gross me out, I'll freeze a couple servings and deal with them later.
nikki, one of my next pantry items to get through is rice noodles! I bought lots of them thinking I was going to attempt to make pho, but then I never got around to it. I think rice noodles are really best in soups. I'd almost always rather have stir fries and whatnot over rice instead. But, since I'm out of rice now, I will have to tackle those noodles.
-
I managed to clear all of my food out of the fridge, most of it from the freezer, and got the pantry down enough to fit in to one box before I moved. I was very happy with it, and happy with the way my fridge looks now, too! 2 full months after moving, there's not anything in there I haven't used at least once a week except perhaps a condiment. My cupboard is the same, nothing added since the move but still a few old things in there (canned chili, anybody).
I really found about a new aspect of living minimally. Having less choice has not been a burden at all. In fact it has helped carry over and the rest of my life, especially home, feels more simple(think about making food once or twice a week, instead of deciding what to eat 3 times a day). What REALLY shocked me is that I didn't sacrifice any variety from my diet. I buy what I need to cook, make it, eat it, and do something different the next week. For instance I bought a jar of olives to snack on, and when they were gone I bought a jar of pickles. Guess what, ya don't need them both at once!
Woohoo, freedom!
-
I managed to clear all of my food out of the fridge, most of it from the freezer, and got the pantry down enough to fit in to one box before I moved. I was very happy with it, and happy with the way my fridge looks now, too! 2 full months after moving, there's not anything in there I haven't used at least once a week except perhaps a condiment. My cupboard is the same, nothing added since the move but still a few old things in there (canned chili, anybody).
I really found about a new aspect of living minimally. Having less choice has not been a burden at all. In fact it has helped carry over and the rest of my life, especially home, feels more simple(think about making food once or twice a week, instead of deciding what to eat 3 times a day). What REALLY shocked me is that I didn't sacrifice any variety from my diet. I buy what I need to cook, make it, eat it, and do something different the next week. For instance I bought a jar of olives to snack on, and when they were gone I bought a jar of pickles. Guess what, ya don't need them both at once!
Woohoo, freedom!
Ya! Wahoo! I can totally relate to this approach to buying and eating groceries. What I can't understand are fridges and pantries stuffed so full that you can't even see everything in them.
I'd like some canned chili, by the way :-p It's one of the few things that I *can* find in Korea occasionally, but it's always totally overpriced. And in the "international foods" section.
-
Congrats on getting your stores low for your move. I managed to get my fridge fairly cleaned out, but my cupboards are fairly stocked again. I'm just too much of a pack rat when a particular item is cheap I guess.
-
I'm down to stuff I really don't want to eat. Today I made a couple loaves of gluten free bread (I am so not gluten free!!) to use up some tapioca starch and rice flour I had accumulated. I really hate gluten free bread. I cubed it up, toasted it, and am soaking it in chocolate soymilk (from instant packets I also had in the pantry) for bread pudding. Do I really need to be eating that garbage? Nope!
-
Can you give the unwanted products away to people at work? If I can't use or eat something, there's usually someone at work who will use it or will give it a try. To me, that's much better than forcing myself to eat things I dislike! The other option, of course, is to throw it away and get it out of your life.
-
Oh my this post resonates with me. I'm in a 2 person household and I love Costco. I keep buying a bag of farro every time I go (every 2 weeks) because they WILL stop selling it. It's only a matter of time. Just like they stopped selling bulgar and israeli couscous.
I have the space. I have not found that the items are going bad (maybe a marinade or two have gone off - to the vinegar side).
But I have too much, I know I do. I'd like to be more proficient in the kitchen, and feel that arming myself with a stocked pantry will help.
This ties in with my slow realization that I need to unclutter. I like to have things around me and feel that scarcity equals discomfort and suffering. ugggggg
-
Can you give the unwanted products away to people at work? If I can't use or eat something, there's usually someone at work who will use it or will give it a try. To me, that's much better than forcing myself to eat things I dislike! The other option, of course, is to throw it away and get it out of your life.
My office is tiny and things just tend to sit around uneaten. My mom's office is great for unloading stuff, though! That's a good idea. Maybe I'll just push some of it onto her to deal with.
-
I'm going to give this another shot in January. Company leaves January 2, so that'll be my start date.
-
Had a couple of fun victories. I learned I could very easily make brined green peppercorns out of the ton of dried ones I have, which makes them much more usable... and darn they come in very expensive little jars at the store!
From these I made a green peppercorn gravy...but I was out of milk. So I made some cashew milk out of some raw cashews I haven't had a clue what to do with. I used the milk in the the gravy and some mashed potatoes - couldn't tell, just made them super creamy!
I made some double stuffed potatoes using a bag of potatoes that was about to go and got lots of odds and ends from the fridge and freezer used up - cheese ends, broccoli left overs, frozen kale, bits of sausage. I made enough for my hubby to eat for lunches for a couple of weeks!
I also made date squares and muffins using up more of my pantry ingredients.
Oh and I recently found out that you can make "Beer" bread with soda water from a soda stream and I have been substituting one cup of flour with some cornmeal from the 25 pound sack I am working through - makes some great toast which I have been making to use up all the random jams we have.
-
Awesome job, swick! This is such a rewarding challenge. I love seeing my stock dwindle.
Yesterday I did end up going shopping. Spent $50 (more than I planned, but I think I was just excited to be grocery shopping), but I bought mostly fresh foods that will allow me to use up some random stuff I already had. I also grabbed 5 huge freezer bags full of vegetable scraps from my mom's deep freezer and made stock last night. I made almost 2.5 gallons, and I still have one bag of scraps left!
Last night I started making a dent in my rice noodles and dehydrated soy meat and made vegan pho. It was so delicious, and I only had to buy bean sprouts, basil, and dried mushrooms. I have enough dry ingredients and stock to eat pho for weeks.
I've been eating my gluten-free bread pudding for breakfast, and it's really not bad. The bread had a weird flavor on its own, but I guess chocolate can fix anything.
-
I learned I could very easily make brined green peppercorns out of the ton of dried ones I have, which makes them much more usable... and darn they come in very expensive little jars at the store!
Any chance you would share the technique? I love peppercorn sauce but the jars of peppercorns are way too expensive for it to be a regular treat in my household.
-
I learned I could very easily make brined green peppercorns out of the ton of dried ones I have, which makes them much more usable... and darn they come in very expensive little jars at the store!
Any chance you would share the technique? I love peppercorn sauce but the jars of peppercorns are way too expensive for it to be a regular treat in my household.
I think I will try this recipe next:
http://www.ehow.com/how_7510656_brine-green-peppercorns.html (http://www.ehow.com/how_7510656_brine-green-peppercorns.html)
but I just followed the instructions here:
http://www.greenpeppercorns.com/green-peppercorns-in-brine.htm (http://www.greenpeppercorns.com/green-peppercorns-in-brine.htm)
They are super yummy!
-
I learned I could very easily make brined green peppercorns out of the ton of dried ones I have, which makes them much more usable... and darn they come in very expensive little jars at the store!
Any chance you would share the technique? I love peppercorn sauce but the jars of peppercorns are way too expensive for it to be a regular treat in my household.
I think I will try this recipe next:
http://www.ehow.com/how_7510656_brine-green-peppercorns.html (http://www.ehow.com/how_7510656_brine-green-peppercorns.html)
but I just followed the instructions here:
http://www.greenpeppercorns.com/green-peppercorns-in-brine.htm (http://www.greenpeppercorns.com/green-peppercorns-in-brine.htm)
They are super yummy!
Thanks! Can't wait to give it a go (and then eat yummy mushroom sauce with steak and mashed potato).
-
OK, I'm going to join in. After facing the data on our spending yesterday, it's clear that we need to spend a lot less on food. The cabinets and freezer are pretty full so I'm sure we can all get fed without much grocery shopping next month. The kids will be excited because there will be a lot of pasta in our future. And I'm going to have to find a lot of good lentil recipes because my husband keeps buying bags even though we don't touch the ones already in the cabinet. :/
-
Where actual substantial food is black, condiments and spices are green, and baking/cooking supplies are orange, I have:
- 3 eggs
- 5 slices of bread
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 apple
- 1.5 servings vegetable soup
- bag of Korean corn chips (not Frito's--they really taste like roasted corn)
- 2 coffee cookies
- 1 & partial jars strawberry jam
- flour, baking powder, salt, sugar
- bread crumbs
- butter, cooking oil
- frozen veggie scraps to make a pot of stock
- ketchup, mustard, 1000 island, red wine vinaigrette, bulgogi marinade
- pizza delivery packets of hot sauce, garlic butter dip, and parmesan cheese
- soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, rice wine vinegar
- pepper, rosemary, oregano, thyme
- and to drink: coffee, 1 bag chamomile tea, 4 bags black tea, pre-made cup of citron tea
So, creative challenge for you all: what would you make with ONLY the above to last you two days, assuming you eat three meals a day and at least one snack a day? I'm not going shopping until next year (I love saying that!), and I already have a few options planned out. I'll share my ideas later today or tomorrow to give anyone a chance if they'd like to take a stab :-p
EDIT: If you want to really be in my shoes, your only cooking equipment includes a one-burner electric hot plate, microwave, and toaster oven (no temp controls). No oven.
I'm already eating breakfast for today, so I suppose you can take that one meal out: fried chicken breast (coated in breadcrumbs), roasted carrot with rosemary, and rice with toasted sesame seeds. Obviously I'm eating the last carrot and the last of the rice!
-
So I'm not going to try to fully empty my stock of food (I like having a small stock on hand in case), but I am trying to go for the next week without buying groceries. We bought a couch this week so that's major spending compared to normal, on the up side- We only spent $92.94 on groceries all month (for two people). I think I might make some pasta, and then some rice and bean style dishes to begin the week.
-
Where actual substantial food is black, condiments and spices are green, and baking/cooking supplies are orange, I have:
- 3 eggs
- 5 slices of bread
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 apple
- 1.5 servings vegetable soup
- bag of Korean corn chips (not Frito's--they really taste like roasted corn)
- 2 coffee cookies
- 1 & partial jars strawberry jam
- flour, baking powder, salt, sugar
- bread crumbs
- butter, cooking oil
- frozen veggie scraps to make a pot of stock
- ketchup, mustard, 1000 island, red wine vinaigrette, bulgogi marinade
- pizza delivery packets of hot sauce, garlic butter dip, and parmesan cheese
- soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, rice wine vinegar
- pepper, rosemary, oregano, thyme
- and to drink: coffee, 1 bag chamomile tea, 4 bags black tea, pre-made cup of citron tea
So, creative challenge for you all: what would you make with ONLY the above to last you two days, assuming you eat three meals a day and at least one snack a day? I'm not going shopping until next year (I love saying that!), and I already have a few options planned out. I'll share my ideas later today or tomorrow to give anyone a chance if they'd like to take a stab :-p
EDIT: If you want to really be in my shoes, your only cooking equipment includes a one-burner electric hot plate, microwave, and toaster oven (no temp controls). No oven.
I'm already eating breakfast for today, so I suppose you can take that one meal out: fried chicken breast (coated in breadcrumbs), roasted carrot with rosemary, and rice with toasted sesame seeds. Obviously I'm eating the last carrot and the last of the rice!
I would use 1 of the eggs, plus baking ingredients to make 2 servings of pancakes for breakfast the 2 days, served with strawberry jam. Split the rest of the vegetable soup, the apple and the corn chips for 2 lunches. 1 dinner is the last chicken breast, maybe breaded, other dinner is last 2 eggs and 2 pieces bread (egg sandwich). 1 cookie each day for dessert. Depending on how large the bag of corn chips is, you can supplement your lunch with the extra bread.
-
Also, I am pretty sure that you would have included it, but in case you didn't, if you have any onions, you can make french onion soup. I did this from chicken stock, butter, onions, and s&p using the recipe from the kitchn. It's pretty good.
-
I'm doing great with my pantry recipes, today I made vegetable soup with random canned goods, crushed tomatoes, and israeli couscous. I also made a chickpea cashew curry and I have some polenta going in the oven. I prefer to eat vegan, but I don't turn down free food (and I'll eat whatever I'm served at other's houses) so I have some cheese that my mom was going to throw away after the holidays- I might mix into the polenta for extra calories.
-
Where actual substantial food is black, condiments and spices are green, and baking/cooking supplies are orange, I have:
- 3 eggs
- 5 slices of bread
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 apple
- 1.5 servings vegetable soup
- bag of Korean corn chips (not Frito's--they really taste like roasted corn)
- 2 coffee cookies
- 1 & partial jars strawberry jam
- flour, baking powder, salt, sugar
- bread crumbs
- butter, cooking oil
- frozen veggie scraps to make a pot of stock
- ketchup, mustard, 1000 island, red wine vinaigrette, bulgogi marinade
- pizza delivery packets of hot sauce, garlic butter dip, and parmesan cheese
- soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, rice wine vinegar
- pepper, rosemary, oregano, thyme
- and to drink: coffee, 1 bag chamomile tea, 4 bags black tea, pre-made cup of citron tea
So, creative challenge for you all: what would you make with ONLY the above to last you two days, assuming you eat three meals a day and at least one snack a day? I'm not going shopping until next year (I love saying that!), and I already have a few options planned out. I'll share my ideas later today or tomorrow to give anyone a chance if they'd like to take a stab :-p
EDIT: If you want to really be in my shoes, your only cooking equipment includes a one-burner electric hot plate, microwave, and toaster oven (no temp controls). No oven.
I'm already eating breakfast for today, so I suppose you can take that one meal out: fried chicken breast (coated in breadcrumbs), roasted carrot with rosemary, and rice with toasted sesame seeds. Obviously I'm eating the last carrot and the last of the rice!
I would use 1 of the eggs, plus baking ingredients to make 2 servings of pancakes for breakfast the 2 days, served with strawberry jam. Split the rest of the vegetable soup, the apple and the corn chips for 2 lunches. 1 dinner is the last chicken breast, maybe breaded, other dinner is last 2 eggs and 2 pieces bread (egg sandwich). 1 cookie each day for dessert. Depending on how large the bag of corn chips is, you can supplement your lunch with the extra bread.
Pretty close to what I'm doing, marblejane. Here's an internet cookie for you: *cookie*
Yesterday's lunch: vegetable soup, corn chips, cookie
Yesterday's dinner: pancakes (no egg, no milk) with strawberry jam
Today's breakfast: pancakes with strawberry jam, apple, coffee
Today's lunch: vegetable soup, corn chips, egg sandwich (2 eggs)
Today's dinner: tortillas, soy sauce marinated chicken, hot sauce
BONUS Tomorrow's breakfast: french toast with strawberry jam (gotta eat before I go grocery shopping!)
-
Not sure if this is going on, but a big goal for 2014 is to get our monthly grocery/toiletry/dining out spend to $400 average per month. We spent $9545 annually in 2014. It is very embarrassing. To our credit, we purchased more from a local farm and I think that may have drove up some of the figures. We are still eating the food that I froze from the summer. Oh well. Live and learn. 2014 is a new year and all I can do is learn from our mistakes.
I am getting very diligent about meal planning and created a Microsoft OneNote file on everything we are eating. I went shopping last Thursday and have only purchased milk since then. We have been more creative with recipes (e.g. no butter, so making lots of things without). No olive oil left, so using canola or grapeseed oil. Learn that I could freeze bacon so we have it whenever it is needed and just use 1 piece too, which cuts down on excessive consumption. Made my own chicken broth from a chicken carcass. Began freezing more things that we would have normally thrown away so that I can make other dishes more quickly.
Goal is to use more of pantry/freezer and get that down some more. Make some things ahead - like extra dishes to freeze for DH that he can just take to work for lunch, flash freezing beans to get rid of stash in pantry & always have on hand, stretching any meat consumption to opt more for veggies/beans, and resisting urge to get Chipotle or Jason's Deli. This plan worked well in December, so still rolling through into January. What's funny is that I find that we are actually better with a reduced budget....more creative salads and more vegetables. It also makes me feel more content and gives me a cozy feeling, knowing that I am doing the right thing for my family in more ways than one.
We are also going to investigate a Costco when we are nearby one next weekend (it's about 50 miles away but we could stockpile the organic meats that I hear that they carry for far cheaper than my local Kroger). One of us is usually in the area of a Costco about 1x per month, so we will see if it is worth it.
Off to soak some pinto beans for some beef & refried bean enchiladas tomorrow night....
Next challenge is to make it to the 15th without shopping again and just making do with what we have....I want to see a bare fridge then.
Thanks for this!
-
Hey nottoolatetostart, that is awesome work!! My favorite part is freezing little things instead of throwing them away, so you can use them later. Empty the fridge and reduce waste at the same time.. I'm a bit jealous. :)
-
I freeze bacon on parchment paper, one rasher at a time. (Bacon, fold over, bacon, and so on). Ends up looking like one of those artist paintbrush rolls. Then I can easily get one or two slices for breakfast/soup/burger making.
-
153 - I read about freezing bacon with parchment, but also read a recommendation online to just flash freeze on a baking tray. I did that over the weekend and when the bacon was frozen, just threw everything into a freezer bag. You can save your parchment as it is not needed since the strips are individual in my freezer bag now. I do this with chick peas and shredded chicken too, so I can just pull out what is needed.
-
I read a rule--here or elsewhere--that said the person freezes leftovers within 24 hours. I am starting to do this. What would happen is we'd get tired of eating the leftovers and then it would go bad. No more!
I made homemade Lara bars last night, which let me use up slivered blanched almonds, some peanuts, and some walnuts.
This weekend, we're going to fill up only on items we've run out of--yogurt, eggs, brown rice, etc.
It helps a lot that DH and I had a talk and he said he does tend to buy a lot b/c he grew up in a house with a mom who did that. His mom wants to have any ingredient on hand so it's available at any time to make anything. That has been costing us.
DH has been open to visiting the grocery less often and even was joking with me about how often he'd gone (four times in four days, I think).
-
I haven't been grocery shopping in a week, which is a big step for me. I'm working on eating EVERYTHING out of the fridge and cupboards! At least, everything that can spoil. I'm going on a trip in a week, so I hope I can last :)
-
To help motivate me, I picked a little challenge. We were given a $200 gift card to the nearby grocery store, and I'm going to see how long I can make it last. $170 left as of today, which was my first grocery trip of the year. Of the $30, about $4 of was orajel for the baby. The rest was eggs, milk, cottage cheese, and fresh fruits and vegetables. We have tons of meat in the freezer, as well as canned chicken, tuna, and salmon, lots of dried and canned beans, frozen vegetables, pasta, and canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. We even have a few frozen pizzas and heat and eat meals in case I'm feeling lazy.
So far this month, we've eaten really well. I had some steamed butternut squash with rosemary in the freezer, and used it as a base to a pureed vegetable soup. I made Thai basil pork, mexican-style braised beef, chicken and squash pasta, as well as some more basic standbys like spaghetti and meat sauce, black bean burrito bowls, and stir-fry.
-
This is an amazing idea. However it could lead to some incredibly boring dishes...at least in my house. I'm looking at noodles with mustard or maybe frozen okra covered in flour. Oh, there's some old garbanzo beans. Maybe I can mix those with that weird thai curry paste in the back of the fridge?
-
My fridge is super bare at the moment and I'm actually feeling really calm as a result. I went to the store yesterday and bought exactly one bag of bean sprouts for $.79. The old me would have used that trip as an excuse to load up on several other items I didn't really need. I am going to force myself to make this this new normal: buy exactly what I need. Nothing more!
Oh, and I finished my last frozen serving of that awful pumpkin soup tonight. Good riddance. I'm kind of proud of myself for eating it even though I hated it.
-
My fridge is super bare at the moment and I'm actually feeling really calm as a result. I went to the store yesterday and bought exactly one bag of bean sprouts for $.79. The old me would have used that trip as an excuse to load up on several other items I didn't really need. I am going to force myself to make this this new normal: buy exactly what I need. Nothing more!
Oh, and I finished my last frozen serving of that awful pumpkin soup tonight. Good riddance. I'm kind of proud of myself for eating it even though I hated it.
Wow--you actually ate it! And I gave you permission to toss it! ;-D
Even though my fridge, freezer, and pantry look almost bare, I still have several options for meals. GOOD options! French toast, fried chicken, tacos with chicken/bell peppers or potato/spinach filling, sweet potatoes, apples, egg sandwich, eggs on rice, stir fry, carrots, soup...
I'm so glad my relationship to groceries has progressed to this point. I used to be one of those people who peeks into a full fridge, declares there's nothing to eat, and gets something from a drive-thru. I have so much more control over my cravings now; I find that I crave things I actually have. Amazing!
But I totally would have tossed the icky soup. Bravisimo, ashley!
-
Hah, thanks nikki! Good for you, too! Sounds like we have both become more mindful, and that is definitely something to celebrate!
I did give myself permission to toss a giant batch of horribly bitter vegetable stock last week. I don't know what caused it exactly (I used a few bags of mystery vegetable scraps accumulated over a super long time and couldn't even tell you what was in there), but it was flat out disgusting. I tried to save it and just couldn't. Oh well. At least it all would have been garbage anyway, so I don't feel like I really wasted anything except some time and electricity.
-
Ashley - cannot believe you ate the soup either. Way to go!
Still going, going...finally finished up the HUGE bag of refried beans I had purchased probably 1.5 years ago. Did an experiment about a month ago and made refried beans to freeze in individual / 1 can portion sizes. It went so well and went through that batch pretty quickly. Over the last 2 days, I soaked and slow cooked the left of that huge bag and portioned everything out last night. Got 8 bags of 1-can servings.
Organized my pantry better and was kind of bummed that I did not have as much as I envisioned. Oh well.
Up next on the menu
- leftover beef and refried bean enchiladas from last night
- warm butternut squash salad (red onions, homemade vinigerette, cran-raisins, feta or goat cheese...a salad as a meal that DH loves!)
- maple Dijon chicken with broccoli & feta orzo
- could do a chicken noodle soup since I have frozen chicken broth, shredded frozen chicken from a roasted chicken, celery, peas (no carrots or egg noodles, but I am sure I can make some egg noodles, right?)
- thai chicken wraps
- another roasted chicken with rice & salad (no mashed potatoes or carrots left!)
- chili?
Think we are going to make it to the 15th without grocery shopping!
Good luck everyone!
-
Hah, thanks nikki! Good for you, too! Sounds like we have both become more mindful, and that is definitely something to celebrate!
I did give myself permission to toss a giant batch of horribly bitter vegetable stock last week. I don't know what caused it exactly (I used a few bags of mystery vegetable scraps accumulated over a super long time and couldn't even tell you what was in there), but it was flat out disgusting. I tried to save it and just couldn't. Oh well. At least it all would have been garbage anyway, so I don't feel like I really wasted anything except some time and electricity.
Avoid putting onion peels in your vegetable scraps if you aren't doing that already. They will usually make the stock bitter.
-
Hah, thanks nikki! Good for you, too! Sounds like we have both become more mindful, and that is definitely something to celebrate!
I did give myself permission to toss a giant batch of horribly bitter vegetable stock last week. I don't know what caused it exactly (I used a few bags of mystery vegetable scraps accumulated over a super long time and couldn't even tell you what was in there), but it was flat out disgusting. I tried to save it and just couldn't. Oh well. At least it all would have been garbage anyway, so I don't feel like I really wasted anything except some time and electricity.
Avoid putting onion peels in your vegetable scraps if you aren't doing that already. They will usually make the stock bitter.
Whaaaat!? I always use the onion peels!
This page has a nice little list of veggies to avoid putting in because they make the stock bitter: http://www.thekitchn.com/tip-save-vegetable-scraps-for-67995
I've also read elsewhere that overcooking can cause a bitter taste.
-
NotToLate- how did you get the bacon off of the tray? Mine ended up as a big pile of frozen bacon shards the last time I tried that.
Ashley- when I have had veggie stock go bitter, it's always been because I wasn't paying close enough attention, and let it cook well over an hour. Also, I remember the internet saying cruciferous veg is a no-no for its bitter flavor compounds.
-
Hah, thanks nikki! Good for you, too! Sounds like we have both become more mindful, and that is definitely something to celebrate!
I did give myself permission to toss a giant batch of horribly bitter vegetable stock last week. I don't know what caused it exactly (I used a few bags of mystery vegetable scraps accumulated over a super long time and couldn't even tell you what was in there), but it was flat out disgusting. I tried to save it and just couldn't. Oh well. At least it all would have been garbage anyway, so I don't feel like I really wasted anything except some time and electricity.
Avoid putting onion peels in your vegetable scraps if you aren't doing that already. They will usually make the stock bitter.
Whaaaat!? I always use the onion peels!
This page has a nice little list of veggies to avoid putting in because they make the stock bitter: http://www.thekitchn.com/tip-save-vegetable-scraps-for-67995
I've also read elsewhere that overcooking can cause a bitter taste.
Well, that's good to hear; I've always avoided it based on... Um .. Probably my grandmother's say-so? I'll give it a try. Onion skins and bits are perhaps the bulk of my veggies scraps!
-
I think I did a lot of things I shouldn't have done. I let it cook too long, I used onion peels, I think there was some eggplant in there... all bad ideas. Actually, I've used all of those things separately before with good results, but I think it was just the perfect storm of banned ingredients. It was really bad.
-
NotToLate- how did you get the bacon off of the tray? Mine ended up as a big pile of frozen bacon shards the last time I tried that.
153 - I did use a Silpat baking mat (purchased during anti-Mustachian days) for the bacon (you could use parchment, but I guess that would defeat the purpose of flash freezing vs. the accordion style you currently do). However, I normally don't use anything for the other foods that I flash freeze. If items are stuck, I give it a few minutes to sit on the counter before attempting to get it off and they usually come right off. I can't recall ever having an issue. Or, you could use a smear of leftover bacon grease on your tray to ensure they slide right off. Another option is to use a different pan/dish/etc that might be more non-stick than what you used previously that is also freezer safe.
-
It has been fun reading the posts, I am in the process of this as well. I have $200 of gift cards left to grocery stores and will be using those for my produce and fresh food. My goal is see how long I can go with $100 budget, the gift cards and what is in my home already. Making some soup today with leftover veg scraps and a turkey carcass. There was a blog I have read before that the family would go on a challenge to not shop for about 20 weeks, they allotted $20 for fresh food each week. It is called pinkcookieswithsprinkles.blogspot.com she did this challenge it looks like in 2011 and 2010. Fun to read if you are into this.
-
Well, that's good to hear; I've always avoided it based on... Um .. Probably my grandmother's say-so? I'll give it a try. Onion skins and bits are perhaps the bulk of my veggies scraps!
yep I use onion parts too with no ill effects (at least as far as I can tell). I do still toss out about half my onion scraps though, otherwise my vegetable stock would be like 80% onion :-P
-
On this rainy and foggy day, I used up two cans of clams to make comforting, hot New England claim chowder. This soup went over verrrrry well. I made bread and used up a mishmash of GF flours too. This is fun.
We are also aiming to keep the grocery bill under $425 this month. Baby steps. We have $75/week left for the rest o' the month.
My discovery is a pounds of millet and quinoa in the fridge. I can do a lot with that.
-
I like this challenge! I've been working on this too, off and on, and did a massive cooking marathon today. It really helps me to make and freeze meals ahead so that when I arrive home from work starving, I am set. (On Friday, my work from home day, I was thrilled to find a container of frozen candied sweet potatoes left over from Thanksgiving! They were still fantastic.)
Today I killed off:
Molasses we have left over from holiday baking, and some of the ginger syrup I bought to use in the fancy cocktails for our stay-at-home New Year's Eve celebration. The syrup was basically free, since I used a World Market gift card I was given, but the stuff is really too sweet for my liking. Made gingerbread granola with it. Burned it a little around the edges though. oops. It went from damp to burnt pretty quickly.
Nearly all of the beans we have in the house. I have veggie chili going in the crockpot right now, and also made some black bean enchiladas (to use up tortillas) and white bean hummus which I think I actually like more than the traditional chickpea version.
A container of frozen shredded carrots - the dregs of my garden. Next year I will plant fewer carrots; I don't really eat them that often any more. These went into the veggie chili.
My next challenge is a big bag of split peas. I hate split peas. I am going to try and make this tomorrow: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/ethiopian-split-pea-puree-kik-alicha/ but am uncertain if it will be gross because the peas are green, not yellow. Hopefully it doesn't turn out so awful that I can't choke it down.
-
Forced by this challenge to make cherry cobbler last night for desert, how terrible! Used up a can of the cherries, half a cake mix and butter. Next up tomorrow: The girl scout cookie stack. (Earlier this week we did eat more mundane, with rice, 1.5 cans of beans, can of dice tomatoes, an onion, some garlic, and some frozen corn from our stash, in addition to the innumerable tomato sauce with pasta nights.) Drank up the Gatorade, but have some champagne left to drink....
-
Oh, I recently killed some girl scout cookies by grinding them up in a food processor and mixing in enough peanut butter to make the crumbs stick together. Rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. I called them truffles and people went crazy for them.
-
1 small bag of red potatoes that were sprouting, an extremely wilty onion and 3 wrinkled up carrots, a qt of beef broth, and some seasonings made a fantastic soup with leftovers into the freezer. A pie crust left in the freezer from thanksgiving + some really wilted kale turned into a lovely quiche.
Next I go after the dried beans - red beans, black beans, cannellini, and split peas.
-
Oh, I recently killed some girl scout cookies by grinding them up in a food processor and mixing in enough peanut butter to make the crumbs stick together. Rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. I called them truffles and people went crazy for them.
Are you kidding me? I kill girl scout cookies the first day they enter the house by shoving handfuls of them into my face! I've never heard of the concept of left-over girl scout cookies--didn't know such a thing was possible. You've blown my mind!
-
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
-
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
Well, I posted in this very thread about some awful rice noodles I suffered through (until the final dish that was completely unpalatable--and consequently trashed). But in general, I just don't buy things I don't want to eat. This means I don't buy things to try new recipes often, which is probably where most people's mysterious, less desired ingredients come from. Like those damn rice noodles.
I guess it's really as simple as that for me. If my choices are fried chicken, tacos, eggs on rice, egg sandwiches, french toast, pancakes, vegetable soup, or snacks of veggies, fruits, or yogurt, they almost always sound awesome and the decision comes down to how much effort I want to put into preparing food. Tacos take the longest because I make the tortillas from scratch. Vegetable soup, after it's initially made and just hanging around in containers, is the laziest because it just requires a microwave. Ditto microwave-"baked" sweet potatoes.
I must admit that I had a completely undisciplined "dinner" tonight, though, after walking around a huge market for hours today: I ate a king-size Snickers, honey crisps, and had a peach soda. Later on I ate leftover rice with vegetable soup, but the bulk of what filled my tummy was overly processed sugar I shouldn't have bought in the first place. Why? Because when I imagined the vegetable soup waiting for me, I imagined myself still being hungry and far too tired to cook anything else. And I had to whip my sweet tooth into submission once and for all.
Doh.
-
nikki, I'm with you on only buying things I want to eat. I used to pick up random ingredients just because they looked interesting, not knowing what I'd do with them, and then they just sat around. Meanwhile, I felt like I had nothing to eat. I'm really trying to use up those items and never buy them again, because obviously they are not foods I am really interested in eating.
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
I set a very strict budget for myself. Sucks if I don't want to eat what I have, because that's what I'm stuck with! I guess you could call that discipline, but I just think of it as being practical. If I'm truly desperate to have something, I'll buy it, but usually not without agonizing over the purchase for a while. Maybe I'm the one who's fucked up!
Oh, I recently killed some girl scout cookies by grinding them up in a food processor and mixing in enough peanut butter to make the crumbs stick together. Rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. I called them truffles and people went crazy for them.
Are you kidding me? I kill girl scout cookies the first day they enter the house by shoving handfuls of them into my face! I've never heard of the concept of left-over girl scout cookies--didn't know such a thing was possible. You've blown my mind!
I really just don't have much of a sweet tooth! I'll eat one or two and enjoy them, and then I'm done. They just end up going stale.
-
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
I buy low on the food chain so that I can make whatever I want. I am not sure what you mean by "food issues" though.
-
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
Maybe figure out why you're craving something in particular? Last night I really wanted pizza, not vegetable soup. I finally decided on making grilled cheese to go with the soup, and that was exactly what I needed. I still ate a huge bowl of the soup, but the crispy, warm, gooey grilled cheese hit the pizza spot perfectly.
I'm not sure what particular issue you have with food, but I love the blog "Drop it and Eat." It really helped me gain perspective about how I viewed food.
-
In 2012 and 2013, we participated in a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm share. I love the idea of buying local, organic produce and really got to know the farmers over the last couple years. Not only is it more expensive (it would be 20% or so of our new annual food budget of $4800), but the worst part for my family is the time and the fact that many of the vegetables we just don't like. There I said it. Realizing this fact has been difficult and we have decided not to do the CSA in 2014 because I don't want to be burdened by "forcing" myself to eat vegetables that I cannot get excited about, will not get excited about. It's a first world problem, I know. But I am trying to release myself from the guilt of that I "should" belong to a CSA simply because I should and not because I love everything they offer.
This is timely. I just discovered a new CSA catering to English-speaking expats in South Korea, and I'm seriously considering signing up after I move. It might not even be *too* much more expensive than what I currently spend. There's even the possibility that I'd save money.
-
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
The more inconvenient you can make it to satisfy the craving, the easier it is to eat what you planned. My case is pretty extreme -- I have to go down off the mountain and drive eight miles to get to a grocery store, and there is no delivery here. But the general principal still applies. Find a way to make it easier to eat what you've planned. Maybe that means taking the delivery service off sped dial, or not keeping the worst temptations in the house.
-
Update for the day: quick soaking and using up 1 lb bag of dried organic navy beans. Making http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/03/navy-bean-soup-with-sausage-spinach/
I have a similar bag of Navy beans. I'll look into making this recipe to use them up!
Update: Made Spanish tortilla before work this morning and ate it for breakfast and will also eat for lunch.
Tonight's dinner will be leftover dal or black beans and rice (or maybe quinoa).
-
Will serve with honey wheat rolls we got for free to use those up. Since we have no butter, I am going to have to think of a fun condiment to serve alongside so DH doesn't catch on that I am avoiding the grocery store. May serve with Beautiful salad on the side since I have all the ingredients except the nuts: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beautiful-Salad/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=beautiful%20salad&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page
You could make a super quick bread dipping oil oil with whatever herbs and spices you like. Or if you have some balsamic vinegar you could do an oil and vinegar dip.
For breakfast I came across a recipe for "Paleo" Porridge made out of ground flax seeds and coconut milk. I had both on hand and have been struggling to use the flax so I figured why not? Then I made it..and remembered the reason I don't like some porridge, and okra and millet is because it is so mucolegenic...this is hard to choke down. Think I will bend up the rest of it into a smoothie and hopefully it won't be as noticeable.
-
Thanks for all the ideas! I do only buy food I like (gave up buying food I "should" like long ago). But I still have fickle tastes. But I know it's not really tastes, because I will happily eat any food others make and put in front of me. Sometimes I think I'm just tired and grumpy and am either using food as a way to lift my mood or as a way to act out and have some control when it feels like I have so little control over other things (like work). So doing things like prepping the night before so it's the path of least resistance or thinking about what it is about the food I'm craving and trying to get that are helpful. The blog "Drop it and Eat" looks great, too.
-
Nottoolatetostart--I have not done the Navy bean soup yet. Spouse made black beans and rice last night, so we went with that.
Did I already tell you guys about this great idea I found? Basically, you should freeze/label any leftovers within 24 hours. Thanks to this, I have an Indian meal in the freezer that can be pulled out on a "dumb and tired" night.
Today, I think I'll start soaking the Navy beans and get split pea soup with grilled cheese croutons going.
http://www.thekitchn.com/soup-recipe-vegetarian-split-p-132464
Spouse may be twitchy about making fewer grocery runs. We were heading somewhere and he pointed out the Safeway and said we could go in if we needed anything. We'd just been to the store 12 hours before!
The other night, he pointed out we were running low on broccoli and would need to visit the store. I think he really wants to visit the grocery store. He is fighting how he was raised, which was to have waaaay more food than anyone could eat. I did not really respond to the comments above, yet it might be worth a chat later. =-)
He realizes his grocery visits are over the top, so that is good. And he has a sense of humor about it.
-
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
i hear you on the food issues. i get really cranky when what i want isn't there for me in the pantry. nevermind that what i have is healthy, filling and something i enjoy. its not what i WANT. the way i deal with it is usually pouting and not eating if i'm trying really hard to save money. so i either skip dinner (its always dinner for me) or intend to skip dinner and then get so hungry i eat what i have anyways but i'm mad about it and really want to go get something that i want. this lasts until i have my morning coffee which always, always makes me happy.
food is really one of the things i consider an enjoyment, daresay even entertainment for me. so its not fun when i have to eat something stupid and boring.
-
last night I made some seedy crackers:
http://www.lastingredient.com/2013/04/29/seedy-crisps-hummus/ (http://www.lastingredient.com/2013/04/29/seedy-crisps-hummus/)
I make these whenever I have random flours/seeds/spices to use up as you can completely change up the recipe to use whatever you have on hand. It makes a lot of "gourmet" crackers you would pay through the nose for. Last night I added flax seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and some smoked paprika. I emptied three little baggies out of my fridge!
I have a stand mixer and manual pasta roller which makes it super, super easy. I wouldn't want to roll these ones out by hand. I also cook them at 425F instead of 450.
-
Split pea soup was a hit as were the grilled cheese croutons.
Moving on to making nottoolatetostart's Navy bean soup.
-
Swick - I've always wanted to learn how to make my own pasta, but I don't have the stand mixer attachment to do so.
It's just flour, water, and salt, and maybe an egg or two. Bigger shapes like ravioli are practical enough to do with a rolling pin.
-
Did I already tell you guys about this great idea I found? Basically, you should freeze/label any leftovers within 24 hours. Thanks to this, I have an Indian meal in the freezer that can be pulled out on a "dumb and tired" night.
I know this, but I'm really slack about actually doing it. I tend to forget about leftovers in the fridge until they go bad. I hate wasting food.
-
Swick - I've always wanted to learn how to make my own pasta, but I don't have the stand mixer attachment to do so.
I have a manual pasta roller, they cost between 50-80 new but every so often I find them at thrift stores for a couple of bucks. It is definitely worth keeping an eye out! I have purchased several this way and cleaned them up and given them for gifts.
-
I joined this challenge and started by organizing and cleaning my cupboards, pantry, fridge, deep freezer, and additional storage for bulk Costco goods in the basement. Made a list of every food item we have..... turns out we have a LOT of food! Too bad it never occured to us to do this before and we are guilty of previously ignoring things until they expire. Especially in the pantry and deep freezer. Really need to reduce the amount of food we keep on a regular basis, and the amount of food we throw out.
-
Too bad it never occured to us to do this before and we are guilty of previously ignoring things until they expire. Especially in the pantry and deep freezer. Really need to reduce the amount of food we keep on a regular basis, and the amount of food we throw out.
+1
Google the item to find out if you can use past the expiration/best by date, and for how long. I've been eating some not too expired items, and tossing others. It's pretty amazing how much stuff has been sitting around. Some are because I've changed eating habits (I had stockpiled cheap cookie/brownie mixes, assorted snacks etc that we don't eat as much anymore). Some are just stockpiling way too much compared to what we do eat. And some I stockpiled not realizing my DH won't eat the items (e.g. certain soups). I also think I'm accustomed to seeing my parent's stockpile for a family of 5 which is larger than I need.
We move on Saturday (and have packed up all of the food already), but I am going to continue to work down our stockpile even afterwards. I haven't been going hardcore only eating items in the pantry, but we've definitely eaten down a lot.
-
I am so pleased. Today, I knew I would not have much time to make dinner, so I gathered the ingredients for this taco dinner and had it cooking in the crockpot by 0820.
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/07/taco-chicken-bowls/
Last night, I made this and will eat it for lunch today:
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/05/italian-wonderpot/
-
i'm almost out of food. i'm down to 4 cans of green beans, ramen, tuna, eggs, cheese, pasta noodles, and pepperoni. and of course wine. i think i'll be making some sort of mac n cheese tonight
-
This thread is a great kick in the ass. I've gotten better, but still seem to think I need to shop every week. This week I'll only buy stuff for salad. That should go for next week as well, but I'll take it one week at a time. I'll be cheating a little by feeding some of the stuff to the chickens, but we do eat all their eggs, and it offsets the feed bill, so I think that counts.
-
I'm down to zero produce at the moment, except pickled carrots and frozen fruit. I'm debating trying to go another week before I shop again. I think I could do it, but I don't know if it's really worth it. I really do feel better when I'm eating a lot of vegetables.
I'm amazed by how much food I actually had in my pantry. I keep eating away at it, but it seems like I'm barely making a dent.
-
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
i hear you on the food issues. i get really cranky when what i want isn't there for me in the pantry. nevermind that what i have is healthy, filling and something i enjoy. its not what i WANT. the way i deal with it is usually pouting and not eating if i'm trying really hard to save money. so i either skip dinner (its always dinner for me) or intend to skip dinner and then get so hungry i eat what i have anyways but i'm mad about it and really want to go get something that i want. this lasts until i have my morning coffee which always, always makes me happy.
food is really one of the things i consider an enjoyment, daresay even entertainment for me. so its not fun when i have to eat something stupid and boring.
I thought I was the only one! I can look at a full cabinet and not find anything to eat. I'm working on keeping easy things stocked (pre-make favorites), but I struggle with the cooking part.
-
I'm in on this at the moment. I'm trying to get to the end of the month without spending anymore grocery money except for milk. Also some stockpiled stuff is getting close to use by date. The garden is supplying fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, a little silverbeet and kale, some rocket and fresh herbs. I picked up some milk and some grapes on ultra special yesterday...I think it will be fine, but it seems weird not to go food shopping once a week.
-
Eating the leftover taco bowls:
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/07/taco-chicken-bowls/
And making the Navy bean soup I was yapping about up above:
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/03/navy-bean-soup-with-sausage-spinach/
I have my eye on these Dragon Noodles next:
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/08/spicy-noodles/
Phew! We are aiming to stay UNDER $425 this month. $400 is my stretch goal. Either of these would be a big deal for us. We have around $100 left for January.
-
I picked 7 large cucumbers today. More coming. Lucky I have all the other ingredients for cucumber soup.
-
Unrelated (or possibly related) to the above...how do you get yourself to eat something you have on hand when you really don't feel like it, or when you're craving something else? I have food issues, in that food has taken on all kinds of meaning beyond "nourishment," and I find myself having huge internal battles about eating what's in the cupboard vs. getting what I really want.
Are you just more disciplined? Less fucked up? Or do you have some tips or tricks that might help?
My kids often get through their portion of vegetables by holding their noses all through the chewing and swallowing. Not an elegant way to eat, but it helps. ;)
-
I'd love to reduce our stock of food. My spouse keeps overbuying and we waste so much food! She was on a 3 month trip a couple years ago and I minimized the shopping. I still bought milk, eggs, bread, and a half dozen other staples, but that represents 1/5 of what she would buy.
During that 3 months I ate from my garden, and stock from our freezer and pantry. This was with 2 adult children eating most meals at home. I could have gone another 3 months easily.
-
I made quesadillas yesterday (http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/02/hearty-black-bean-quesadillas/) with stuff in the cabinets. We didn't have any tortillas, so I mad some. It was a lot harder than I expected!
I also made cinnamon raisin bagels. Can you tell we have a lot of flour?
Now our freezer is under control. I need to start clearing out our canned goods.
-
I'm trying really hard not to shop again for the rest of the month ($50 spent so far in January), but I'm starting to run out of "staples" (oatmeal, olive oil, vanilla, TEA!!) and am really having to challenge myself to find substitutions instead of going out to the store. It's amazing how quickly those feelings of deprivation can set in, when they are clearly ridiculous. I can eat something other than oatmeal for breakfast and be just fine. It just feels weird to break my routine.
I recently did the math on my store-bought almond milk expenditure ($6/week for just me) and decided it was absolutely ridiculous. So, I started making my own, and discovered I really liked it. That will be a big money saver, so I'm excited. It's more work, but so is everything else homemade.
But, now I'm out almonds. I have a ton of rice, so I've been experimenting with rice milk. I think it's time to give up, because homemade rice milk sucks just as much as store-bought. I really want to like it because it costs pennies to make, but it's sort of pointless to keep ruining my coffee.
I have a lot of raw walnuts in my freezer (my uncle has a tree), so I think I'll try walnut milk next. If that fails, I will probably have to cave and buy more almonds.
-
As a challenge, I added the $30-40 spouse spent at the grocery on alcohol into the grocery budget. I thought he might wince, but he got a strong look and said, "We're going to make it on what's left."
Love it!
He made us this today for lunch. Dragon Noodles!
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/08/spicy-noodles/
I made more Lara bars for the week ahead. I subbed in sunflower seeds for some of the almonds and love the challenge of making do with what we've got.
-
This challenge lead me to a great new breakfast option this morning: "Fauxtmeal"
I have a bunch of applesauce I canned a few years ago and rarely eat. Put half a jar in the blender with flax, walnuts, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, some pie spice, maple syrup and two eggs and blend until the nuts are chopped up. Pour into a bowl and microwave for ~2.5 minutes. Stir, and top with a few raisins and a dash of milk of choice (I actually used some plain kefir). Same concept should work with canned pumpkin instead of the applesauce. Going to try adding some protein powder to the mix, too. Excited because I can take this mixture to work and then nuke it for a hot breakfast when I'm ready for it, since I often get to work at 7 and am not ready for breakfast until 9 or 10. This does not taste eggy at all.
Grocery bill this week: $25.
-
Well, 10 more days to go to the end of Jan. Spent nothing since 17 Jan. Nothing on food or anything else. Drowning in cucumbers. Can man live on cucumber alone? Have run out of my usual tea. Disaster! Am using up stray bags of English Breakfast and Orange Pekoe. Then I'll be onto peppermint and green tea. Otherwise remarkably, we are living well on stored food and garden vege.
-
Well, 10 more days to go to the end of Jan. Spent nothing since 17 Jan. Nothing on food or anything else. Drowning in cucumbers. Can man live on cucumber alone? Have run out of my usual tea. Disaster! Am using up stray bags of English Breakfast and Orange Pekoe. Then I'll be onto peppermint and green tea. Otherwise remarkably, we are living well on stored food and garden vege.
Oh cucumbers, how I miss you. Last summer I lived on cucumbers. Organic cucumbers are roughly $1.99 each right now. No cucumbers for me! Making tzatziki with dill pickles instead of lemon juice, cucumbers, and fresh dill.
-
My cucumbers cost about20c for the seeds. I only planted about eight seeds and got 5 plants. Picked 13 6-8" cucumbers today. Gave 4 to my neighbour. Will give the rest away tomorrow: have recipients lined up. Still have 8 in fridge.... tomorrow's dinner will be 2 courses: cucumber soup, followed by tuna rissoles (with cucumber garnish).
Big problem coming up: I have run out of 85% dark chocolate. Wonder how long I can hang out.
-
Tonight will be beef and bean enchiladas. Picked up my favorite tortillas for $1/package last week, made refried beans last week or week before (in individual portions in freezer), and will use ground beef I got on sale. Will actually make a double batch since we tend to eat these so much and freeze 1 dish. My recipe inspired by this one: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/brown-hot-and-plenty-of-it-vol-i/
Hoping for ground beef leftovers so I can make taco salad tomorrow or day after! Yum!
-
Ended up making a double batch of the beef and bean enchiladas yesterday so we have an extra Pyrex in the freezer to eat next week! I also prepped everything in the morning so by dinnertime, I only had to throw last night's dish into the oven. No cleanup other than plates left to do. Love cooking like that! Also, since I made dinner in the morning, I had enough ingredients on hand to make some awesome beef and bean nachos for my lunch yesterday. So, so, so happy!
Today will likely be crockpot version of the split pea, bacon, and potato soup recipe from Budget Bytes. Will add carrot too since I have them. Have no onion - ugh. But I do have homemade chicken broth from last weekend, so I am happy to use up what I did not freeze.
Also might make some bread on the side since we now have butter!
Hope you all are doing well with your pantry challenges.
-
short of condiments i am officially going to be out of food after lunch today! this was great. today after work i'm going to scrub the pantry and fridge before i put anything else in it. the other bonus is i learned what i like, what i can tolerate, and the stuff i keep buying simply because i think i *should* like it. those things won't be making an appearance anymore
-
Well done ace!
Still going on minimal spend until end of Jan. Spent $37 instead of $200 this week. Pantry is improving. I liked the cucumber soup - but no-one else did.
-
Fantastic, ace! I don't know if I'll ever get to that point, but it's a worthy goal. Good for you.
My fridge is really empty right now, and I too am dining on condiments. Tonight I spread miso on toast, topped it with pickled carrots, and called it dinner. Yikes.
I've been really overdoing it on grains lately and can't wait to go shopping and buy something fresh.
-
Meatloaf tonight with ground beef and turkey from the freezer stock. Pretty much ALL fresh veggies went into a soup last night. We'd been eating turkey and leftovers every night this week and DH came home with a deli sandwich last night, so I guess I've learned that 3 nights in a row of the same thing is his limit.
Did my weekly shop a day early - kept it to $47 for the week, but it could have been lower - realized when I got home that I already had a carton of almond milk, and I could have cooked the lamb shanks that are in the freezer instead of buying a chuck roast. Bought butter so I can bake cookies to take to work, thus getting rid of the baking ingredients I very rarely use. Also have the slow cooker full of kidney beans, which will be fed to the chickens. Next Friday is the last day of the month, so goal is to not shop again until February. Stock of condiments and other random items in the fridge and cupboard is noticeably decreasing, making life just a little bit simpler.
-
I'm defrosting turkey and beans from last week's cooking session to eat tomorrow.
For tonight, I made challah and lentil soup.
The BudgetBytes.com site went down today. =-(
Happy weekend!
-
Tonight will be beef and bean enchiladas. Picked up my favorite tortillas for $1/package last week, made refried beans last week or week before (in individual portions in freezer), and will use ground beef I got on sale. Will actually make a double batch since we tend to eat these so much and freeze 1 dish. My recipe inspired by this one: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/brown-hot-and-plenty-of-it-vol-i/
Hoping for ground beef leftovers so I can make taco salad tomorrow or day after! Yum!
Looks good! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
-
The last of the pasta is gone:) Will make another coconut pie today - uses up coconut flour and shredded coconut..2 items that need to be used up and seem to be regenerating. That coconut flour just never seems to go down. Dinner will be tuna mornay (yes another big can of tuna).
I've solved the cucumbers: I'm juicing them.
-
Omg I am SUCH a pantry horded! I hate clutter, I'm a total minimalist...except for the pantry. Good news is that I'm doing a No Spend Month for January, and as part of that I vowed to eat as much food from the pantries as possible. I'm pretty sure I have spent only about $75 on groceries so far this month because of it (single person)!
I think I've eaten a jar of pickle relish, a half jar on pickles, two jars of pasta sauce, a pound of macaroni, a box of mac and cheese, a small jar of Greek lima beans, a can of dolmas, almost a whole box of cereal, a half gallon of almond milk, about 2/3 of a pound of coffee beans, frozen broccoli, almost a whole large bag of English muffins, almost a whole jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bag of hotdog buns, 7 Field Roast sausages, and about 30 Taco Bell hot sauce packets.
-
Well, we may have done it. If we keep out of the grocery for the next week, we will have lowered our monthly grocery bill by a lot.
We'll be at $400 with alcohol included. I normally don't include the alcohol with the groceries, but we decided to make our challenge more challenging.
So, we'd really be at around $360 for the month without including the alcohol. For us, that is a miracle.
This was a lot of hard work--for me at least. Keeping out of the grocery was the most important. Using up what we had was also important.
Next month, it'll go up a bit because I am making an emergency kit of food and supplies. Another goal...
-
Massive FAIL! I wasn't doing too badly. Groceries for the month were at under $200 with enough to get through the end of the month if I bought some milk and bread. But a friend wanted to go to Costco, so we did, and she went hog wild, and I am easily influenced by my peers, and $274 later...
Ugh. How about next month? :-)
-
Massive FAIL! I wasn't doing too badly. Groceries for the month were at under $200 with enough to get through the end of the month if I bought some milk and bread. But a friend wanted to go to Costco, so we did, and she went hog wild, and I am easily influenced by my peers, and $274 later...
Ugh. How about next month? :-)
HOLY SMOKES! You probably have enough for more than just next month :).
-
Keeping out of the grocery was the most important. Using up what we had was also important.
oldtoyota - I agree with you. While it seemed like I was doing a lot of damage with the larger trips, I think we saved money compared to the smaller trips. Learning to improvise is difficult and make do without.
We went over my $400 grocery/toiletries/restaurant budget this month (est $470), but it was mainly due to finding some organic chicken 50% off on clearance (& buying everything in stock), needing some household items (used coupons and sales for it all - e.g. won't be buying garbage bags for a year, will be making my own detergent and hand soap with basic ingredients purchased - should last throughout 2014), and our anniversary celebration aftermath ($25 or so in dining out). I can totally see the improvement in my January budget.
Have a great start for February and DH will be out of town for some it so I can just make some vegetarian meals for myself from the freezer with a little fresh produce and be happy. If I can keep Jan and Feb to under $750 combined (my stretch will be $700), I will be thrilled. Respectively, we spent $1030 last Jan and Feb.
Still have 6 dinner meals in January to get through though and want to stay focused there for now.
-
Today I made a large batch of lentil-broccoli calzones for the freezer, and now I'm hunting around for other things in my pantry I could stuff into calzones! They really are a great way to stretch ingredients.
I think I'm done shopping for the month. January total: $58.72.
-
Ashley, thats amazing :)
Massive FAIL!
. Never mind Gray Matter. Just keep going..the food is now in your house and needs to be eaten.
Since starting on 17/1 I spent $61, which is a massive reduction from our usual $200/week. I will keep going with this challenge until all the food close to use by, best before date is gone. Getting creative: last night I stretched leftover lamb shoulder into a mild curry, with tomato bake and rice. The night before was tuna bake. No more dusty cans of tuna! Now the pantry is a bit clearer, I 've found a few more items that need using up.
Milk is nearly out, so will need one more little shop in Jan, but will keep it to a minimum. I will pick up the ingredients to make refrigerator pickled cucumbers.
-
Keeping out of the grocery was the most important. Using up what we had was also important.
oldtoyota - I agree with you. While it seemed like I was doing a lot of damage with the larger trips, I think we saved money compared to the smaller trips. Learning to improvise is difficult and make do without.
We went over my $400 grocery/toiletries/restaurant budget this month (est $470), but it was mainly due to finding some organic chicken 50% off on clearance (& buying everything in stock), needing some household items (used coupons and sales for it all - e.g. won't be buying garbage bags for a year, will be making my own detergent and hand soap with basic ingredients purchased - should last throughout 2014), and our anniversary celebration aftermath ($25 or so in dining out). I can totally see the improvement in my January budget.
You did pretty well though!
I should note we have three people and a cat. Also, we buy mostly food at Trader Joe's. We don't buy many cleaning supplies. Gradually, I've moved to using cloth napkins/dish rags/dusters to reduce paper consumption and have made my own cleaning solution with water/vinegar for a long time.
Since you got such a good deal on chicken, maybe you can try to lower your Feb bill by that amount!
-
They're expecting snow in eastern NC tomorrow and Wed, and everyone is hunkering down and expecting stores/schools/work to be closed (we almost never get snow. Everything literally screeches to a halt when there is ANY amount of snow sticking to the ground.). This coincides with my weekly shopping, but I don't choose to brave the stores with the hordes that will be descending upon the hapless cashiers and clearing the shelves of anything that looks potentially useful. So I'll make do with what I have already in the house, which is actually a lot of food, and see how long I can keep this going! For whatever reason, I find it easier to cook at home/be creative with meals when my fridge looks empty so hopefully this will go well.
Long story short, I'm in!
-
Last night for dinner I made sausage balls (unfortunate name, but delicious!). I also made some granola to eat with the greek yogurt and frozen fruit I was attempting to make smoothies out of. I really don't like smoothies, though I like the idea of them. So anyway, there will be parfaits for breakfast now.
Completely used up: leftover sausage, cheese, oatmeal
Made a dent in: Bisquick mix, shredded coconut, walnuts
-
As my husband says ... put enough hot sauce in it will save anything lol...
I have been thinking of doing the same thing for the last little while ... and now that we are planning such an extensive trip I will need to do it ... so I am on board ... let's see ... today will be soup for sure ... -21 degrees ...
Oh and THANK YOU mustashians ... because of one of these forums (this morning) when my heat stopped working (and rather than call a technician) I opened my furnace, read the directions and turned off the gas, turned it on again AND my heat came back on !!!! As a first time home owner this was terribly satisfying!!!! It may have taken me till 43 years old but I WILL start doing more of these things on my own :)
I LOVE THIS SITE!!!
-
You did pretty well though!
I should note we have three people and a cat. Also, we buy mostly food at Trader Joe's. We don't buy many cleaning supplies. Gradually, I've moved to using cloth napkins/dish rags/dusters to reduce paper consumption and have made my own cleaning solution with water/vinegar for a long time.
Since you got such a good deal on chicken, maybe you can try to lower your Feb bill by that amount!
[/quote]
Hey, OT! Thanks. I am definitely focusing on keeping Feb pretty low, which should be very doable. I am learning more and more everyday.
And yes, we do cloth napkins, cleaning towels, and then dish towels. We maybe buy 2 rolls paper towels per year - have to hide them from DH though since they are for limited use things.
Update for the day: Made chicken stew last night. Cleared out the peas, more of my frozen shredded chicken, and pearl onions. Also learned how to make the fluffiest biscuits - they were so good! Have a few different dishes tonight from leftovers over the last few days - will probably make it a leftover and baked potato kind of night to clear out the fridge.
-
Alright everyone...just a few more days until the end of the month. Anyone else trying to stay out of the grocery store?
Ended up making BBQ chicken tacos last night with leftover corn tortillas, avocado, red onion, corn from the freezer. Added sirracha to it - it was amazing!
Tonight is "Breakfast for Dinner".....making buttermilk pancakes, eggs, and remaining bacon from the freezer. Maybe I will get fancy and make a crustless quiche - I need to use up some spinach and red onion.
Going to freeze buttermilk in ice cube trays that is not used and any leftover pancakes. It expires this Friday otherwise.
-
Im trying to stay out of the grocery store until Feb.. My freezer is getting quite bare.. I had a turkey kielbasa n my freezer for a very long time, so this week I sauteed it up with a can of beans, an onion, some diced tomatoes, an odd leftover veg or two from my fridge and some herbs. Served over rice, it was really good. I love it when that happens. :)
-
prudence - that sounds like a great dinner. It's great when unexpected, or low expectation items, come together so nicely!
Update for the day: breakfast for dinner last night was ok. No more freezer bacon, no more eggs, no more butter.
Today is using up one of my freezer bags of spaghetti sauce that I made from fresh CSA tomatoes over the summer (my goal is to use 2 per month until gone). Leaning towards slow cooker pasta e fagioli using dried navy beans, the freezer spaghetti sauce, spinach, and elbow macaroni. May make butterless brownies on the side to add some pep to the dinner since it is a meatless night. ;0)
Tomorrow is the 31st! Need to buy some more whole milk for toddler today as she is completely out as of this morning, but should close the month at 459 (my earlier estimates of 470 were off because of some wrong categorization). So excited as I have quite a bit of staples, plus a couple freezer meals, going into February. So my goal of 700-750 between Jan/Feb combined is looking doable.
-
Well I did have to make 1 more trip and spent $82. This included a couple things that we were about to run out of like a big tin of olive oil...usually $28, down to $14. Still a much better outcome for Jan than usual and quite some of the stuff I set out to use up is going down. Not quite the badass spirit of the challenge, but its working for me.
-
Today is using up one of my freezer bags of spaghetti sauce that I made from fresh CSA tomatoes over the summer (my goal is to use 2 per month until gone). Leaning towards slow cooker pasta e fagioli using dried navy beans, the freezer spaghetti sauce, spinach, and elbow macaroni. May make butterless brownies on the side to add some pep to the dinner since it is a meatless night. ;0)
Dinner last night was awesome! Toddler ate it like crazy. Nothing makes me happier than seeing her than seeing her stuff a huge piece of spinach into her mouth (& actually swallow it instead of spitting it out)! Plus, I made enough navy beans from scratch to throw into the freezer for something quick on hand over the next couple weeks. The brownies, which ended up being vegan because I realized I didn't have egg or butter, were terrible, in my opinion. Family liked them, but I won't be making that recipe again.
Tonight is BBQ chicken pizza. I made a partial whole wheat crust last week that went over well, so will likely do that again tonight. Still using my freezer shredded chicken - that is the best thing ever for fast meals. Have leftover BBQ sauce that I made last week, leftover pepper jack and cheddar cheeses, and some red onion. Should be good!
Happy Friday and congrats to everyone that made a dent in the January food budget, no matter the size!
-
Well, I've definitely come to realize how completely spoiled I am about food. I've still got a lot of food in the freezer/fridge, but all I can think about it what I don't have. Still, I'm determined to make it through the rest of January without grocery shopping. Today is my last hurrah for this round. I've got salmon with feta and spinach planned for lunch for my brother and his friend. And then I think we're going to kill the split pea soup in the freezer, possibly some leftover freezer spaghetti, and sweet potatoes for dinner. I'll chop up the last of the apples as snacks, plus we still have greek yogurt/granola/blueberries. See? Still plenty of food. I don't know what my problem is.
-
Looking forward to going shopping tomorrow, but I plan to make a concerted effort tonight to note the staples that I have, and design my purchasing around making good use of the stuff I already have on hand. Will mostly be buying protein and veggies. Goal = <$60.
-
Well, I've definitely come to realize how completely spoiled I am about food. I've still got a lot of food in the freezer/fridge, but all I can think about it what I don't have. Still plenty of food. I don't know what my problem is.
Yes, this is what I am learning.
To some extent we are reducing the amount of stockpiled food, so we are just eating what is already purchased, so I'm not sure how much money we are "saving". I am concentrating on items that might start to spoil soon and be in danger of being thrown out.
But there's quite a few luxuries like fresh blueberries that I've just completely nuked: after all there are frozen berries in the freezer (which still haven't been touched despite the absence of fresh ones). And to be honest no-one has missed them.
O and the cucumbers are going nuts again. Just got a tip from a vege growing neighbour. Pick them when they are small. Overall less volume to deal with. Pickled some, worked a treat.
-
Well, I've definitely come to realize how completely spoiled I am about food. I've still got a lot of food in the freezer/fridge, but all I can think about it what I don't have. Still plenty of food. I don't know what my problem is.
I would say that I have the opposite problem....I have been brainstorming a little every day on what is left in my pantry/freezer/pantry and I almost feel overwhelmed with how much I can make. We are out of all the things that I would consider staples...like butter, eggs, long hair pasta, most vegetables now, nearly all cheese....but I keep finding substitute recipes that allow me to still make my recipes without feeling deprived. I'm learning that sometimes by buying things that I "think" I need, I probably use them more than I should.
BBQ chicken pizza was just ok last night. Nothing special, but at least we have leftovers for lunch today. Tonight is going to be Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi from Allrecipes (mahi in freezer). Was hoping to use some macadamia nuts up, because who knows how long those have been in the cupboard?!? Maybe macadamia rice pilaf on the side with a spinach navel orange red onion salad.
Still trying to avoid the store for a few more days. My trap sometimes is "woo hoo, it's a new month, there's a new budget" and then I spend a huge chunk by the 3rd of the month. Not this month....
-
Thats great! My cooking creativity always comes in waves, think I'm a bit worn out creating :)
-
Used leftover chicken and winter squash for lunches for the next two days. I frequently make chicken salad with leftovers for lunches, but incorporating the winter squash was a new twist. Chopped chicken and squash with green onions, celery, curry powder and raisins. Also, I'd usually make this with plain yogurt, but had sour cream, so used that, with some vinegar to bring up the acidity. Worked great!
Dinner tonight incorporated one of the many bags of cauliflower rice in the freezer.
Spent about $88 on groceries this weekend, and shouldn't need to shop until I return from FL in the middle of the month. Shooting for a sub-$300 grocery bill, though I'm cheating a little since my restaurant budget will be upped a bit for the week I'm out of town.
-
i'm going to try this again since it worked so great for me the first time. after i ran out i went to Sams and bought about 300 dollars worth of stuff. since i'm trying to not spend anything in feb in the other challenge i'm going to stay out of the grocery store for everything except fresh produce. there should be nothing else i need.
side note, we eat pretty damn boring. maybe i should try to liven it up a bit. its like the same 5 meals over and over, no wonder i mistakenly buy weird stuff sometimes.
-
I'm not attempting to run down our food supply entirely, but I am making an effort to use up the weird ingredients we wouldn't otherwise use within the next little while, and to reduce our food hoard.
So far I'm doing pretty well, and it's also helping me to simplify what we buy and eat as I have a better idea of what goes down well and what will sit in the cupboard forever.
I did have to give a few containers of food away to my Dad as I could no longer eat them (after discovering a food intolerance), but he didn't seem to mind :-)
One of my tactics is to stick on the pantry door a little list of the 'weird' ingredients in our pantry and what we could make with them. e.g. "Custard powder - melting moments". This list acts as a prompt when planning meals.
-
One of my tactics is to stick on the pantry door a little list of the 'weird' ingredients in our pantry and what we could make with them. e.g. "Custard powder - melting moments". This list acts as a prompt when planning meals.
This is an awesome idea, mine will more resemble a book then a list - but I am definitely going to try it!
I have been trying to substitute my regular boring meals with as much homemade/from the pantry ingredients as possible. Take pasta tonight. Scratch made tomato sauce with lentils and some ground mystery meat I had frozen and forgot to label, with a bunch of spices and homemade noodles with more herbs and spices and a fancy sample size bottles of olive oil we were gifted. I don't know if I am thrilled or saddened by finally using up the last bit of sage that was in my freezer :)
-
Well I've used up pasta, plain flour, sugar, onions, all our potatoes, several packets of cake/brownie mix, old Mars bars, chocolate buttons for cooking, all the precooked freezer meals, rice bubbles, cannelloni beans, chickpeas, cracked wheat, various dried herbs, old cheese and probably a few other things. Teenagers anxiously circling and asking when I'm shopping again looking :(.
So I did a regular shop this week, back to $200, to stock up essentials we'd run out of. ! However I'm going to keep trying to use up the near expiry food still remaining. That would include the packets of coconut flour and shredded coconut, that seem to replenish themselves...
All in all we saved $200 in January, which was good since I didn't start til half way through.
-
Happy, the teenagers might like muffins made with the coconut flour. They are mostly egg. I don't really have recipe, but they can be pumpkin, applesauce or banana-based (or a combo). So something like 4-5 eggs, a can of pumpkin, ample amount of pie spice and a pinch of salt plus 1/2 tsp baking soda and some sweetener of your choice, then enough coconut flour to make a batter. I like adding some nuts, but you might experiment with the coconut flakes, too. I pour this into a nonstick scone pan and bake until no longer jiggly in the middle and eat them for breakfast with some butter.
-
Not so weird, but....I have a LOT of chocolate, it turns out to use up. I know, I know, it should be easy, just skip any other ingredient. Anyone have any main meal receipes that use chocolate? I'm trying to stay away from dessert receipes (have plenty of those). Have lots of baking disks, chips, and a mice issue in the new house (everything had to be unpacked directly into the fridge).
-
The only main dish I can think of off the top of my head that uses chocolate is a Mexican Mole. Wish I could provide a recipe, I'm still searching and experimenting to find one I am happy with. Also uses lots of different kinds of dried peppers that you might have a hard time using the extras.
You could make some of those chocolate baked oatmeal recipes that are floating around the net if you want to not feel quite so bad about chocolate for breakfast.
I also make bread pudding with whatever scraps of bread and dairy I happen to have around, and that usually includes some chopped up chocolate - but can be made fairly healthy.
-
love the ideas. I intentionally wont buy stuff untill the supplies is wiped out so we dont toss stuff. For example if the fridge has to much meat i just tell my wife i am not buying anymore till its all gone, same with can goods or??? this way no stuff gets tossed because of freezer burn or because you cant see it.
-
Happy, the teenagers might like muffins made with the coconut flour.
Thats a thought, haven't tried muffins with the stuff. I'll see if I can find a recipe. Part of the problem is that they have so far rejected all my coconut gourmet delights, leaving me to deal with it solo.
-
Hey Happy, maybe the kids would like these pancakes?
Adapted from the recipe here:http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2012/04/light-and-fluffy-coconut-flour-pancakes-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html (http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2012/04/light-and-fluffy-coconut-flour-pancakes-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html)
Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut flour (it was way too runny after a test so I used 3 x 1/8th cup more coconut flour)
3 tbsp granulated erythritol (I used coconut sap)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted (I used 1/2 butter, 1/2 coconut oil)
1 cup almond milk (I used coconut milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Additional butter or oil for the pan
We toasted some ribbon cut unsweetened coconut for a topping and served with Coconut Syrup that was gifted to us.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 200F.
In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour, erythritol, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, almond milk and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the coconut flour mixture and stir well to combine.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brush with vegetable oil or melted butter. Scoop two heaping tablespoons of batter onto skillet and spread into a 3 to 4 inch circle. Repeat until you can't fit any more pancakes into the skillet (you should be able to get 3 or 4 in).
Cook until bottom is golden brown and top is set around the edges. Flip carefully and continue to cook until second side is golden brown. Remove from pan and keep warm on plate or baking sheet in oven, while repeating with remaining batter.
Conclusion: Pretty Darn Tasty. They didn't rise up like traditional pancakes, I'm guessing because there was no gluten developed to capture the air bubbles...but the recipe is a keeper. DH said he probably wouldn't want them all that often because they are super rich, but a great idea if you want to do something a little different.
-
Hey CommonCents, I used to make chocolate chipotle chili that I really liked. I got the recipe from here http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/10/chipotle-chocolate-chili/. It's especially good in this winter weather!
EDIT: I should mention that it seems like a ridiculous amount of ingredients for chili. But it doesn't take too long (chopping up the chocolate always took the longest for me). I made it frequently until my family staged a mutiny and said they were tired of me always serving it. :)
-
I thought I ate away most of my options before leaving for vacation a few weeks ago, but I've been back since Saturday night and *still* haven't gone grocery shopping. I'm debating whether I will today after work (probably not!).
But what I really wanted to post about is the clash I felt when I visited family between my eat-everything-I-have-before-buying-more mindset many of you share and the reality that they have way more food than the entire family could even eat in a month. It made me feel guilty about going out to eat, which they do far more often than eat at home, explaining why there's so much food going uneaten. Going out to eat meant leftovers (except when my boyfriend and I shared meals, much to the shock of my family!), which further delayed our ability to help them by eating away the mountain of 2+ year expired frozen dinners. We made a significant dent on the expired frozen dinner front, but barely touched the pantry and refrigerator. For the record, they have two fridges and three freezers STUFFED with food for 2-3 people (my aunt lives there, but isn't there often and doesn't really eat there).
So I guess what I really want to say is that I admire the posters in this forum and I'm so glad to have found like-minded consumers. Keep on eatin' on!
-
But what I really wanted to post about is the clash I felt when I visited family between my eat-everything-I-have-before-buying-more mindset many of you share and the reality that they have way more food than the entire family could even eat in a month. It made me feel guilty about going out to eat, which they do far more often than eat at home, explaining why there's so much food going uneaten. Going out to eat meant leftovers (except when my boyfriend and I shared meals, much to the shock of my family!), which further delayed our ability to help them by eating away the mountain of 2+ year expired frozen dinners. We made a significant dent on the expired frozen dinner front, but barely touched the pantry and refrigerator. For the record, they have two fridges and three freezers STUFFED with food for 2-3 people (my aunt lives there, but isn't there often and doesn't really eat there).
Hoarding is terrifying :-/ even more terrifying when it leads to piles of expired food being stored forever. So wasteful!
-
Not so weird, but....I have a LOT of chocolate, it turns out to use up. I know, I know, it should be easy,
Do you have teenagers? Just turn them loose. Chocolate to use up...no problem.
Hey Happy, maybe the kids would like these pancakes?
Thanks Swick, that recipe looks good. Did coconut pikelets ages ago, but i'll have another shot : it looks like a good recipe.
Hoarding is terrifying :-/ even more terrifying when it leads to piles of expired food being stored forever. So wasteful!
Yup hoarding is scary. My parents, born in the 1920s, grew up in the great depression in the 1930s. Limited food, shoes etc. Then went through WWII with various food shortages and rationing. It wasn't until the '60s that food and material goods flowed relatively freely. My mother to this day seems to have a deep seated fear about not having enough food, both day to day but also when people visit. I always cut them a bit of slack "they're depression kids". But more and more I see that this is just a sign of our times. Or our times, reinforce their inbuilt fears. They're not full on hoarders, but they definitely have excess. I think we've all got out of touch with how little (much) we really need.
Praise be to God the cukes have slowed. Only 3 smallish ones picked today. About 6 jars of fridge pickles currently. DD took a huge bowl of fresh cukes to church fellowship to give away and they all went. ("all the girls like cucumbers " WTH????). She's really invested in giving them away.."just don't make anymore cucumber soup mummy"....LOL.
-
Praise be to God the cukes have slowed. Only 3 smallish ones picked today. About 6 jars of fridge pickles currently. DD took a huge bowl of fresh cukes to church fellowship to give away and they all went. ("all the girls like cucumbers " WTH????). She's really invested in giving them away.."just don't make anymore cucumber soup mummy"....LOL.
I would gladly take some of your sunny cukes! Between having to pay 3.00 CDN for one over waxed sad Long English and our -31 weather today, it sounds like a great problem to have :P
-
Praise be to God the cukes have slowed. Only 3 smallish ones picked today. About 6 jars of fridge pickles currently. DD took a huge bowl of fresh cukes to church fellowship to give away and they all went. ("all the girls like cucumbers " WTH????). She's really invested in giving them away.."just don't make anymore cucumber soup mummy"....LOL.
I would gladly take some of your sunny cukes! Between having to pay 3.00 CDN for one over waxed sad Long English and our -31 weather today, it sounds like a great problem to have :P
If you knew what cuke (spelled kuk) means in Swedish slang you would be joining me for a giggle over the "over waxed sad long English"! I cannot get over that abbreviation...to me its just so terrible!
-
Praise be to God the cukes have slowed. Only 3 smallish ones picked today. About 6 jars of fridge pickles currently. DD took a huge bowl of fresh cukes to church fellowship to give away and they all went. ("all the girls like cucumbers " WTH????). She's really invested in giving them away.."just don't make anymore cucumber soup mummy"....LOL.
I would gladly take some of your sunny cukes! Between having to pay 3.00 CDN for one over waxed sad Long English and our -31 weather today, it sounds like a great problem to have :P
If you knew what cuke (spelled kuk) means in Swedish slang you would be joining me for a giggle over the "over waxed sad long English"! I cannot get over that abbreviation...to me its just so terrible!
...and this is why I love the forums, you lean something new everyday ! ;)
-
I'll have to try that chili recipe. I have way more sweetened choc than unsweetened (only use unsweetened for a creme puff recipe), but we actually were already planning on chili soon to use up some ground meat. Is chipotle sauce hard to find?
No kids, just a husband who rumbles about losing weight every so often. His eyes don't "see" chocolate in bags fortunately, only in candy form though. I think I may make up some peanut butter cups and bring most into work. That will only make a small dent in the pile though...
I finally finished unpacking all of the food from our move. Its a bit horrifying how much we still have. There are things we won't be buying for at least a year (or longer) like tea, or mustard. I've stopped following deal sites to get bargains a while back to curb this. We're not eating *just* our stocks, but I'm not buying any food other than fresh (ok and frozen pizza and drinks) for 3 months now.
-
I'm tossing some cheap furniture...
Anybody else in??!
Hell, no! I take pride in my well-stocked pantry. Not going to happen here, but I wish you luck.
I also wish you'd do something smarter than tossing furniture. Can't you at least put it on freecycle? IMHO, it's far worse to toss furniture than a few food items. Ideally, you'll do neither.
Hope the new job exceeds your expectations.
-
Is chipotle sauce hard to find?
I don't know of anything specifically as "chipotle sauce" but what you probably want is a can of chipotle peppers in adobo. They're usually with the salsa and other Mexican products in any grocery store. Each pepper goes a long way, so don't go dumping the whole can in a recipe or anything. We love spice in my household, and I'd generally put about 3 peppers in a pot of chile.
I'm making progress on my stock, and it's SO nice having so much space in the pantry (we have those floor-too-ceiling, hopelessly deep cupboards). We haven't been eating pasta of any kind, but I really need to start feeding the packs of rice noodles into our dishes, or just swallow my guilt and throw them out. The chickens have been kind enough to help with the excess of beans, but I need to be more consistent on giving them some each day to get the stockpile down more appreciably.
-
I made the chili last night and it turned out quite good. I actually couldn't taste the chocolate too much; I subbed random veggies for the bell pepper and squished them up when they'd cooked through. I'll probably add more chili powder next time, and possibly more chocolate. Thanks for that recipe!
-
Yeah, what horsepoor said about the canned chipotles. You just drain the sauce off them. You can freeze the peppers. Then if you make the recipe again, just throw one pepper in instead of the sauce. Same taste, no waste!
Tariskat, I'm glad you liked it! I was always a fan of that recipe. Can't remember how I ever found it though.
-
Ah! I was sort of wondering what to do with the peppers. I tossed one into the chili, but otherwise the rest are sitting in a tub naked. BF put one on his dinner but if it doesn't look like he'll go through them quick I'll freeze 'em.
-
They actually last for ages in the can in the fridge. Maybe that's kind of gross, but they never seem to mold, just get a little dried out if they're not submerged in the adobo.
-
They probably shouldn't be stored in the original can...at leas that's what my mom has always told me. You could put them in a jar and top with olive oil. Protects them from the air and gives you a nice flavored oil as well.
-
Covered in olive oil is the best idea yet, I wouldn't mind having mildly spiced oil. They aren't in the original can, I put them in an air-tight plastic container, and they still have some goo from the can on them, so I doubt they'll actually dry.
-
They actually last for ages in the can in the fridge. Maybe that's kind of gross, but they never seem to mold, just get a little dried out if they're not submerged in the adobo.
I second this. I put mine in a canning jar with a plastic screw top lid and eat off them for a year maybe? Adobo features vinegar, salt and sugar, so I think of them as essentially pickled.
-
They probably shouldn't be stored in the original can...at leas that's what my mom has always told me. You could put them in a jar and top with olive oil. Protects them from the air and gives you a nice flavored oil as well.
The cans are lined, so they don't take on a metallic flavor. The main downside is not having an airtight cap. Sometimes I do transfer them to a little Rubbermaid container, and sometimes I'm too lazy. Adobo is pure culinary gold, but the olive oil would be good too if you use up the adobo and still have peppers left.
-
I put my chipotles in adobo into a freezer bag rolled up like a log per something I read from Budget Bytes or Rachael Ray. When I need a bit, I take it and use a microplane grater and shave off what I need. That one can will now last me months and months.
My update: I have not been as active on this thread. I've been feeling kind of down lately and did get some takeout. Why I let this bother me so much, I don't know. Between my bonus this month, extra money my employer puts into my 401k plus the 5% on my bonus, my husband gets a 3rd paycheck this month, we are putting away more than $28K into our taxable account and 401K's, which is 1 x our annual retirement expenses towards FI. Instead of focusing on that, I am dwelling on the $23 spent on take out and shakes (I have pregnant cravings for Sonic chocolate shakes for some reason!). I need to snap out of it and get back on track. I still have $175 out of $300 unspent for the month of February and a ton of food in the freezer due to making double batches last month. Anyone have any encouragement or a face punch for my idiocy?
Anyway, today, trying to get back on track and make bean burritos from some refried beans I made last month that are in the freezer. The beans are thawing in the fridge now. I did clean out the fridge last night before bed, freezing a split pea soup I made earlier in the week before it went bad. So I am getting on track...I just feel so stupid for focusing on the petty and not the bigger picture. Anyone else do this?
-
I put my chipotles in adobo into a freezer bag rolled up like a log per something I read from Budget Bytes or Rachael Ray. When I need a bit, I take it and use a microplane grater and shave off what I need. That one can will now last me months and months.
My update: I have not been as active on this thread. I've been feeling kind of down lately and did get some takeout. Why I let this bother me so much, I don't know. Between my bonus this month, extra money my employer puts into my 401k plus the 5% on my bonus, my husband gets a 3rd paycheck this month, we are putting away more than $28K into our taxable account and 401K's, which is 1 x our annual retirement expenses towards FI. Instead of focusing on that, I am dwelling on the $23 spent on take out and shakes (I have pregnant cravings for Sonic chocolate shakes for some reason!). I need to snap out of it and get back on track. I still have $175 out of $300 unspent for the month of February and a ton of food in the freezer due to making double batches last month. Anyone have any encouragement or a face punch for my idiocy?
Anyway, today, trying to get back on track and make bean burritos from some refried beans I made last month that are in the freezer. The beans are thawing in the fridge now. I did clean out the fridge last night before bed, freezing a split pea soup I made earlier in the week before it went bad. So I am getting on track...I just feel so stupid for focusing on the petty and not the bigger picture. Anyone else do this?
I don't think anyone on the boards is brave enough to face punch a pregnant lady (congrats!) especially one who is doing so well. It is easy to to get trapped into focusing on the narrow small stuff that is immediately in front of you - especially when the big picture like goals of FI are so grand.
Between all the hormones, life changes and things happening right now, you can only do what you can do. Sometimes it helps to be able to view the bigger picture as a bunch of smaller steps as well. Then you can track and compare progress and allow your life to have some more balance. It doesn't sound like it is worth the stress for you or your baby to beat yourself up over a bit of take out at this time in your life, especially given how well you are doing.
I have been plugging along. My last two dinners were pretty much all freezer/pantry meals. I made some curried potato/pea/fishcakes and was able to put a dent in the massive container of chutney I made a long time ago and is miraculously still good. Last night I made borscht and jalapeno cheddar beer bread.
-
Thanks, swick, your comments really made me feel better about situation and help put things into perspective.
Food update from weekend: I had only planned on spending my remaining 175 for the month to keep me under 300, but that went out the window with the Costco living social deal over the weekend. However, I made a detailed list, calculating what exactly what we needed, planning what to buy, stocking up on things we needed anyway at Costco for the next 2-3 months. Even though we now have a good stockpile for the next couple months, my "all other" budget is tiny. Other than some produce and milk, our budget is pretty much nil and going to be doing a ton of freezer and pantry eating. So I am going to continue on working on my "all other" budget since I've got to make sure my annual total for the year is under $4800 (really hoping for less since Costco should be adding more money back into our budget). This weekend's Costco trip has really got me motivated as I continue to deepen my skills on refining this food budget to make sure I am maximizing savings from Costco vs. shopping at my local stores.
Food update for today: lunch will be salad to use up some items in the fridge + homemade chick peas from freezer, smoothie snack (healthier option compared to unhealthy/unnatural chocolate shakes I crave), leftover refried bean burrito for dinner with some kind of veg.
Have a good day everyone!
-
Ok, I made the chili recipe over the weekend (but it was a bit of a fail in a way as I went off and bought the chili powder, cumin, and chiptotle chilis for it... But I've been meaning to get cumin for a while, and chili powder is better than buying packets). Husband really like the recipe, even though I cut the kick considerably. I am happy I used up 2 cans of beans and 2 cans of tomatoes that were expired or on the verge (particularly as my husband noticed when he was opening the cans). We actually don't have any more diced tomotoes left! Very exciting. Still have like 20 cans of soup we're working through though...and DH refuses to eat pretty much all of the ones that are left. Also used up half a bag of frozen peas from the summer CSA this weekend. I'm starting to see an end to the frozen veggies of the past two years! Another few corn chowders will finish off the stored potatoes and corn.
-
I failed to eat some lettuce in time. I picked out the best bits for a very large salad I just finished, separated the slimy bits (I really let it go...), and am left with a decent sized pile of wilted, but not slimy, pieces.
I believe it's red leaf lettuce.
Stir fry?
I'll probably give it a go anyway because I really don't want to waste even more because I'm a doofus.
-
I failed to eat some lettuce in time. I picked out the best bits for a very large salad I just finished, separated the slimy bits (I really let it go...), and am left with a decent sized pile of wilted, but not slimy, pieces.
I believe it's red leaf lettuce.
Stir fry?
I'll probably give it a go anyway because I really don't want to waste even more because I'm a doofus.
I'd give it the sniff test and toss it in a stirfry at the last minute if it smells normal. Today. :-)
-
I made egg fried rice with all the lettuce thrown in. It's totally edible, and I feel good about not wasting *as much*.
-
Good for you, nikki. Many people would have just tossed that.
I haven't been as pantry-focused as I should have been, lately. I have still been keeping my grocery bill really low, but I could be doing better. Time to get serious. Nothing but produce for the rest of the month!
-
I just returned from a week in Florida late last night. Peeked in the fridge this morning, and ... I don't know what my husband eats when I'm gone. I think he lived on chips, salad, eggs and tortillas.
I was actually shocked that an almost 2-week old head of lettuce was still fine. I was also kicking myself for having left without using up the beautiful bunch of organic kale, but it's still in good enough shape to use for a soup or frittatta. I think I'll still do my planned shop this morning, but keep it pretty bare bones to just take advantage of the sales since I went through the weekly ads while waiting for my plane (20% off boxed wine today!). Still have tons of beans to feed the chickens, and was surprised that they had a dozen eggs waiting for me when I got home. I'm off until Tuesday, so I should be able to make some good headway on this.
Well done with the lettuce. You have more fortitude than me; it would have gone to the chickens or the compost heap for sure.
-
Oh, I recently killed some girl scout cookies by grinding them up in a food processor and mixing in enough peanut butter to make the crumbs stick together. Rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. I called them truffles and people went crazy for them.
Love it! What a clever idea.
When kids were growing up I threw pretty much every leftover into the freezer and usually on a Friday we had "Garbage Night" - using up the leftovers. Kind of like a mini buffet if you will. If the only leftovers for the week had been vegetables or noodles or a combination of such . . . some browned ground beef & potatoes were added - maybe some tomato paste or pretty much whatever was laying around to stretch & spice it up - to make "Garbage Stew". Garbage Stew was the favorite and when oldest daughter got married she wanted the recipe. There is none.
-
Oh, I recently killed some girl scout cookies by grinding them up in a food processor and mixing in enough peanut butter to make the crumbs stick together. Rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. I called them truffles and people went crazy for them.
Love it! What a clever idea.
When kids were growing up I threw pretty much every leftover into the freezer and usually on a Friday we had "Garbage Night" - using up the leftovers. Kind of like a mini buffet if you will. If the only leftovers for the week had been vegetables or noodles or a combination of such . . . some browned ground beef & potatoes were added - maybe some tomato paste or pretty much whatever was laying around to stretch & spice it up - to make "Garbage Stew". Garbage Stew was the favorite and when oldest daughter got married she wanted the recipe. There is none.
We did too. Mom used to call it smorgasbord. We'd groan - unless a favorite was left over, when we'd clamour and negotiate to get it. Smart mom would usually figure out how to give us each one favorite item (whether a bit of meat or pasta) with along other less preferred items so we were rarely super unhappy about it. She threw out a lot less food than I used to...
-
I failed to eat some lettuce in time. I picked out the best bits for a very large salad I just finished, separated the slimy bits (I really let it go...), and am left with a decent sized pile of wilted, but not slimy, pieces.
I used to run into this a lot because I'll periodically buy the big pack of romaine at Costco. However, I started putting the lettuce (post chop, rinse, spin) in large canning jars and sealing them using my foodsaver to remove the air. HOLY CRAP do they last forever now. One time I didn't have a used canning jar lid (i save them to use for this specific purpose. I also seal nuts and things this way) and I used a plastic screw top lid and I couldn't believe the difference. Two weeks later the sealed lettuce is good to go, and the other stuff was green gunge. (somehow got shoved behind the juice.) I know not everyone has this option, but if you have a food saver and some canning jars, this is a great option.
-
I failed to eat some lettuce in time. I picked out the best bits for a very large salad I just finished, separated the slimy bits (I really let it go...), and am left with a decent sized pile of wilted, but not slimy, pieces.
I used to run into this a lot because I'll periodically buy the big pack of romaine at Costco. However, I started putting the lettuce (post chop, rinse, spin) in large canning jars and sealing them using my foodsaver to remove the air. HOLY CRAP do they last forever now. One time I didn't have a used canning jar lid (i save them to use for this specific purpose. I also seal nuts and things this way) and I used a plastic screw top lid and I couldn't believe the difference. Two weeks later the sealed lettuce is good to go, and the other stuff was green gunge. (somehow got shoved behind the juice.) I know not everyone has this option, but if you have a food saver and some canning jars, this is a great option.
This is amazing! I wonder if it would work for herbs? Would solve the never ending battle I have with quickly dying cilantro. off to try!
-
Well I am going to try to use up some bits and pieces today. It starts with farro from the pantry, currently soaking. I will cook it in water and stock (from the freezer), add some beans (from the freezer), roasted pecan bits (pantry), lemon juice and parsley. Trying to decide if I should add some peas from last summer's CSA that are still in the freezer.
General recipe concept here:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/03/farro-white-bean-and-preserved-lemon-salad.html
I do have some preserved lemon peel but it is sugary, not salty. I am not familiar with the Moroccan version. Oh no! Another thing for my pantry!
-
Well I am going to try to use up some bits and pieces today. It starts with farro from the pantry, currently soaking. I will cook it in water and stock (from the freezer), add some beans (from the freezer), roasted pecan bits (pantry), lemon juice and parsley. Trying to decide if I should add some peas from last summer's CSA that are still in the freezer.
General recipe concept here:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/03/farro-white-bean-and-preserved-lemon-salad.html
I do have some preserved lemon peel but it is sugary, not salty. I am not familiar with the Moroccan version. Oh no! Another thing for my pantry!
mmm that sounds really tasty! I have everything but the Farro, so I will sub for one of the 10 other bulk grains I am trying to whittle my way through.
Preserved Lemons are actually one of my pantry ingredients that I am whittling my way through. I made a HUGE batch when I found a deal on organic citrus two years ago. The great thing about them is they do last forever and they give such a unique flavour. But you usually don't use huge quantities in a dish, so they do last and last.
If you have access to cheap organic citrus and salt, you can make your own it is nothing more then that unless you want to add a few whole spices. You do want to use organic because you are using the skins. Takes at least 6 months for them to cure but I saw some for sale in the souks that were 10 + years old. If I still have a ton left come Christmas time, I am going to repackage into small fancy jars for Christmas presents.
I have spent the last two days consolidating and inventorying all the food and food-like stuff I have in the house. While we have been eating primarily staples, I have realized we still have way too much. Talked with hubby and decided to come up with a "Can only Buy" list for the grocery store. If it is not on the list we don't but it, no exceptions. So far that is fresh fruit and veg, milk and cheese.
Here is some of the bulk stuff we are working through, if you have any favorite recipes or suggestions you would like to share that would be awesome!
- pot barley
- quinoa
- corn meal
- sprouted bean mix
- raw cashews
- Pinto beans
- shredded coconut
- frozen rhubarb
- molasses
- Spices of every kind under the sun
-
Well I am going to try to use up some bits and pieces today. It starts with farro from the pantry, currently soaking. I will cook it in water and stock (from the freezer), add some beans (from the freezer), roasted pecan bits (pantry), lemon juice and parsley. Trying to decide if I should add some peas from last summer's CSA that are still in the freezer.
General recipe concept here:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/03/farro-white-bean-and-preserved-lemon-salad.html
I do have some preserved lemon peel but it is sugary, not salty. I am not familiar with the Moroccan version. Oh no! Another thing for my pantry!
mmm that sounds really tasty! I have everything but the Farro, so I will sub for one of the 10 other bulk grains I am trying to whittle my way through.
Preserved Lemons are actually one of my pantry ingredients that I am whittling my way through. I made a HUGE batch when I found a deal on organic citrus two years ago. The great thing about them is they do last forever and they give such a unique flavour. But you usually don't use huge quantities in a dish, so they do last and last.
If you have access to cheap organic citrus and salt, you can make your own it is nothing more then that unless you want to add a few whole spices. You do want to use organic because you are using the skins. Takes at least 6 months for them to cure but I saw some for sale in the souks that were 10 + years old. If I still have a ton left come Christmas time, I am going to repackage into small fancy jars for Christmas presents.
I have spent the last two days consolidating and inventorying all the food and food-like stuff I have in the house. While we have been eating primarily staples, I have realized we still have way too much. Talked with hubby and decided to come up with a "Can only Buy" list for the grocery store. If it is not on the list we don't but it, no exceptions. So far that is fresh fruit and veg, milk and cheese.
Here is some of the bulk stuff we are working through, if you have any favorite recipes or suggestions you would like to share that would be awesome!
- pot barley
- quinoa
- corn meal
- sprouted bean mix
- raw cashews
- Pinto beans
- shredded coconut
- frozen rhubarb
- molasses
- Spices of every kind under the sun
I made my supply of sweetened lemon peel from some organic lemons that came my way in the fall. Next time I will try the preserved. Thanks for the inspiration.
Cashews and coconut in granola? Your rhubarb could go into a pilaf--maybe with the quinoa? Molasses and cornmeal for cornbread served with pintos. I really like the recipe for Drunken Beans from Rancho Gordo.
http://www.ranchogordo.com/html/rg_cook_drunkbeans.htm
-
Erica, who posts here sometimes and has an awesome blog called Northwest Edible, recently posted a recipe/directions for preserved Meyer lemons. I'll find it, hold on. Here: http://www.nwedible.com/2014/01/salt-preserved-meyer-lemons.html
She posts great posts, and she's how I learned of MMM. So yea for Erica! And preserved lemons!
-
Raw cashews can be used to make a cream sauce. Google "cashew cream" and you'll find lots of recipes.
This pasta is one of my favorites: http://www.theppk.com/2012/10/roasted-butternut-alfredo/
-
Thanks for the ideas!
The butternut cashew cream pasta sounds awesome! I think I'll leave out the nutritional yeast though. The last time I experimented I made a cashew cream 'cheese" sauce and it was horrible. Neither my husband or myself could choke it down. I was so upset about the wasted ingredients that I kept trying to eat it or save it and it was just not happening...on that note, anyone have ideas on how to use up a package of nutritional yeast?
I have this recipe for Pinto beans in the crockpot (well two crockpots, it is a huge recipe!) selected because it uses a lot of spices I need to use.
http://taylormaderanch.com/blog/myo-ranch-style-beans-zesty/ (http://taylormaderanch.com/blog/myo-ranch-style-beans-zesty/)
Yesterday I made Oat farles for breakfast and adapted Worsted Skeins' White bean salad to be made with Quinoa for dinner. Added a few other Turkish Flavours - Sumac, Maras Pepper, Hazelnut oil, Pomegranate molasses, cilantro and a little bit of leftover chopped steak. It was a hit - Hubby ate thirds :)
-
Yesterday I made Oat farles for breakfast and adapted Worsted Skeins' White bean salad to be made with Quinoa for dinner. Added a few other Turkish Flavours - Sumac, Maras Pepper, Hazelnut oil, Pomegranate molasses, cilantro and a little bit of leftover chopped steak. It was a hit - Hubby ate thirds :)
Boy, are we on the same wave length! I added za-atar--and my husband ate thirds!
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/middleeasternspicesherbs/r/zaatar.htm
-
Yesterday I made Oat farles for breakfast and adapted Worsted Skeins' White bean salad to be made with Quinoa for dinner. Added a few other Turkish Flavours - Sumac, Maras Pepper, Hazelnut oil, Pomegranate molasses, cilantro and a little bit of leftover chopped steak. It was a hit - Hubby ate thirds :)
Boy, are we on the same wave length! I added za-atar--and my husband ate thirds!
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/middleeasternspicesherbs/r/zaatar.htm
Za-atar would be a great addition! I'll keep it in mind, I have some that I was given, but usually just end up making my own.
-
I was a little too successful at eating all the food in my house.
Now all I have are two apples, half a bag of cookies, three mooncakes, things to make flour tortillas, and condiments and spices.
I'm moving in a week and don't want to buy too much stuff, so this grocery trip will be very interesting...
-
Ugh. I had this half full box of falafel mix that my mother gave me (one of those "OMG, this is really awful - here, YOU take it!" things). I tried it out this weekend and it was just SO salty I only made it through about half of the resulting falafel before I had to quit. Yuck.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I tossed it. Maybe I could've salvaged it somehow? Mixed it in with... something? Though, honestly, part of the reason I tossed it is because that much salt can't possibly be good for anyone.
On the plus side, I found some shredded carrots from last year's garden in the freezer and threw them in crockpot chili.
-
Ugh. I had this half full box of falafel mix that my mother gave me (one of those "OMG, this is really awful - here, YOU take it!" things). I tried it out this weekend and it was just SO salty I only made it through about half of the resulting falafel before I had to quit. Yuck.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I tossed it. Maybe I could've salvaged it somehow? Mixed it in with... something? Though, honestly, part of the reason I tossed it is because that much salt can't possibly be good for anyone.
On the plus side, I found some shredded carrots from last year's garden in the freezer and threw them in crockpot chili.
Don't beat yourself up over it! You tried!
I've been too lazy to grocery shop, so I've been slowly eating from my freezer. Today I'm using a few chicken breasts, black bean, and corn from the freezer to make chicken taco bowl.
-
I really need to get through to the end of the month without buying anything but salad stuff. I'm seeing lots of dahl and chili in our future.
-
I was a little too successful at eating all the food in my house.
Now all I have are two apples, half a bag of cookies, three mooncakes, things to make flour tortillas, and condiments and spices.
I'm moving in a week and don't want to buy too much stuff, so this grocery trip will be very interesting...
Wow. You are the master here!
-
Well done Nikki!
We had rain. Cukes are going crazy again. 11 yesterday and 15 today. Just when I thought I could concentrate on the pantry...looks like more fridge pickles coming up.
-
Woop woop ... ate all of the meat in the chest freezer :) so cool to see it almost empty!!! The rest is frozen veggies from the garden (mostly small tomatoes) those will go into soup next week so excited!.
Canned foods are coming along too ... mostly soups and beans so easy to eat up.
(Finally) made fresh shrimp spring rolls ... with peanut sauce OMG ... they were terrific and gobbled up in no time flat!!! I think these will make an appearance at the baby shower since I loved them so much and SO very easy to make!!! Anyone who likes shrimp (or any rolled up meat really...) should try these ....
-
I am excited to find this thread! I am engaged in a similar project--I am due to move in less than a year, and I am a bit of an ingredient hoarder. I had to move cross-country on about six weeks notice a few years back, and I was mortified by the amount of food I had to dispose of. (Luckily, I knew a couple of poor college students who were delighted to take home a trunk full of free food!) I have done better with the stockpiling this time, but I have a tendency to scoop up interesting ingredients when I see them, plus I get a fair number of food gifts. I am determined not to move more than I have to (it will be local, so not having to box and ship things, but I would like to save myself the hauling).
I am concentrating on the one-offs rather than pantry staples like flour and butter...those I will eat down as the move gets closer. I made a list using Apple's Reminder software, partly because I like clicking the button to cross things off, plus I have it with me wherever I am thinking about menus.
So far a lot of it has just been eating up freezer leftovers, but I did do a lentil soup recipe that cleared out lentils, chicken sausage, and chicken broth, jam bars to get rid of a huge jar of fig jam, and tossing some roasted cauliflower with the end of a jar of chimichurri sauce instead of making an equivalent sauce from scratch. Oh, and today was a baked tofu recipe that cleared out a block of tofu and the end of a jar of peanut sauce.
-
I have some blueberries and was thinking of making scones. Does anyone have a good recipe? I don't have any brown sugar.
-
If you have molasses and sugar you can make brown sugar. That said, I don't see that you'd have to have brown sugar to make blueberry scones.
-
If you have molasses and sugar you can make brown sugar. That said, I don't see that you'd have to have brown sugar to make blueberry scones.
I don't have molasses. I just found this recipe that calls for cream (don't have it) and brown sugar. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Scones/?prop31=1
I'm not very experienced in the kitchen, so I was just hoping for a little help.
-
This recipe looks pretty standard and straight forward
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/blueberry-scones (http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/blueberry-scones)
They key with scones is to be really careful about not over mixing the dough and to start with COLD butter - To make it super easy I usually keep a block of butter in the freezer and use a box grater.
-
This recipe looks pretty standard and straight forward
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/blueberry-scones (http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/blueberry-scones)
They key with scones is to be really careful about not over mixing the dough and to start with COLD butter - To make it super easy I usually keep a block of butter in the freezer and use a box grater.
Thanks!
-
Well, so much for only buying produce for the rest of the month! I wandered into Target with a gift card (so maybe it doesn't really count?!) and bought peanut butter, strawberry jam (on clearance), canned pumpkin (also clearance!), and soy sauce. They were all things I wanted and had run out of, but still.
-
Just finished the jar of quandong sauce someone had given me. Been lurking up the back for a while and I had to figure out what to do with it. Now for verjuice recipes.. for some reason I bought 2 bottles on special quite a while ago. Dumb thing to do.
-
Just finished the jar of quandong sauce someone had given me. Been lurking up the back for a while and I had to figure out what to do with it. Now for verjuice recipes.. for some reason I bought 2 bottles on special quite a while ago. Dumb thing to do.
Wow... definitely had to Google both of those things. What did you end up making with the quandong sauce?
-
Banana cake--wiped out some frozen bananas and the ends of bags of pecans, chocolate chips, and coconut!
-
We had dhal, palak paneer and homemade naan tonight. Used up a fraction of the red lentil hoard, some random vegetables, the frozen spinach, flour and tamarind paste. Very tasty and mostly non-perishable ingredients, though a bit time consuming. Need to do that more often!
-
Yay, I've found my Tribe!!!!! Only read half-way through this thread so far; It just may keep me from falling back into useless patterns. Living rather simply with the exception of food. (Truth: Also a paper clutterer too, and starting to clear up that small mess).
When I decided to give MMM a closer look, I first tallied expenses. Food costs were the most shocking (and not including "household" purchases, i.e. bath tissue, dish detergent, etc). I enjoy a variety of good quality, mostly organic meals. Yet, costs for many months last year almost equaled another rent payment! What was worse was the need to discard unused food -- particularly no-longer-fresh produce.
In the last few weeks, I've found a good "home" for much of the goodies that filled the pantry and freezer. Knowing it will gladly be consumed is a great feeling. This small action has allowed me to realize this grocery-shopping habit has been more about filling an emotional void than filling my tummy! There is surely a much better use of my resources than buying too much to eat, no matter how tasty. "Food" for thought, indeed! This was my first week of staying away from the food shops (love them all!) and just eating from the pantry and freezer. It felt wonderful.
A damp and chilly day here. I'm rounding up all the "must-eat-today" vegetables and brewing up a pot of yummy soup. :-)
-
What did you end up making with the quandong sauce?
It tasted something like tangy plum sauce.
It did 3 recipes which I invented:
Stir fry chicken and veges, used mixed with soy sauce/garlic, a bit like Asian plum sauce type taste
Lamb ribs - just coated the ribs then roasted them in the oven
Chicken pieces just cooked in the oven in a similar marinade to the stir fry, coz we liked it so much.
Chicken was on special. Lamb ribs were in the freezer.
Yum, I want some more now but won't be getting it. It was a gift and the price was left on the bottom. $12.95 for 250mls or $4.30 per meal. MMM did a post somewhere about not buying fancy gourmet sauces and now I can see why. I will let the giftor know we enjoyed it.
One thing I'm enjoying about this challenge is that its making me find recipes and cook things I normally wouldn't.
-
What did you end up making with the quandong sauce?
It tasted something like tangy plum sauce.
It did 3 recipes which I invented:
Stir fry chicken and veges, used mixed with soy sauce/garlic, a bit like Asian plum sauce type taste
Lamb ribs - just coated the ribs then roasted them in the oven
Chicken pieces just cooked in the oven in a similar marinade to the stir fry, coz we liked it so much.
Chicken was on special. Lamb ribs were in the freezer.
Yum, I want some more now but won't be getting it. It was a gift and the price was left on the bottom. $12.95 for 250mls or $4.30 per meal. MMM did a post somewhere about not buying fancy gourmet sauces and now I can see why. I will let the giftor know we enjoyed it.
One thing I'm enjoying about this challenge is that its making me find recipes and cook things I normally wouldn't.
That's great! I'm so glad it ended up being an awesome mystery sauce and not a blech mystery sauce.
I have a confession to make. Despite eating almost ALL of my own food before my move (IN TWO HOURS!!!), I've acquired SO MUCH MORE from other people moving out of the country. I'm moving to another city, so taking food with me isn't so bad; but leaving the country? It would have gone in the garbage. I don't think I've ever had this many spices in my life. I also have a lot of seasoning packets, packets for instant sauces (blech--but I'll eat it--probably on pizza), curry pastes, tea galore, and so so so much baking stuff. Yesterday I got an oven, which most Korean one-room apartments are not equipped with, so I'm more than excited to jump in the kitchen and get baking/cooking!
Also acquired: immersion blender/food processor and slowcooker.
I might be coming back here for inspiration to tackle the mountain of products I have to work with now. My poor little minimalist-kitchen approach is totally overwhelmed, but grateful!
-
LOL @ Nikki! Isn't there some wise saying about needing to make space in your life so other things can come in?
-
Awesome, Nikki!
I'm wondering how 4alpacas did with the blueberry scones. I'm sorry I didn't check in for a few days; I would have been happy to give more advice than "make your own brown sugar" if I'd known you needed it. But Swick gave you excellent advice. :)
-
Wonderful idea for a thread.
I used kale left in the fridge. I am a little intimidated by it. The first time I bought it last year it taunted me until I threw it out. Yesterday I made a kale & cheese omelette with crushed chilies for the BF. Quite a proud moment. :) Plan to use the rest Monday.
I have a bunch of parsley to use. I think of it as a garnish but I need it use it all up soon or it'll go bad.
I've been using coconut milk every morning in my smoothie and am going to use the rest tonight as a snack. I'll pour it over hot white rice, sprinkle it with chocolate chips, and hope that quenches my cravings for Dessert. :)
-
I have just started this challenge today. I used up 4 packages of jello powder, 3 packages of pudding and 2 halves of Christmas cake that were stored in the fridge. I am excited about clearing out my overflowing pantry and 2 deep freezes (10 people in the family). I have lots of perfectly good food buried in there! Hahah!
-
I have a bunch of parsley to use. I think of it as a garnish but I need it use it all up soon or it'll go bad.
You can make pesto with parsley and any random nuts instead of basil and pine nuts. It's a milder taste and very cheap. I made a batch with parsley, hazelnuts, and hazelnut oil.
-
I think my food is multiplying.
I made copycat Kind bars today, which turned out really good. Have way too many nuts, seeds and coconut products. I might break and go buy some vegetables, but I skipped my usual Saturday shop and am seeing if I can make it until the end of the month without grocery shopping.
-
I picked up a few odds and ends today and spent $16. I have more than enough to get me through the rest of the month, so it's looking like February's total is $74.66. My budget was $85, so I'll be happy if I come in under. I might decide I "need" something and spend my last $10, but I'm going to try not to.
-
Wonderful idea for a thread.
I have a bunch of parsley to use. I think of it as a garnish but I need it use it all up soon or it'll go bad.
I took someones suggestion on here and stuck my cilantro in a mason jar and vacuum sealed it with the jar attachment. My cilantro has just about lasted two weeks! Usually it goes bad within two days of coming home from the store, if it starts out in decent condition. If you have a vacuum sealer it is the way to go!
-
We had dhal, palak paneer and homemade naan tonight.
Yumm, wish I was at your house for dinner
I have a bunch of parsley to use. I think of it as a garnish but I need it use it all up soon or it'll go bad.
Tabouli? uses a lot of parsley and is yummy.
Sorry I'm no good with scones
@minimalist mustache:
Wise post. I've been stockpiling on specials etc for maybe 2 years. Saving money and using food up, but doing this challenge have realised that some of this stockpiling might be a "front" to save money….Think I might still be way overdoing food in compensation for cutting back elsewhere. 2 out of 3 of us are fat, so we obviously eat too much. Food needs to come under scrutiny in a very critical way in 2014 for us.
PS verjuice recipe no1 was a fail. yukky. I'm surprised, I'm not used to failing with this sort of recipe. Still, used up a cup of verjus. I originally started using this stuff instead of lemon when lemons were out of season and about a dollar each. But then I kind of went off the taste and its been lurking ever since. When I looked at my 2 bottles I realised I had bought el cheap (yes and it was on special - a bargain)…I wonder if this was the problem all along. i.e. el cheapo= el disgustingo.
-
Alrighty, then. I'm here to try again. January and February were busts, as I'm having too much fun grocery shopping with an eye towards buying things on sale and freezing them in my new freezer. (Previously I just bought what I wanted, didn't even look at prices!).
But now my freezer is pretty well stocked, as is my pantry, and there's no point in a well-stocked freezer/pantry if those things are just going to blow past their expiration date and get thrown away in three years (also a previous habit of mine).
With DH out of town the entire month of March, I should have complete control over what the family eats, so there are no excuses!
-
Thanks again for this challenge. I'm still blown away by the savings last week as a result of eating from the pantry and freezer! I didn't set foot in a grocery store for over 10 days ---- amazing! I picked up some produce and cheese at two shops yesterday. It was downright thrilling to leave the stores spending more than half of my "regular" weekly shop. I may be turning a corner in the food spending category.
Bonus: When I got home and put everything away, I felt rich!!! :-)
-
I loved reading this thread! We are we are really focusing on our grocery spending, and on top of that I try to empty out the freezer and the canning jars as we come into spring. I canned wayyyyyyy too many pickles and tomato products. Oops. This isn't necessarily a bad problem since I won't have to can as much this summer and can focus in other plants in the garden.
So things I need to use up are:
Tamarind paste: paid a fortune from amazon as I can't buy it locally. Made pad Thai and it was such a pain, well worth it to just get the 6$ take-out! So I can make more pad Thai but is there anything else I can try with the tamarind paste? Preferably without rice noodle as we have no Asian grocery here and they cost a fortune at the regular grocery.
Peach chutney. I use it for curried chickpeas and curried tempeh. Not sure what else to do with it. It is two years old now so I really should use it up.
Salsa, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce. So sick of canned tomatoes, I can't wait for July to eat a fresh one!
What do you use red lentils for? DH says he hates lentils. But I think he might not notice red lentils.
Frozen kale. I froze a ton thinking we would use it all for smoothies. Oops. I try to remember to throw it into any kind of soup, stew, bean dish, etc, but I forget. Is there anything that uses a whole bunch of it? Kale fritters maybe?
-
Tamarind paste: paid a fortune from amazon as I can't buy it locally. Made pad Thai and it was such a pain, well worth it to just get the 6$ take-out! So I can make more pad Thai but is there anything else I can try with the tamarind paste? Preferably without rice noodle as we have no Asian grocery here and they cost a fortune at the regular grocery.
What do you use red lentils for? DH says he hates lentils. But I think he might not notice red lentils.
Make a dahl with your tamarind paste and the red lentils. It doesn't sound like you have access to lots of exotic ingredients locally, but if you can get like a red curry paste and/or garam marsala, use that, and add in any vegetables you might like. I made this last week and I think it had onion, red bell peppers and carrots in it. Peas would be good too.
Tamarind paste is actually really good to round out flavors by adding a bit of sourness without the regular acid bite you get from vinegar or citrus. I frequently add a spoonful of it to soups and stews when the flavor isn't rounded out quite right and it needs that little something.
-
MayDay, we love Tamarind chutney! Back in the day, I used to make it from seeds obtained from an Indian grocer. These days, I purchase it at Whole
"Paycheck" Foods -- when it goes on sale! One of our favorite ways to use it is with samosas. (Easy to make from scratch). Also good on pakora, batter-dipped vegetables.
-
Eating ALL the Food involves using up beans in the pantry. This is what is currently in my slow cooker:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/white-bean-stew-00100000068403/
Chicken sausage and spinach from the freezer, stock and tomatoes from the pantry, rosemary from the front yard.
I also have some bags of strawberries in the freezer, fruit I picked last year. Looks like pie is in my future this weekend...
-
Thanks for the tamarind ideas. We can get curry paste and most spices, so those ideas will work. I need to visit the Asian grocer that is an hour away the next time I am in the city, but so far the stars haven't aligned on that (tired kids who want to go home now, or if I go myself I have to be home before school buses).
-
A friend is doing the GAPS diet for her whole family, and she just have us a big bag of starting-to-sprout potatoes that we need to eat ASAP. Yay for free food, but ughhhhh potatoes. I can always just make "French fries" (ie baked potato wedges) every night for 2 weeks, DH and the kids would be happy. But I think I want to branch out a bit from that.
Maybe mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, some kind of Indian dish with diced potatoes, twice baked potatoes, hash browns for breakfast, what am I missing?
I could just make a giant batch if mashed potatoes for DH and freeze in single servings. Easy to pack his lunch!
-
http://www.joybx.net/articles/124.html
These are easier than most twice-baked and sooo good - use whatever you want on them.
Potato leek soup? Potato gnocchi? Latkes?
-
I'm completely out of vegetables and rice, so will go make a trip for those. Working on a big old ham from last summer! He thawed earlier in the week, was roasted in the oven, appeared as sandwiches, and will soon be in soup.
What do you use shredded coconut for that is not a dessert? I'm trying to nix junk food this month, like cookies and pizza, so I want to burn that up in real food.
-
What do you use shredded coconut for that is not a dessert? I'm trying to nix junk food this month, like cookies and pizza, so I want to burn that up in real food.
Granola, you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you like. There is a great link in the Mustachian recipe Index for "Stolen Granola" super easy to make.
-
... some kind of Indian dish with diced potatoes...
http://www.chow.com/recipes/30942-aloo-gobi-potatoes-and-cauliflower
I've been dying to try this recipe, but I've refrained because my partner is doing no carb at the moment. Enjoy the potatoes! Yum.
I've been using up stuff also as a fun personal challenge not to buy any more groceries until the last few days of the month were over.
Used up lots of frozen veggies that had been hiding in the freezer. There were some that looked like giants ball of ice studded with colour. I added them to stews, soups, whatever I was eating basically. Then I found some frozen coconut milk. Yum. And as a reward for my labours, I found a forgotten bag of frozen brownies way in the back. Yes! I even thawed them out first. :)
Used up tons of skipjack tuna. Forgot my BF needed a lunch today so at the last minute I threw into a container a couple cans tuna, (frozen) veggies (that I thawed), tomato sauce, olive oil, tons of crushed chilies & spices. Then half way down added a layer of cheese and on the top added another cheese layer. Now he can just heat it up. Not Cordon Bleu but hey, on the fly.
Used up cans of tomato paste and just added them with water and spices when tomato sauce was called for. Used up dribs and drabs of alcohol that had been hanging around a long time. (Don't know if that's really a bragging point, lol).
-
What do you use shredded coconut for that is not a dessert? I'm trying to nix junk food this month, like cookies and pizza, so I want to burn that up in real food.
Granola, you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you like. There is a great link in the Mustachian recipe Index for "Stolen Granola" super easy to make.
I've never made my own granola. I think march sounds like a good time to try it!
-
I have a bunch of parsley to use. I think of it as a garnish but I need it use it all up soon or it'll go bad.
You can make pesto with parsley and any random nuts instead of basil and pine nuts. It's a milder taste and very cheap. I made a batch with parsley, hazelnuts, and hazelnut oil.
Sounds interesting! Not sure if it would work with a blender but a friend might give me her old food processor, so I may try it then.
I took someones suggestion on here and stuck my cilantro in a mason jar and vacuum sealed it with the jar attachment. My cilantro has just about lasted two weeks! Usually it goes bad within two days of coming home from the store, if it starts out in decent condition. If you have a vacuum sealer it is the way to go!
Vacuum sealers sound handy. Maybe if i pick one up at a garage sale or something. For now, I just shoved the parsley in everything i made. It's healthy, right. ;)
-
I still have some cilantro left, it is truly amazing. Think I'm going to have to start putting anything "green" in mason jars. It is by far our biggest area of food waste so I am pretty stoked.
Pulled some chopped red pepper and re fried beans from the freezer and having nachos for dinner. Grocery spending was half of usual last month because we have been eating so much out of the pantry - and at least have of what we spent was meat that went cheaper then I have ever seen it here - so added a bit back to the pantry :)
-
Made a variation of a beet salad I like with oranges added and feta subbed for the goat cheese which I discovered had gone bad. Yay for produce out the door! Also used the last of a bag of potatoes on the edge to make oven fries. That went with a salmon burger (free w. coupon from grocery store) to make a very nice dinner!
-
Made a variation of a beet salad I like with oranges added and feta subbed for the goat cheese which I discovered had gone bad. Yay for produce out the door! Also used the last of a bag of potatoes on the edge to make oven fries. That went with a salmon burger (free w. coupon from grocery store) to make a very nice dinner!
FTW! I have beets rolling around in the bottom of the crisper and clementines I stupidly bought a 20# box of moldering away in the garage, plus some chevre stashed in the freezer. Now know what we'll be having alongside our fish tomorrow. Thanks!
-
I'm so in.
My kitchen is insanely full- I like to stockpile and buy things when they're on sale, but it's getting a little excessive. Applegate breakfast sausages went on sale for $1.25 at the local supermarket (they're normally $5 or so), so I bought 20 boxes. I think I'm set for breakfast for a while...
I also have a huge stock of dried beans and lentils. Other than throwing them in the rice cooker with rice, I'm not really sure what else to do with them. Any suggestions would be welcome. :)
-
Sunnyca -- what kinds of beans do you have? Maybe that will help us come up with some recipes:-)
Unless they're bulk, and you don't know what kind they are?
-
1967mamaof8 - Oops! I should have listed the types of beans.
I have black beans, kidney beans, aduki beans, and green lentils.
I also have a bunch of different grains- white/brown/red rice, quinoa, wheat berries, and millet. And a lot of spices.
-
I've been doing this half heartedly (and my pantry is looking a lot neater as a result!) but I think March is the time to tackle it in earnest - especially as I'll be home by myself for a week, and I'm relatively happy to eat weird combinations of food.
First up: very old pearl barley needs to get turned into tasty stew...
-
First up: very old pearl barley needs to get turned into tasty stew...
Earlier in the week, when I had one thing already going in the oven, I added Budget Bytes baked barley with mushrooms. Nice side and I used up the last of the barley..
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/09/baked-barley-mushrooms/
-
Thanks Worsted Skeins, that looks tasty!
I make a barley stew with carrots, celery, mushrooms and loads of beef stock (plus sometimes actual beef) which is really good. So now I have a few barley recipes :-)
-
1967mamaof8 - Oops! I should have listed the types of beans.
I have black beans, kidney beans, aduki beans, and green lentils.
I also have a bunch of different grains- white/brown/red rice, quinoa, wheat berries, and millet. And a lot of spices.
I haven't used aduki beans, but the black and kidneys- I make big batches, freeze most of it in separate containers, and always have a cup or so thawed in the fridge. I add them when I cook eggs in the morning (not a bunch, but similar to what i would add of onions or anything else), make soup, make crock pot stuff, etc. I use them in pace of a meat protein, basically. Or you can do burritos. Mexican food night!
-
http://theprudenthomemakerblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-eat-beans-every-night.html
-
I had some leftover loaded mashed potatoes and shredded zucchini. Made mashed potato-zucchini pancakes and the kids inhaled them.
-
tariskat, Miamoo- thanks for the great tips!
-
One thing I am learning from this process is the difference between what ingredients are "real" pantry essentials for me--as in, I use them often and will always use them up--and what is aspirational--things I think I'll use when I buy them, but have to have a specific plan for. My resolution is that when I move, my new pantry will only have what are essentials to me and other stuff will be bought only if I have a specific recipe in mind.
-
One thing I am learning from this process is the difference between what ingredients are "real" pantry essentials for me--as in, I use them often and will always use them up--and what is aspirational--things I think I'll use when I buy them, but have to have a specific plan for. My resolution is that when I move, my new pantry will only have what are essentials to me and other stuff will be bought only if I have a specific recipe in mind.
This has been my experience exactly, and I'm making the same resolution. If I bought it ages ago and it's still sitting around, I obviously should not buy it again.
-
One thing I am learning from this process is the difference between what ingredients are "real" pantry essentials for me--as in, I use them often and will always use them up--and what is aspirational--things I think I'll use when I buy them, but have to have a specific plan for. My resolution is that when I move, my new pantry will only have what are essentials to me and other stuff will be bought only if I have a specific recipe in mind.
This has been my experience exactly, and I'm making the same resolution. If I bought it ages ago and it's still sitting around, I obviously should not buy it again.
Case in point - I've just discovered some almond meal that is a whole year out of date.
Clearly almond meal is not a thing I should have in my pantry.
-
Going through the pantry, it has really amazed me how many cooking habits I picked up from my mom that I still have in my 40s. Mom always had a bag of potatoes around...but for me, onions are a staple but potatoes tend to sit around and sprout so I really need to buy just what I want for a recipe instead of the bigger bag. I will use olives and sun-dried tomatoes often, but not capers or pickles (even though I like those things.)
-
Noodle, I should send you all my sundried tomatoes. Each year I diligently dry a raft of cherry tomatoes, then promptly forget that they exist. I have them in oil in the fridge, in oil and vacuum packed in the freezer. There is no way I'll put a dent in them before next tomato season.
I'll be doing a bit of guiltless cheating this weekend. I'm running a 10K that benefits the food bank, so runners are asked to bring canned goods. Let's just say I'll be contributing more than the minimum and freeing up some space in my kitchen.
-
Finally! I love this thread but haven't had a compelling reason to join in. Until now. We're moving this summer and have three months to clear the pantry. We're pretty good about getting through the perishable stuff (the fridge is close to cleared out each week), so I'm going to focus on the things we never seem to get through from the pantry and freezer. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay to move it and I hate to throw it out. So I'll start by planning next week's menu around those ingredients and see how much we can get through.
-
Going through the pantry, it has really amazed me how many cooking habits I picked up from my mom that I still have in my 40s. Mom always had a bag of potatoes around...but for me, onions are a staple but potatoes tend to sit around and sprout so I really need to buy just what I want for a recipe instead of the bigger bag. I will use olives and sun-dried tomatoes often, but not capers or pickles (even though I like those things.)
What do you do with sun-dried tomatoes? A coworker gave me a small bag, and I don't know what to do with them!
My meals are starting to get weird because we don't have items to make a regular meal. I had cauliflower (from the freezer) and Honey Nut Cheerios for dinner last night. I think we're going to break down and buy produce this weekend.
-
What do you do with sun-dried tomatoes? A coworker gave me a small bag, and I don't know what to do with them!
send them to me! no-wait I have a few bags I'm going through:)
You Could:
Eat them like candy/dried fruit (my mom's favorite snack)
cut them up and add with abandon to any soups or stews you are making
Rehydrate, chop and mix with a little olive oil and spices and use as: a crostini topping, pizza topping, dip, pasta topping - one of my favorite pastas is basically this with some cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese. Also a great filling for palmairs or pin wheels if you need a stupid fast, easy and impressive appetizer.
The re hydrating liquid can also go into soups, used to make rice, used anywhere else you would use water.
A couple thrown into the stock put when making veggie stock is great too!
-
So I have not posted here in a bit, but doing really well on keeping our weekly groceries low thanks to the recent large grocery run at Costco (Costco savings are unbelievable compared to our local grocery stores, but 60 miles away from my home, so I am only planning on going a few times a year and buying accordingly).
For the month of March, I put together a list of 21 or so dinner meals based on what is already in pantry/freezer and wrote out specific goals (like use 2 of the frozen whole chickens, use up some clearance items in the freezer, etc). Working our way through that list and always improvising.
My biggest accomplishment today is that I wanted to make a chicken enchilada casserole and really thought I had an old, old can of cream of chicken soup in the way back of pantry. Turns out, I did not, so I made my own thanks to a recipe online. It tastes pretty good and probably will never buy Campbell's soup cream of anything again (my homemade version is cheaper and not processed...double win). Also made my own enchilada sauce and used up some old corn tortillas that have been sitting around longer than they should (not a fan of corn tortillas, for whatever reason). Excited for dinner tonight. Cooking dishes are now done and just need to throw dinner in the oven for a stress free night. Love it!
Monthly March stretch goal is $100 (but have $200 budgeted).
-
Swick covered most of what I do with sundried tomatoes. You can also mix chopped sundried tomatoes w. cream cheese for a very nice bagel spread! If you have the kind that are dried in a bag, you will need to rehydrate them first by soaking in warm water. I usually get the oil-packed ones in a jar even though they are less healthy.
As for me, I took care of some boxed macaroni and cheese and tuna for last night's dinner. I don't usually eat boxed dinners but sometimes when I am sick that is the only thing that appeals so I keep one or two on hand. Spring cold=taking care of the mac and cheese (also, threw in the ends of a couple of odd pieces of cheese, shredded up.) Come to think of it, some chopped sundried tomatoes would have been pretty good in there, too!
-
ohh and sundried tomato compound butter for steak...or in chicken kieve...added to double stuffed baked potatoes...
-
I feel like an idgit, it's never occurred to me to chop them up on the blender. Hmm, off to make a delicious tomato-ey sauce.
-
No!
Eventually!
Always keep at least a couple months worth for disasters.
-
I cooked up some pork neck meat for lunch, and I have some fatty pieces left that I'm not sure what to do with. Some pieces still have skin.
Can I make lard from already slightly cooked pieces of fat? I'd imagine so.
Other ideas for using these pieces besides making lard?
-
Crisping fatty pork in the oven is always yummy.
-
I have a bunch of parsley to use. I think of it as a garnish but I need it use it all up soon or it'll go bad.
Parsley is also good cooked in rice, potatoes and any kind of soup that is tomato based :) I add it everywhere ... if you can't use it all up chop it and put in freezer in a ziplock bag lasts forever but we use it so fast that it never goes bad :) (My husband is the one that introduced me to using it in all sorts of wonderful recepies! )
-
... some kind of Indian dish with diced potatoes...
Used up dribs and drabs of alcohol that had been hanging around a long time. (Don't know if that's really a bragging point, lol).
I still have a bunch of those little bar mini's from an antique bar that I was "gifted" ... I did manage to use most of the little whiskey ones the last time I made jam (OMG ... it was awesome just added a little extra flavor - all the alcohol evaporates) but soooo tasty ... next to use up the more "exotic" mixes ... but might just try those in jam too ...
-
Cooked up a pound of brown rice and froze 3/4 of it today in recipe-sized portions for latere in the week/ into next week.
I've just devised (haven't cooked yet) a chickpea-peanut butter curry to go over that rice for supper tonight. Can't swear it will be great, but my usual PB-based stirfry does, so I'd say the odds are good. It uses up some peanut butter we're no longer eating on toast ( cutting down on trans fats, so we've gone to natural PB) without either of us getting a mega dose of it.
Update: the curry totally rocked. Red curry paste, soy sauce, lemon juice, a dash of Fish sauce, garlic. Add a can of chickpeas, Drained, and a 1 pound bag of frozen stirfry vegetables. Cook until the vegetables are done-that is, not frozen anymore and warm through -- And then add a couple of big spoons full of peanut butter, stir until the peanut butter dissolves and the sauce thickens and serve over rice.
-
Cooked up a pound of brown rice and froze 3/4 of it today in recipe-sized portions for latere in the week/ into next week.
I've just devised (haven't cooked yet) a chickpea-peanut butter curry to go over that rice for supper tonight. Can't swear it will be great, but my usual PB-based stirfry does, so I'd say the odds are good. It uses up some peanut butter we're no longer eating on toast ( cutting down on trans fats, so we've gone to natural PB) without either of us getting a mega dose of it.
Update: the curry totally rocked. Red curry paste, soy sauce, lemon juice, a dash of Fish sauce, garlic. Add a can of chickpeas, Drained, and a 1 pound bag of frozen stirfry vegetables. Cook until the vegetables are done-that is, not frozen anymore and warm through -- And then add a couple of big spoons full of peanut butter, stir until the peanut butter dissolves and the sauce thickens and serve over rice.
You have inspired me, Rural! Because seriously, I roasted some asparagus and went...that's enough for dinner, right?
So I have cooked a big pot of rice, some will be for dinner tonight, I am thinking some cabbage flash stir-fried with some Korean pepper paste. Then some extra rice for garlic fried rice for dinner tomorrow...and Rice pudding!
Seriously easiest ever, I make extra rice while it is still warm stir in some coconut sap (any sugar would work) and some vanilla and almond extract let it cool and fold in some freshly whipped cream. Make a basic fruit sauce with whatever is hiding in the freezer or just top with some canned fruit or compot made from dried fruit. It ain't really elegant, but it is sure tasty!
-
Good for you! I don't think I would like rice pudding, and my husband makes horrible faces whenever it's mentioned, so I'll pass on that one. But I love having the rice ready to go.
I found brown rice for $.89 a pound last week! I'm thrilled about that; I bought several pounds.
-
Still under the weather with baby/sinus/blech feeling (winter has been tooo long this year lol) ... SOOO ate up another can of mushroom soup with (getting down to the last - finally) crackers ... Yummy and just enough to sleep on.
Pantry looking much better now that we are getting into all the can foods ... Made those shrimp sping rolls again last week (need to use up that rice paper and vermicelli) along with peanut sauce (almost finished off peanut butter!) was yummy and used up more stuff :)
Excellent thread and good push to start using up stuff that has been waiting and waiting :)
-
Yesterday used up some scratch navy beans from freezer as well as some bacon to make a navy bean soup with tons of carrots. Toddler even loved it, saying "mmm" as she stuck a big spoonful of beans into her mouth. Her taste in food cracks me up!
Today making black beans from scratch into refried beans and tonight will be ground beef + refried black bean tacos. Will freeze some of the black beans to use another time. Our milk consumption was lower than expected this week so looks like my normal $12 weekly purchase of 2 gallons of milk (2% and whole) on Saturdays can be pushed off for at least another 4-5 days. Woo hoo!
This week has been awesome for food consumption. Very proud of myself and family.
FIL coming over the weekend, so I am hoping to tempt FIL and DH from wanting to eat out. It seems like there is always temptation to eat out when his family is in town.
-
We have a huge batch of parsley that's about to go. Should I just put it or on a towel and let it turn into a dry herb, or is there some kind of sauce I can make with it? I feel like someone may have asked this...
-
Tabbouleh involves a fair amount of parsley. Or I wonder if you could do a pesto with it?
I did a thin-crust pizza tonight to use up some packaged pizza crusts that have been hanging around too long, fig butter (I like figs, but not to the extent of consuming large jars of both fig butter and fig jam...), blue cheese and caramelized onions. It was really good but I think I would have preferred it with a more traditional crust.
-
Yep, I think this was covered upthread.
Parsley is good in pretty much any vegetable soup or mixed in with rice pilaf.
I still have so much stuff to use. I made bread yesterday that was a total flop. Edible, but dense as it didn't rise properly. Made soup out of odds and ends and leftover chicken. I am making progress on the random jars of things in the fridge, though I don't think DH will allow me to prune his mustard collection (he's recently gone mustard-crazy and has to have 5 different kinds), but then I have 3 different kinds of kimchi in there.
I did do well with shopping this week. Picked up our co-op basket of fruits and veggies and only spent another $15 at the grocery store on a couple odds and ends.
It's rainy here today, so I might do some batch cooking to get some of the non-perishables moving through the supply stream.
-
Use your parsley in chimichurri sauce.
http://www.food.com/recipe/chimichurri-21151
-
I can absolutely get behind that. It probably freezes perfectly, too, thanks!
-
Made a little dent in the freezer stocks today. Made some stewed rhubarb for the week, took out some spaghetti sauce, kale and green beans for supper tonight. Made a smoothie for lunch that empties "the last little bit" from three bags of fruit. Started some beef bones in the stockpot for broth. part of me feels awesome! The other part of me is going, wow I still have a long ways to go!
-
I can absolutely get behind that. It probably freezes perfectly, too, thanks!
We freeze chimichurri, pesto, salsa verde, etc. in ice cube trays, then pop the cubes out into a zip bag. Works well.
-
We freeze chimichurri, pesto, salsa verde, etc. in ice cube trays, then pop the cubes out into a zip bag. Works well.
That's a great tip! Thanks for sharing.
-
I am doing great on this... pantry is looking significantly emptier than usual :-) used up some staples (tins of tomatos, basmati rice etc) which is pushing me to use the remaining items that are often hidden behind other things - so for example, having used up all the rice is a good prompt to use up the pearl barley in a stew, because I can't get lazy and just rely on rice as a grain for my meals.
-
Made it through the weekend eating in entirely. Normally weekends are our downfall since there is nothing else to do around here and eating out is our entertainment.
We've spent 38 this month and this week, will probably spend another 20-22 on milk, onions, eggs, and maybe some oranges. I think I can hold out another day or two before going to the store.
-
I've used up most of the recently expired foods loitering in the pantry/fridge, and am now moving onto those past their "best before" date. Still a way to go.
Currently going cold turkey on tea and 85% chocolate, my current substances of addiction. Ran out of both yesterday and neither were on special when I shopped, so I decided to cold turkey on the chocolate and use up some of the remaining beverages. Found a single Orange Pekoe teabag I'd been avoiding since it sounded awful, but it was delicious. Otherwise sampled a couple out of the opened peppermint teabags and used up a single serve of some truly awful instant Nescafe "Mocha". Only six more serves to go, expires 4/2014. How disgusting does something have to be before you can call it quits and chuck it?
I know this isn't an addiction thread, but it really is interesting just how unhappy I feel without my cuppa tea and little square of 85%. Not sure I will make it until shopping day next weekend. Sigh. Breathe. Its just discomfort.
-
Since that Nescafe is processed crap, I wouldn't feel bad chucking it, and making a mental note not to buy processed crap in the future. If it was say, a healthy vegetable that you happened to not care for, I could make a case for saying you should choke it down and at least gain some nutrition from the process.
-
Since that Nescafe is processed crap, I wouldn't feel bad chucking it, and making a mental note not to buy processed crap in the future. If it was say, a healthy vegetable that you happened to not care for, I could make a case for saying you should choke it down and at least gain some nutrition from the process.
This is exactly what I was going to say! just consider the health benefits of not drinking it:)
Need to start working even more quickly through our freezer to make room for our bulk chicken order. 2x year delivery they are organic and cheaper then any chicken we can buy in the store, but they come 5 to a bag and take up a lot of freezer space.
-
Since that Nescafe is processed crap, I wouldn't feel bad chucking it, and making a mental note not to buy processed crap in the future. If it was say, a healthy vegetable that you happened to not care for, I could make a case for saying you should choke it down and at least gain some nutrition from the process.
This is exactly what I was going to say! just consider the health benefits of not drinking it:)
You guys are the best, my thoughts entirely! I wasn't responsible for the purchase and predictably its sat in there for years and the purchasee has refused to drink it because its so disgusting. BRB just going to bin it!
-
OK, progress is being made in the hot beverages section. The mocha Nescafe is binned. The peppermint teabags I thought I needed to use up actually are good until 2016, so they're now in an airtight container. I have green teabags use by 8/13 which I will use up next. Remaining are coffee bags and another pack of green tea..in date, kept for my parents when they visit. And special treat hot chocolate bought at 50% off for DD. And one other shopping blooper sugar free hot chocolate which is totally awful, now at its best before date, and nearly gone: we mix a bit in with the good stuff.
So despite thinking I'm pretty good at not buying processed crap even the hot beverages show we slip up every now and then. And really an excessive amount of choice. And this is after 2 years of whittling down a huge assortment. I really need to not reaccummulate. Also I'm aware I keep writing tea -bags and wonder if I should give leaf tea a go…this should slow down my tendency to grab cups of tea on the go.
Cravings for tea and 85% are diminishing, thank heavens.
-
Also I'm aware I keep writing tea -bags and wonder if I should give leaf tea a go…this should slow down my tendency to grab cups of tea on the go.
I am a huge fan of loose leaf. It is much cheaper, you can customize your own blends , the tea tastes better, the ritual of making it slows you down - and there are lots of things that make me iffy about tea bags - inferior tea, harder to know the source and what was sprayed on them, not to mention the bags themselves. Most paper bags contain epichlorohydrin, the other mesh bags contain plastics that melt...there is a bit of summery here: http://foodbabe.com/2013/08/21/do-you-know-whats-really-in-your-tea/ (http://foodbabe.com/2013/08/21/do-you-know-whats-really-in-your-tea/)
-
Had a good weekend on the clear-out project! Corn tortillas, a random jalapeno, frozen butternut squash and enchilada sauce went into a "stovetop enchilada casserole." Canned pumpkin and some fat-free cream cheese I bought by accident went into a low-fat pumpkin bread recipe. I am starting to see space in the pantry and fridge...
-
I am a huge fan of loose leaf. It is much cheaper, you can customize your own blends , the tea tastes better, the ritual of making it slows you down - and there are lots of things that make me iffy about tea bags - inferior tea, harder to know the source and what was sprayed on them, not to mention the bags themselves. Most paper bags contain epichlorohydrin, the other mesh bags contain plastics that melt...there is a bit of summery here: http://foodbabe.com/2013/08/21/do-you-know-whats-really-in-your-tea/ (http://foodbabe.com/2013/08/21/do-you-know-whats-really-in-your-tea/)
OMGoodness Swick, thank you. The thought of tea is making my throat close over after reading foodbabe. I'll never look at a teabag the same way again. This might give me the kick I need to give up my time and money wasting tea habit.
-
I am so doing this!! We became vegan in mid-dec and now have a full pantry of beans diced tomatoes pasta etc. We also have a ridiculously high food budget that I want to drop by about $45 a week. Awesome idea!
-
Happy, you are making me look bad! Here I was just congratulating myself on starting to BECOME a tea drinker since it's a relatively cheap and calorie-free beverage, as compared to coffee with cream in the morning and beer or wine at night, or god forbid, mid-afternoon Starbuck's runs.
The organic chicken deal sounds awesome, Swick! I really ought to look into that again, now that I'm habituated to paying $8-10 per small chicken. When I was buying conventional chicken for $4-5, making the leap to $12 birds was too much for me, and $12 seems to be the going price for locally raised.
-
I think that the beans are reproducing in the pantry. We keep eating them and it appears barely a dent has been made. What a fortunate problem to have!
Whoever turned me on to Budget Bytes deserves a hearty handshake and a glass of homebrew! As I write, Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal is in the oven. I'm still working on those zip bags of pumpkin from the two Long Island Cheese pumpkins we purchased last fall.
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/09/baked-pumpkin-pie-oatmeal/
-
I've been getting rid of stuff and have a thread on it, and I also occasionally post in there about the food I'm eating up. However, I am also going to join in this thread for extra motivation!
There are many things I'm striving to finish eating in the next few months, but recently I've been working on:
- black sesame powder
- quinoa flakes
- dried shrimp
- assorted teas
- assorted curry pastes and powders
- pea protein powder
I should also do more work on:
- dried mung beans
- dried cloud ear fungus
- brown rice powder
Yes, I have some "exotic" food in these here parts, alright. ;)
-
Yes, I have some "exotic" food in these here parts, alright. ;)
This is why I prefer to shop with my husband at the Asian grocery. Otherwise he comes home with all sorts of weirdness that is pushed to the rear of cupboards and forgotten.
-
This is why I prefer to shop with my husband at the Asian grocery. Otherwise he comes home with all sorts of weirdness that is pushed to the rear of cupboards and forgotten.
Hehe, I actually have the appropriate ethnic/cultural background (and some of those things were given to me by my parents when they visit), so I am actually familiar with the stuff and know what to do with them. It's just that I fall into patterns of using the same type of ingredients over and over again, while neglecting others. Then when I use the neglected ingredients, sometimes I'm like, gee, this is great, why don't I use it more often? I do this with clothes too.
-
DH and I were talking and decided to do an experiment over the next little while. I may throw down a gauntlet but for now I thought I would share here because it strikes me as a fun idea.
We are going to make a commitment to not buy anything until we are sure we don't have something that can already be used at home. Groceries is the most logical place to start since it is our most frequent spending category and fits into this challenge.
Next time we go to the store on our usual grocery trip, we are going to open a notebook instead of grabbing a basket. We'll write down everything we were going to buy take the list and shop "at home" Is there something we already have that can replace or substitute for this item? One area is fresh fruits and veggies (which suck in the store this time of year) when we have lots of beans/kale and rhubarb in our freezer.
We'll probably only do this once to illustrate the point and hammer it into our heads, then we'll take the money we would have spent and didn't and keep a tally. I'm hoping this will create a habit and spill over into all our other spending categories as well. I think it will be very eye opening to see how much we are spending on things when we could be more resourceful and creative in our thinking and consuming.
-
Well I made it to the end of the week with no tea or chocolate. It was quite hard…what a wuss I am. I looked at leaf tea, but there was not much product on the supermarket shelves. It was all tea bags, barring what I'd call countryman's tea, you know good strong plain CWA type tea (which I don't like). So I'm going to investigate other sources…I did find some organic, unbleached paper teabags.
-
Well I made it to the end of the week with no tea or chocolate. It was quite hard…what a wuss I am. I looked at leaf tea, but there was not much product on the supermarket shelves. It was all tea bags, barring what I'd call countryman's tea, you know good strong plain CWA type tea (which I don't like). So I'm going to investigate other sources…I did find some organic, unbleached paper teabags.
happy, you may have better luck finding reasonably priced loose leaf tea in Asian grocery stores. Otherwise, if you don't mind teas that don't actually involve tea leaves and caffeine, sometimes I make cheap spice or herbal teas with spices or herbs I already have, which is also in the spirit of eating all the food in my house! ;)
-
happy, you may have better luck finding reasonably priced loose leaf tea in Asian grocery stores. Otherwise, if you don't mind teas that don't actually involve tea leaves and caffeine, sometimes I make cheap spice or herbal teas with spices or herbs I already have, which is also in the spirit of eating all the food in my house! ;)
[/quote]
Aha, interesting. Nearest Asian store is in town about 20km away, but will investigate on my next trip. Really I'm an Earl Grey, Lady Grey drinker. But I do like peppermint which I've been surviving on. I grow mint and have just got some ginger and turmeric to grow (not quite up to harvesting at this point). What spices/herbs do you suggest?
(I'm aware I'm putting my own twist on this challenge since I don't have to empty my pantry for any particular reason. Really I'm trying to eat all the food in danger of expiring, and push myself outside of my comfort zone and examine my relationship with food. )
-
Aha, interesting. Nearest Asian store is in town about 20km away, but will investigate on my next trip. Really I'm an Earl Grey, Lady Grey drinker. But I do like peppermint which I've been surviving on. I grow mint and have just got some ginger and turmeric to grow (not quite up to harvesting at this point). What spices/herbs do you suggest?
(I'm aware I'm putting my own twist on this challenge since I don't have to empty my pantry for any particular reason. Really I'm trying to eat all the food in danger of expiring, and push myself outside of my comfort zone and examine my relationship with food. )
Awesome! I've made mint tea, ginger tea and turmeric tea, all the things you are growing! You could even try mixing and matching all the above. With mint, I just steep it in hot water for a while and it's good to go. Same goes for ginger and turmeric, slice them thin and bruise them, then steep, or you may also simmer gently for a few minutes.
I've just been using the spices I have - a recent love is a simple one made with turmeric powder and honey. I stir the two ingredients together in a mug, then top up with hot water and stir again. Sometimes I use other powdered spices as well - nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom all go well. I also add black pepper at times, which may seem odd, but health-wise it has a synergistic effect with turmeric, and gives an interesting spicy attitude to the taste.
-
I really like rosemary tea!
This challenge has a whole new spin for me: I joined an organic CSA after all. This first week slapped me in the face with a mountain of leafy greens, and I'm struggling to get through them all before they go bad. I might have to freeze some.
Here's what I got last Tuesday:
--Red Pepper Powder (100g)
--Spinach (250g)
--Assorted Salad Vegetables (200g)
--Strawberries (200g)
--Eggs (6)
--Onions (2, 300g)
--Carrots (1, 250g)
--Potatoes (3, 400g)
--Oyster Mushrooms (200g)
--Winter Grown Cabbage (400g)
--Bok Choy (200g)
--Mallow (300g)
I'm currently eating http://paleosavvy.com/asian-chicken-soup-recipe/ (- Napa + winter grown cabbage), which used up some of the cabbage, bok choy, and the carrot.
Tomorrow I'll tackle the mallow with http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/saladsandsidedishes/r/mallow_salad_bakoula_khoubiza.htm paired with http://arab-recipes.org/moroccan-style-chicken.html which will finish up the onions. I'm going to just cheat and eat the mallow salad with homemade tortillas. I don't have yeast and I'm not sure I'd enjoy tackling a Moroccan bread recipe in addition to all the other cooking going on!
Then I guess I'll just have to eat lots of salads and stir frys until it's all gone. I get my next box Tuesday, though--it's weekly! Here's hoping for more root vegetables and less fragile leafy things.
-
I buy organic salad mix in the package (which is pricier than making my own, I know, and I'm willing to shell out a little more for the convenience). I had been buying the regular size of spring greens which is a 5 oz. package for $2.99. I recently noticed that they have a 16 oz. package for $4.49 - more than three times the salad for only 50% more cost. Yay! But the problem is that sometimes I can't get through the big package before it goes bad (and I eat salads in such a large quantity that it might strike fear into the hearts of many Americans! Lol). So, I decided to switch to baby spinach salad - very healthy and once it starts to wilt and go bad, I steam it and put it in soup. No waste!
Speaking of salad, I saw many mentions of kale in this thread. I like to very lightly steam kale, refrigerate it, and eat it cold on my salads. Eating it cold takes away the strong "greens" flavor that some people may not like. I also love it by itself with sunflower seeds and salad dressing. Delicious!
-
Threw together a really good casserole from random ingredients last night:
Spaghetti squash, ground beef, onion and asparagus with sundried tomatoes, olive tapenade, preserved eggplant and pesto mixed in, then topped with some shredded Italian blend cheese. Filling, pretty healthy, and used up some random things that I had no plan for when I walked into the kitchen after work.
-
happy, you may have better luck finding reasonably priced loose leaf tea in Asian grocery stores. Otherwise, if you don't mind teas that don't actually involve tea leaves and caffeine, sometimes I make cheap spice or herbal teas with spices or herbs I already have, which is also in the spirit of eating all the food in my house! ;)
Aha, interesting. Nearest Asian store is in town about 20km away, but will investigate on my next trip. Really I'm an Earl Grey, Lady Grey drinker. But I do like peppermint which I've been surviving on. I grow mint and have just got some ginger and turmeric to grow (not quite up to harvesting at this point). What spices/herbs do you suggest?
(I'm aware I'm putting my own twist on this challenge since I don't have to empty my pantry for any particular reason. Really I'm trying to eat all the food in danger of expiring, and push myself outside of my comfort zone and examine my relationship with food. )
[/quote]
Chai concentrate is awesome, I usually use loose leaf black tea, but you can make it without tea at all just with the spices and it tastes great :)
-
I buy organic salad mix in the package (which is pricier than making my own, I know, and I'm willing to shell out a little more for the convenience). I had been buying the regular size of spring greens which is a 5 oz. package for $2.99. I recently noticed that they have a 16 oz. package for $4.49 - more than three times the salad for only 50% more cost. Yay! But the problem is that sometimes I can't get through the big package before it goes bad (and I eat salads in such a large quantity that it might strike fear into the hearts of many Americans! Lol). So, I decided to switch to baby spinach salad - very healthy and once it starts to wilt and go bad, I steam it and put it in soup. No waste!
Good solution to your problem, but I just wanted to tell you about mason jars. If you put your spring greens in a mason jar, they stay fresh for much longer. I've been making salads for lunch at work. I make them all on Sunday, in mason jars, and have one for each lunch. Friday's lettuce is just as fresh as Monday's was.
-
I also have a CSA which is heavy on the greens just now. (I may not do the winter season next year, but we should be coming into the goodies pretty soon so I will stick with it for now). I did a really successful "green soup"--basically, I sauteed onion, sweet pepper and garlic, then threw in a bunch of asparagus that was on the wilty side, let that cook till it was good and soft, then tossed in a small bunch of kale and arugula that was getting too wilty to eat. Took it off the heat and pureed (immersion blender) with half an avocado, some cooked greens that were hanging around the fridge, and the juice from a large lemon. Only seasoning was salt and pepper. I was a little dubious but it came out really well.
Also cleared out some bits and pieces with a pizza involving several ingredients that were hanging around the fridge.
-
I've been doing pretty well at killing off lingering items in the pantry and freezer. I just keep screwing it up by buying more new food! But, generally, my stock is dwindling and I'm happy about it.
Today's little victory was using up the last of a massive bag of ground flax seeds I've had in the freezer for ages. I made a couple of delicious loaves of whole wheat flax sandwich bread.
I'm thinking about taking a detailed pantry inventory and crossing off items as I use them up. I think that might give me more motivation to eat the random stuff.
-
Today's casserole/frittata: bacon, kale, olive tapenade, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese and pine nuts baked up with scrambled eggs.
The fridge is much less clogged, and the pantry is looking cleaner, too. Freezer is in between, but slightly improving. Need more improvement before I can justify buying a beef quarter or lamb. I think tomorrow I'll put all the non-perishable stuff I want to use in a basket on the counter so that it's front and center and I can work on getting it into this week's meals.
-
@ashley -- great idea about making a list of what's in the pantry/freezer!
Had a container of frozen turkey vegetable soup from the freezer along with some buns that were in there. Fine dinner and no extra money out of pocket!
-
I second the list idea. I LOVE crossing things off. I used to do it on paper, but have now switched to the reminders app on my phone. I like that because if I add something new, it's easy to amend--I can also do meal planning wherever I happen to be. I also love the growing space in my pantry/fridge/freezer. I can actually find stuff in the back without starting an avalanche!
-
Was asking my husband to go pick up cold meat and buns at the local grocery store for dinner when I realized I had: buns in the freezer, 1/2 a ham in the fridge (still good), and 1/2 a big container of leftover turkey soup from the day before!~ DOH! Probably just "saved" us twenty bucks! (big family)
-
Was asking my husband to go pick up cold meat and buns at the local grocery store for dinner when I realized I had: buns in the freezer, 1/2 a ham in the fridge (still good), and 1/2 a big container of leftover turkey soup from the day before!~ DOH! Probably just "saved" us twenty bucks! (big family)
Good save!
We buy cold cuts occasionally (usually if we are doing pizza) but they are soo much more expensive here. Hubby turned around last night and said..."you know, for only a couple of dollars more then the salami we bought last week, which gave us one pizza and a tiny bit of left over, we bought this whole picnic ham. We get cracklings! We get broth for soup! We have really tasty potatoes that we cooked at the same time! We have probably 8 meals worth of meat! I think I have to embrace Ham and pineapple pizza!"
Had a small win, I thawed some very badly freezer burnt artichoke hearts which I think I have moved at least three times with? Steamed them and food processed them up into a dip. It was very tasty - I was pleasantly surprised :)
-
I buy organic salad mix in the package (which is pricier than making my own, I know, and I'm willing to shell out a little more for the convenience). I had been buying the regular size of spring greens which is a 5 oz. package for $2.99. I recently noticed that they have a 16 oz. package for $4.49 - more than three times the salad for only 50% more cost. Yay! But the problem is that sometimes I can't get through the big package before it goes bad (and I eat salads in such a large quantity that it might strike fear into the hearts of many Americans! Lol). So, I decided to switch to baby spinach salad - very healthy and once it starts to wilt and go bad, I steam it and put it in soup. No waste!
Good solution to your problem, but I just wanted to tell you about mason jars. If you put your spring greens in a mason jar, they stay fresh for much longer. I've been making salads for lunch at work. I make them all on Sunday, in mason jars, and have one for each lunch. Friday's lettuce is just as fresh as Monday's was.
What do you do with the mixed greens? I have vacuum/mason jar set-up. I'm not buying spring mix because it goes bad too quickly.
-
I love the sharpie idea! I have a few items I've been hanging onto for years and I'm pretty sure I will never use them up. Malt powder? What do I do with that? (Not malted milk. Just straight barley malt.)
-
Good solution to your problem, but I just wanted to tell you about mason jars. If you put your spring greens in a mason jar, they stay fresh for much longer. I've been making salads for lunch at work. I make them all on Sunday, in mason jars, and have one for each lunch. Friday's lettuce is just as fresh as Monday's was.
What do you do with the mixed greens? I have vacuum/mason jar set-up. I'm not buying spring mix because it goes bad too quickly.
Me? I mean mixed greens is what I put in the mason jars and it keeps fresh much longer than if I left them in their plastic bag or container. I don't have a vacuum, but just keeping them in glass with the metal lid works pretty well to extend the life of the greens. I usually buy "mixed baby greens."
-
Used up a bag of frozen raspberries and a couple of cups of blueberries from the summer and made a fruit crisp for dessert. Will serve it later tonite with some aged vanilla ice cream also found in the freezer ;-)
-
Made a totally awesome "garbage" soup (as my Grandpa called it) With leftover chicken stock, some leftover roasted onions and potatoes, some leftover rice, bit of instant potato I found in the drawer, some dehydrated jalapenos I have had a hard time using up, a scoop of leftover red pepper walnut dip topped with some shredded slightly dried out cheese end. It tasted like a loaded baked potato soup some people spend money on in restaurants, I was pleasantly surprised.
-
Today I'm cooking a jar of split mung beans I've had in my pantry for at least 5 years. Probably longer. I hope they're edible.
-
Today I'm cooking a jar of split mung beans I've had in my pantry for at least 5 years. Probably longer. I hope they're edible.
Hope you'll update with how they turn out! I have a bag I have been ignoring :)
-
I like the creativity that this challenge is inspiring. Tonight I remembered the jicama from the co-op basket that has been rolling around in the produce drawer. Combined it into a slaw with some pears, and made a dressing from tahini, chile paste, ouzu, and some other random ingredients. DH raved over it.
-
Today I'm cooking a jar of split mung beans I've had in my pantry for at least 5 years. Probably longer. I hope they're edible.
Hope you'll update with how they turn out! I have a bag I have been ignoring :)
I was expecting to have to choke them down, but they actually turned out great! I couldn't even tell you everything I dumped in there (a little of everything vaguely Indian I had in my spice collection, plus a LOT of ginger and garlic), but it worked out and I'll be happily eating dal for the rest of the week. Bonus: I used up the last of some super old spices, so overall a successful pantry meal.
I think the key was soaking the beans for a few hours, draining, and rinsing well before cooking. Last time I cooked mung beans I skipped the soaking, and they ended up tasting and smelling really funky. So, I highly recommend soaking.
-
Soaking it will be, thanks for the tip :)
-
Working through the homemade sauerkraut I made during a fermentation phase... pretty tasty. I'm not sure why I don't make this more often.
-
I've been calling this "making post-apocalyptic meals" as if some sort of zombie apocalypse was upon me and I HAD to eat what is left.
It's so great to find like-minded people.
-
Took cabbage, onion and ground beef in an Indian direction tonight with coconut milk, curry powder and some other random spices I don't really know how to handle properly. Used up the last dab of maple syrup counterbalancing the tart from the tamarind paste.
Last night, used up some pears and tahini in a jicama slaw with an Thai-inspired dressing.
Need to do something with capers as I have them almost used up, and they're really not something I need to keep on hand.
-
Took cabbage, onion and ground beef in an Indian direction tonight with coconut milk, curry powder and some other random spices I don't really know how to handle properly. Used up the last dab of maple syrup counterbalancing the tart from the tamarind paste.
Last night, used up some pears and tahini in a jicama slaw with an Thai-inspired dressing.
Need to do something with capers as I have them almost used up, and they're really not something I need to keep on hand.
Capers are an awesome addition chopped and added to potato salad or tartar sauce. I also make a caper gravy when I serve lamb.
What spices do you have a hard time using up? I'd be happy to help you brainstorm some ideas. (In another life, I was probably a spice merchant, I love em!)
Your Indian cabbage beef meal sounds great :)
-
I had some dip leftover from my sausage biscuits. Turns out it makes a completely amazing sandwich spread. I had a toasted sandwich with the leftover pepperoni and pepper jack cheese from last night's pizza, banana peppers, and this dip slathered on the bread. Delicious. My life is entirely too good sometimes.
1/3 cup dijon mustard
2/3 cup mayo
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
-
I just finished a bowl of bean chili (from dried beans) I made in the slow cooker yesterday, accompanied with a perilla leaf pesto cornbread muffin.
There are four freezer bags with large portions of chili, two cornbread muffins, and some cornbread batter in the freezer. I'm curious about freezing cornbread batter; my boyfriend said it's fine, but I'm not sure how the baking powder will be affected. It's an experiment! Also, this batter doesn't contain eggs or milk, so it's already a bit of an experiment. ;-D
The chili only got stuff I already had on hand thrown in, but it's super delicious. I also got to use up taco seasoning and ranch dressing powder packets I inherited. I still have five or so taco seasoning packets to use, and they aren't my favorite things in the world...
This continues to be an interesting challenge for me because fresh produce from my CSA boxes get "main dish" status now. I'm definitely seeing my baking ingredients and spices decrease as the weeks go on, though! Unfortunately, I have to buy more sesame oil today to continue making yummy things with my fresh produce. And some tomatoes so salads make sense :-/ ...and yogurt or milk for baking muffins. And garlic. Siigh!
Anyway--I'm having fun eating!
-
Took cabbage, onion and ground beef in an Indian direction tonight with coconut milk, curry powder and some other random spices I don't really know how to handle properly. Used up the last dab of maple syrup counterbalancing the tart from the tamarind paste.
Last night, used up some pears and tahini in a jicama slaw with an Thai-inspired dressing.
Need to do something with capers as I have them almost used up, and they're really not something I need to keep on hand.
Capers are an awesome addition chopped and added to potato salad or tartar sauce. I also make a caper gravy when I serve lamb.
What spices do you have a hard time using up? I'd be happy to help you brainstorm some ideas. (In another life, I was probably a spice merchant, I love em!)
Your Indian cabbage beef meal sounds great :)
Oh, I bought all these Indian spices a while back. I need to bust out the Madjur Jaffrey and expand my repertoire beyond daal and palak paneer. I have, off the top of my head: mango amchur powder, fenugreek leaves, curry leaves, nigella sativa seeds, brown mustard seed, black cumin seed, asofetida (sp?) powder, tamarind paste, and a few spice blends.
-
The idea of this thread has gotten me banned from several kitchens, even though the results were (usually) delicious. Some people just can't understand the fun of tossing all the leftovers in the fridge in a stew pot to see what happens.
-
I bought quinoa to try last year, and loved it, but no one else in the house did. So last night I doctored up half the remainder with a ton of garlic, veggies, and olive oil to make a pilaf. It was great! And while the rest of the family didn't love it, they did eat it. One more round of that and we're done.
Tonight, I'll make chicken soup with also-stashed barley, served with dinner rolls I made that turned out a little hard. I'll warm them up with some moisture and see if they soften up a bit. Hate to just throw them out. They're otherwise good.
-
The idea of this thread has gotten me banned from several kitchens, even though the results were (usually) delicious. Some people just can't understand the fun of tossing all the leftovers in the fridge in a stew pot to see what happens.
This totally made me smile. The worst though is when it turns out really good and everyone raves and asks for the recipe...and you have to change the subject or admit that you didn't keep track of what you threw in the pot :)
-
I bought quinoa to try last year, and loved it, but no one else in the house did. So last night I doctored up half the remainder with a ton of garlic, veggies, and olive oil to make a pilaf. It was great! And while the rest of the family didn't love it, they did eat it. One more round of that and we're done.
Tonight, I'll make chicken soup with also-stashed barley, served with dinner rolls I made that turned out a little hard. I'll warm them up with some moisture and see if they soften up a bit. Hate to just throw them out. They're otherwise good.
I haven't tried it, but have read that toasting the quinoa in a dry pan before cooking will give it a nice, butty flavor. Maybe the other people in your house would like it better that way?
-
I bought quinoa to try last year, and loved it, but no one else in the house did. So last night I doctored up half the remainder with a ton of garlic, veggies, and olive oil to make a pilaf. It was great! And while the rest of the family didn't love it, they did eat it. One more round of that and we're done.
Tonight, I'll make chicken soup with also-stashed barley, served with dinner rolls I made that turned out a little hard. I'll warm them up with some moisture and see if they soften up a bit. Hate to just throw them out. They're otherwise good.
I haven't tried it, but have read that toasting the quinoa in a dry pan before cooking will give it a nice, butty flavor. Maybe the other people in your house would like it better that way?
Butty flavor? That sounds terrible! ;)
I'm doing that, and it does give it a nice, nutty flavor, but I think it's a texture problem for them. There's no accounting for taste. :)
-
Quinoa is great cooked and added to breads and muffins and such, or pizza crust!
http://jenninterrupted.blogspot.ca/2011/06/huh-quinoa-and-pizza.html (http://jenninterrupted.blogspot.ca/2011/06/huh-quinoa-and-pizza.html)
Also, I make quinoa where I use a can of tomatoes as part of the cooking liquid. Throw in some basil and oregano and stir in some Parmesan and mozza cheese after it has cooked and it is an awesome, quick one-pot meal - throw in a little chopped fresh basil if you are feeling fancy.
Also, there are lots of recipes out there for "Pizza Quinoa" which is the same general idea but add chopped pepperoni and other favorite pizza toppings.
-
Yeah, I rinsed it well. I wish there were some user error I could fix, but it really was fine -- they just don't like it.
I love the idea of hiding it in other things or really amping it up with flavors I know they like (i.e. pizza). Great ideas! Thanks!
-
When I'm introducing new or unusual foods to my family, I serve a small amount as a side dish along with familiar meat and veggies. I do it several times and ask that they try the new food, they might be surprised that they start to like it. This exact same thing happened when we started eating lentils. The texture was very strange for them and the flavour was different from anything else in our typical meals, but now I can easily serve a whole platefull of lentils, no problem. Just a few thoughts -- ymmv
-
Count me in! I have 6 weeks until graduation/moving, and I don't want to move any food. My stash only takes up 1/6 of the cupboard, fridge, and freezer space in this apartment (hooray roommates) so I will need to grocery shop a few times between now and move-out day, but I'm going to do my best to combine new food with stuff that's been sitting in the cupboards for a while so I can use it up.
-
Eating up all the bags of raspberries I froze last year, before raspberry season arrives again. They are great thawed, on yogurt with a sprinkling of chia and hemp seeds. Yum! Glad I found them!
-
Ideas for yellow mustard? I have a bottle that's expired, but I don't want to toss it. It's still good! ;-D
But ya--I clearly don't use the stuff much. I eat it on turkey and cheese sandwiches, but turkey is only available at Costco where I live, and that's 2+ hours away now. Not gonna happen.
I made a yellow mustard vinaigrette salad dressing that was edible but too tart--perhaps sugar would make that recipe a keeper.
What else?
-
Ideas for yellow mustard? I have a bottle that's expired, but I don't want to toss it. It's still good! ;-D
But ya--I clearly don't use the stuff much. I eat it on turkey and cheese sandwiches, but turkey is only available at Costco where I live, and that's 2+ hours away now. Not gonna happen.
I made a yellow mustard vinaigrette salad dressing that was edible but too tart--perhaps sugar would make that recipe a keeper.
What else?
My mom dips her french fries in yellow mustard...I usually add a squirt or two to my cheese sauce, really rounds out the flavors....ummm....ohh honey mustard sauce uses lots of yellow mustard, good on chicken!
-
Do you have access to ham? Ham, mustard or mustard sauce, and pineapple are a good combination in a lot of recipes.
-
Honey mustard chicken in the crockpot
-
I have a little internal celebration whenever I finish off a container of something that's been sitting around for too long.
I just put together a Mexican casserole of random ingredients of pretty much everything and the kitchen sink: cauliflower rice, black beans, roasted green chile, fresh green chile and bell pepper, onion, ground beef, broccoli, olives, cheese and a can of tomatoes. Hope it's good because there's a LOT of it.
-
Finished off so far:
- Bag of muesli
- Frozen fish fillets
Also a loaf of sandwich bread and some ice cream, but those don't count as I go through them frequently.
Still to go:
- Baked beans
- Bag of rice
- Lasagna noodles
and more...
-
yesterday i made a very tasty soup following my "no measuring - dump in a pot" Philosophy. Usually it is: Whatever homemade stock I happen to have in the freezer, some kind of bean, some kind of starch, some kind of veggies (usually something green) boiled till it makes soup.
Yesterday's was chicken stock, red lentil, bulgar, and rainbow chard. I plopped a couple of eggs in for a light poach (still had runny yolks which you break into the soup and make it all creamy, rich and delicious)
Your Mexican Casserole sounds great, Horsepoor!
-
Mmm, poached eggs in soup sounds awesome. I frequently intend to make eggdrop soup and never do.
The casserole was a hit, as measured by the fact that about a third of it was gone by the time I got home from the stable.
-
Count me in! I have 6 weeks until graduation/moving, and I don't want to move any food. My stash only takes up 1/6 of the cupboard, fridge, and freezer space in this apartment (hooray roommates) so I will need to grocery shop a few times between now and move-out day, but I'm going to do my best to combine new food with stuff that's been sitting in the cupboards for a while so I can use it up.
Perfect! Do your roommates have extra food? I bet they would let you eat it, too :).
As for Mustard, folks, try it with chicken. Use it as a marinade for at least 12 hours, then grill or BBQ that chicken! VERY good, add something spicy or sweet if you liike.
-
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-honey-mustard-chicken/
This honey mustard chicken recipe sounds excellent!
-
Finished off a few more bits and pieces, but losing focus. Pantry is much better, but there's still a few things been lurking too long. Have to make the effort to finish the job.
-
I had a houseguest so my experiments were a bit limited, but I did get rid of some frozen roasted corn and frozen asparagus in a couple of the things I made for her. Of course, I also brought in a few new ingredients!
-
some small successes, really feeling the itch to go grocery shopping - but shopping from the pantry instead.
Yesterday - Curried fish cakes made with instant mashed potato, spices, frozen peas and whitefish - all from the pantry/freezer. I busted up some old rye crackers to use for the breading and served with papadums and some homemade chutney from the pantry.
Today - made deep-dish pizza with some ham from the freezer, cheese ends, and tomato paste from the pantry.
Tomorrow - potluck board meeting. I am planning on making some skillet cornbread - since I have everything in the pantry to make it and would love to use up some of my 25# sack of cornmeal.
-
Yesterday I used up the last lasagna noodles and a jar of tomato sauce. Also recently used up: one can of baked beans.
This morning I made progress on the oatmeal, raisins, and brown sugar.
After I eat the leftovers from yesterday's dinner, my next challenge will be the pound of ground beef in the freezer.
-
Anyone have any ideas for canned coconut milk? We occasionally make curries, and use it as a milk base when we make chia seed pudding...but I have a ton to use up. How do you use it?
-
Used up this week: Bottle of Frank's red hot (buffalo pork salads), an enormous pork loin, dried thyme, wilted mushrooms/celery/carrots I had frozen, emptied a jar of raspberry preserves into fridge oatmeal, bag of turkey burgers, leftover ham (split pea soup), bottle of avocado oil, expired but still good greek yogurt, box of frozen chopped spinach that was around for ages, wilted arugula,
Made pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins - used up a cup of chocolate chips, 1/2 can of pumpkin puree, couple Tbsp of almond flour, ground nutmeg that was kind of old.
Also froze chicken stew and extra pork before it could go bad.
-
Anyone have any ideas for canned coconut milk? We occasionally make curries, and use it as a milk base when we make chia seed pudding...but I have a ton to use up. How do you use it?
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/01/16/chocolate-frosting-shots/
-
Anyone have any ideas for canned coconut milk? We occasionally make curries, and use it as a milk base when we make chia seed pudding...but I have a ton to use up. How do you use it?
Use the thick part as coffee creamer, or you can whip it into a "whipped cream." I also have been making a ground beef dish with Indian spices and coconut milk that is really good. Based off of this recipe, but with a little more coconut milk: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/57975313761/deconstructed-samosa-spiced-keema
Good in smoothies, too, if you do those.
-
Anyone have any ideas for canned coconut milk? We occasionally make curries, and use it as a milk base when we make chia seed pudding...but I have a ton to use up. How do you use it?
I like to use it in oatmeal. I still cook the oatmeal with water, then dump a ton of coconut milk on top. Especially delicious with bananas and brown sugar.
-
Anyone have any ideas for canned coconut milk? We occasionally make curries, and use it as a milk base when we make chia seed pudding...but I have a ton to use up. How do you use it?
We love it in place of water when making rice. Basmati is yummiest, but it makes any rice better. Or half water and half coconut milk.
-
Anyone have any ideas for canned coconut milk? We occasionally make curries, and use it as a milk base when we make chia seed pudding...but I have a ton to use up. How do you use it?
Maybe modify tri layer bars? Has a graham cracker base, coconut flakes+condensed milk, topped by a chocolate/peanut butter layer. Maybe switch out the condensed milk?
-
Thank you all for the suggestions!
I have made oatmeal a couple of times with some coconut milk - super yummy, Thanks Splendid!
Will definitely try it the next time I make some rice, I forgot when I made dinner last night...but I made a totally awesome coconut milk based curry which was a lot like a butter chicken just without the cream/yogurt and had coconut milk instead. I was really lucky to come across a single package of fresh curry leaves at our store for the first time ever - the employees had no idea what they were.
So I roughly used Jamie Oliver's recipe and Hubby said it was better then the Indian place we go to occasionally - and saves us a 4 hour drive!
http://www.annsrunningcommentary.com/jamie-olivers-favorite-chicken-curry/ (http://www.annsrunningcommentary.com/jamie-olivers-favorite-chicken-curry/)
Added bonus - got to use up some mustard seeds! I would definitely take extra time in the first steps to really caramelize the onions, it makes a huge difference to the end of the dish.
-
I have been adding stray cans of food to large dishes. A 5 quart soup or casserole is not effected much by a 16oz can of anything, but it removes that food from the cupboard. I don't eat many beans because of farting, but I put a can of garbanzo in stew recently and it went fine.
I think I'm packing a few stray cans still. Not enough to bother me, but I want to ditch it on principle.
I want to consolidate the kitchen and have half my cupboards completely empty (then MOVE to a smaller place). One can at a time!
-
If this challenge was DRINK ALL THE WINE in your house, I'd have it licked.
Probably going to do a major shopping trip tomorrow, as we're down to one pack of ground beef in terms of protein. So, challenge is sort of off, but it's gone a long way towards opening up pantry space, saving money and preventing stuff from expiring and going to waste. I've also identified several ingredients I plan to use up and not keep on hand in the future, such as too many kinds of vinegars. Ought to be making my own herbed vinegars instead.
-
If this challenge was DRINK ALL THE WINE in your house, I'd have it licked.
Yes, yes absolutely! I can rock that challenge too. :)
-
Pulled the following out of the deep freeze today to contribute to meals to feed the family today and tomorrow: 1 whole chicken, 1 lb of ground beef, 4 cup bag of black beans, 1/2 bag of fries, 1/2 bag of chicken strips, package of tortillas and 4 cup bag of raspberries. Feels great to use things up!
-
Staying with friends while on vacation. They have SO much food laying around. I could probably go grocery free for a few months just raiding their freezer and pantry. I don't get it.
-
For the next 15 weeks, I'm going to modify this challenge to Eat ALL the food in your CSA. I'm pretty horrible about getting unusual vegetables, and not knowing what to do with them, then they go bad and I throw them out. This week we got lettuce, tatsoi (similar to spinach), spinach, and bok choy. I ate some of the lettuce with shredded pork and homemade salad dressing last night. The rest is on the menu for lunch today. I'll be sauteeing some, maybe all, the spinach and tatsoi in bacon fat for dinner tonight. But what to do with the bok choy? Any suggestions? Recipes?
In case anyone is interested, here's my salad dressing recipe (also used as the dressing for Greek pasta salad):
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. mayo
1/2 c. oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
Mix together. Makes 1 cup of deliciousness.
-
I like bok choi in a simple stirfy with soy sauce, chile paste and sesame oil, with or without meat. Cut the thick part of the stems separately from the leaves and cook them longer, then just a minute or two for the leaves at the end. Also good in miso soup.
-
This is a really great idea, even in modified versions as I know people that have spices from 30years ago :)
I will be doing this to get the pantry down (and reconfigured) and make sure we cycle things in the (small) deep freezer. I also need to start pulling the meals I froze that they kids don't like and get the hubby and I to eat them up (not a hardship, they were so good - dang picky kids). We also have a lot of things that I've probably tried to move the family off of (white pasta) so I will have to weight the financial/health benefits there in using the items up (unfortunately items would be too old to donate).
Love to see all the ideas!
-
For the next 15 weeks, I'm going to modify this challenge to Eat ALL the food in your CSA. I'm pretty horrible about getting unusual vegetables, and not knowing what to do with them, then they go bad and I throw them out. This week we got lettuce, tatsoi (similar to spinach), spinach, and bok choy. I ate some of the lettuce with shredded pork and homemade salad dressing last night. The rest is on the menu for lunch today. I'll be sauteeing some, maybe all, the spinach and tatsoi in bacon fat for dinner tonight. But what to do with the bok choy? Any suggestions? Recipes?
In case anyone is interested, here's my salad dressing recipe (also used as the dressing for Greek pasta salad):
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. mayo
1/2 c. oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
Mix together. Makes 1 cup of deliciousness.
Thanks for the dressing recipe! I've been wanting one to use up some of my mayo, and I have most of this stuff on hand (fresh garlic exchanged should work, eh?).
As for your CSA, I highly recommend making sure you're using a variety of cooking techniques so the greens don't seem so tiresome. Sauteeing or stir frying all the time would get pretty boring to me, even if there were different seasonings.
Spinach is super versatile--you could make any of these in the future:
http://www.food.com/recipe/spinach-balls-146371
http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.kr/2010/07/spinach-squares.html#.U0p0lPnZVNt
http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/saladsandsidedishes/r/mallow_salad_bakoula_khoubiza.htm (sub spinach for mallow, of course)
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/01/easy-white-spinach-pizza/
I even throw a handful into scrambled eggs.
I like bok choi in a simple stirfy with soy sauce, chile paste and sesame oil, with or without meat. Cut the thick part of the stems separately from the leaves and cook them longer, then just a minute or two for the leaves at the end. Also good in miso soup.
I always stir fry bok choy, too.
-
This is a pretty hardcore eating-all-the-food question.
Any salad dressing recipes utilizing the leftover bits in the jam jar I can't scrape out? It seems like a potential thing in my mind.
It's strawberry, if that matters.
-
Nikki- Maybe a strawberry basalmic-type of dressing?
-
Last week's CSA box became numerous salads, quiche with leeks and spinach, braised baby bok choi...
This coming week: more salads, probably sauted spinach or arugula with beans on pasta, and ??? We do get lots of greens this time of year.
-
Nikki- Maybe a strawberry basalmic-type of dressing?
On it. I found this link after posting, too: http://livinghomegrown.com/2014/02/leftover-jam-salad-dressing-recipe.html
I knew it had to be a thing! I just wasn't searching for the right terms.
-
This is a pretty hardcore eating-all-the-food question.
Any salad dressing recipes utilizing the leftover bits in the jam jar I can't scrape out? It seems like a potential thing in my mind.
It's strawberry, if that matters.
So this seems random but I think I saw it elsewhere in the thread - if you're a coffee drinker, swish your coffee around in that jar. It would probably be like using a flavored syrup.
-
This is a pretty hardcore eating-all-the-food question.
Any salad dressing recipes utilizing the leftover bits in the jam jar I can't scrape out? It seems like a potential thing in my mind.
It's strawberry, if that matters.
So this seems random but I think I saw it elsewhere in the thread - if you're a coffee drinker, swish your coffee around in that jar. It would probably be like using a flavored syrup.
Strawberry flavored coffee...? I won't lie--that sounds intriguing, but not because I think it will be awesome. It's too late for this jam jar, though. Strawberry balsamic vinaigrette in the fridge!
So, a couple months ago I inherited leftover ingredients from three people who moved away (I posted about it before). I've slowly been making my way through those. The most-familiar-to-me ingredients (flour, sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, dried cranberries) got used up super quickly via baking, which was fabulous, but now I'm into less familiar territory. Yesterday I made muffins with desiccated coconut, dried "mixed fruit" (I think mangos and papaya), and lime juice from my inherited ingredients (plus others I had to buy--raisins, flour, milk, egg). They're so good!
There's something in the pantry I really don't like: gluten-free biscuit mix. I made biscuits (followed the recipe on the back of the package since I'm totally unfamiliar with this stuff) last weekend with it and they are DRY. Blech. I suffered through them by putting mayo and eggs on top. Not wanting to waste it, I'm having a second stab today or tomorrow. I'll make an approximation of this no-meat gravy http://www.food.com/recipe/no-sausage-gravy-for-biscuits-and-gravy-298874 , using a mixed herb spice mix I have on hand (it has *most* of the stuff found in poultry seasoning--I'll make it work somehow). It might be awful, but at least I'm using things up.
-
Adult daughter found a big bag of frozen chicken thighs at the bottom of my deep freeze! wahoo! now I won't need to buy chicken for a while!
-
This is a pretty hardcore eating-all-the-food question.
Any salad dressing recipes utilizing the leftover bits in the jam jar I can't scrape out? It seems like a potential thing in my mind.
It's strawberry, if that matters.
So this seems random but I think I saw it elsewhere in the thread - if you're a coffee drinker, swish your coffee around in that jar. It would probably be like using a flavored syrup.
Strawberry flavored coffee...? I won't lie--that sounds intriguing, but not because I think it will be awesome. It's too late for this jam jar, though. Strawberry balsamic vinaigrette in the fridge!
Snip.
Haha. Could be good.. They make raspberry flavored syrup. Can't be terribly different.
-
Anyone have any ideas for canned coconut milk? We occasionally make curries, and use it as a milk base when we make chia seed pudding...but I have a ton to use up. How do you use it?
We love it in place of water when making rice. Basmati is yummiest, but it makes any rice better. Or half water and half coconut milk.
thanks for this! I separate out the cream for vegan ice cream, so I have a few half cans of the watery part I need to use
-
Anyone have any ideas for canned coconut milk? We occasionally make curries, and use it as a milk base when we make chia seed pudding...but I have a ton to use up. How do you use it?
Fave recipe, v quick, makes good leftovers. Had it tonight.
I jar of red or green thai curry paste, stir fry in a tbsp of coconut oil. Add 1 can of coconut milk. Bring to boil until thickens. Chuck in 1-2tbs fish sauce and same amount of palm sugar. Add 1 kg chopped chicken, breast or thighs. Then add a second can of coconut milk. Simmer tip cooked through. Chuck in handfuls of basil leaves from garden if in season. You can get fancy with lemon grass, coriander (cilantro) if you wish.
Main reason for posting was to say I'm close to the end of all those things needing to be eaten up. In the spirit of the challenge today I needed to use up the remains of our 11kg (approx 25lb) watermelon we grew. ( pretty excited we grew that all ourselves, can you tell?). So I made watermelon and ginger jam. Interesting. Still cooling and not set, fingers crossed.
-
Here's a weird one: does anyone have ideas on how to use up culinary lavender? I bought it thinking I'd make lavender-infused desserts, but I have way too much. Other than infusing it in water, not sure what else to do.
-
Here's a weird one: does anyone have ideas on how to use up culinary lavender? I bought it thinking I'd make lavender-infused desserts, but I have way too much. Other than infusing it in water, not sure what else to do.
Make lavender sugar! Then give away jars of lavender sugar for gifts.
-
Here's a weird one: does anyone have ideas on how to use up culinary lavender? I bought it thinking I'd make lavender-infused desserts, but I have way too much. Other than infusing it in water, not sure what else to do.
Or make Lavender Simple Syrup - makes a great base for drinks as well as Lavender lemonade.
You could dry it and add to epsom salts, or make a vanilla and lavender sugar body scrub - both make awesome gifts. Or make a Bath tea blend.
-
We decided to do this last month and I just now stumbled on this thread--awesome work, everybody!
We try not to overbuy in the first place and so were pretty surprised at how much random food we had stashed away! Definitely found some odd & very forgotten items in our freezer (mostly frozen veg and fruit..not sure which of us picked out the 5lb bag of frozen green beans, but, I'm sure it was really cheap at the time :) ).
We're getting close to bare cupboards--even ate the can of anchovies we found in our basement pantry!
Our goal now is to cook everything from scratch and not buy anything pre-made/packaged (with some exceptions). Our grocery bill now runs about $35/week for 2 adults and consists of fresh fruit, vegetables, coffee, and the odd condiment (like olive oil or vinegar). We're able to buy our primary food stuffs in bulk at Costco (beans, lentils, oats, quinoa). Eliminating meat and a lot of dairy, except for special occasions, has greatly reduced our grocery bills over time.
Also, LOVE the drink all the wine idea...we get boxed wine, which is by far the cheapest route to go and it tastes pretty darn good. We're working on the "drink all the gin program" right now to consume our Christmas gin!
-
Here's a weird one: does anyone have ideas on how to use up culinary lavender? I bought it thinking I'd make lavender-infused desserts, but I have way too much. Other than infusing it in water, not sure what else to do.
Or make Lavender Simple Syrup - makes a great base for drinks as well as Lavender lemonade.
That's what I was going to say! Erica even has a recipe for you: http://www.nwedible.com/2014/02/how-to-make-simple-syrup.html
-
Yum! Lavender sugar and syrup sound great.
Thanks guys!
-
This is a pretty hardcore eating-all-the-food question.
Any salad dressing recipes utilizing the leftover bits in the jam jar I can't scrape out? It seems like a potential thing in my mind.
It's strawberry, if that matters.
Oooh, yes, strawberry vinaigrettes are great. Just throw in a mild oil and vinegar. You could do balsamic, but white wine vinegar would work well. I actually have strawberry vinegar that I'm mixing with toasted hazelnut oil.
-
We're on the slow track here to using things up (I am not solely using pantry, just trying to eat down old items and not buy them again if they are not popular). This past week used up: Frozen lasagna from 2011, 2 cans of kidney beans from 2009 in a chili. They passed the sniff test and we seems to still be alive...and better yet DH didn't even notice, so it's all good. :)
-
Made quinoa pilaff in the rice cooker. 2 cups of quinoa, 4 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of powdered chicken bouillon, 1/2 a minced onion, 2 diced carrots, handful of chopped cilantro. It was delicious and well-received by the family! More pantry food used up!
-
When I saw the title, I decided this could form part of decluttering the kitchen. Since then I have made 2 lemon spinach and lentil soups (1pkt lentils; spinach, carrots, lemons from the garden... nothing bought) the recipe says - serves 6. It has served us for a week each time! In the lentil drawer I still have at least enough lentils for 20 more weeks of this soup. This doesn't include beans and other dried grains etc. in that one drawer. For variety we had bean soup last week.
It sounds like I have a year's worth of food in just this one drawer without counting other things!
And I thought that I could declutter the kitchen this year!
By the way - what is a CSA box?
-
CSA = consumer supported agriculture. You opt in for a given period of time, pay up front, and get goodies from the participating farm(s) weekly or monthly in some cases. Mine's each week from a group of organic farmers.
-
Totally got off track on this one- so I'll start again beginning now. Just checked out the freezer situation and I have enough veggies stored in there that I shouldn't even need to buy produce.
So- I'm resolving not to do any grocery shopping until June. Wish me luck!
-
This is my goal this month - my grocery category in Mint this month was embarrassingly outrageous. I hit all kinds of manager's specials on meat and have a freezer full, but it destroyed my budget. So, goal is to use what I have and buy the bare minimum. I got ground lamb for $3.49 a pound (bought two pounds) and flat bread on clearance for 99 cents, I had greek yogurt to use...so..Gyros!!! Made husband very happy. I got some Laura's Lean ground beef on manager's special, so going to scramble fry for taco meat and make taco salads. (lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream in fridge).
-
Well. Here I am again. I ended up April $451 OVER budget in groceries--shocking how easy it is to do that. DH was home for two weeks and we went into some free fall spending, my folks visited us two weekends, we hosted a block party, and I made an end-of-month trip to Costco while hungry (doh!). And there you have it. By the time I pay for the kids school lunches (non-negotiable), I will have $50 left for the entire month of May for groceries.
I have a very full fridge, pantry, and freezer and am prepared to take on the challenge so see if we can get to the end of the month without spending more than $50 (milk, bread, eggs, a few fresh fruits and veggies to supplement what we already have on hand).
Wish me luck!
-
Gray Matter,
I'd be super interested to see if you make it through the month of May on $50 for groceries. Please let us know... and Good luck! I do this ALL the time ... Costco is the bane of my existence! I'm so weak!
-
Gray Matter,
I'd be super interested to see if you make it through the month of May on $50 for groceries. Please let us know... and Good luck! I do this ALL the time ... Costco is the bane of my existence! I'm so weak!
Thanks for the support! I may be back here asking, "What can I make with rhubarb, black beans, and ricotta" a few times, but I'm committed. I've enlisted the kids' help (and by that, I mean I told them about the challenge and put them on notice that we'd not be following our cravings this month.) I have one particularly-fussy child, so I'm expecting some protests from him as the food combinations get stranger and stranger. I will just suggest he plug his nose if the taste is too offensive to his tender taste buds!
-
Lately, I've been eating mostly CSA produce supplemented with pantry items. Spices are definitely being used in large quantities, to marvelous results. But this week, due to Korean holidays (Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday), I won't be receiving my weekly box of organic goodies. So I'll definitely make a dent in my pantry and freezer. I think there will be a lot of beans, spaghetti, and egg dishes.
I'm also going to run out of flour after baking cupcakes to celebrate my anniversary with my boyfriend today. I *might* need to make a grocery run for more flour and garlic...
Things I'd like ideas for:
- star anise
- gelatin
- unknown kind of red chili preserved in a liquid that smells like BBQ sauce (inherited item without a label--fun!)
- green curry paste (creative ideas? No coconut milk here $$$ I ate red curry paste marinaded chicken yesterday, which was fab. I think the same thing could work with green curry paste.)
Note: I do eat meat, but not often, and even then only chicken or ground pork due to prices. I could try fish or shrimp, but that's very intimidating to me. They often come whole here. :-O
-
Nikki- whenever I go to the Korean supermarket, they clean and cut the fish for me as a complex tart service. I know I'm not in Korea, but if you ask, they may do it for you as well. I know mother and other family have done the same in Korea. :)
-
Nikki- whenever I go to the Korean supermarket, they clean and cut the fish for me as a complex tart service. I know I'm not in Korea, but if you ask, they may do it for you as well. I know mother and other family have done the same in Korea. :)
Good to know. I'll have to ask someone how to ask for that if I ever want to try cooking fish.
-
Things I'd like ideas for:
- star anise
- gelatin
- unknown kind of red chili preserved in a liquid that smells like BBQ sauce (inherited item without a label--fun!)
- green curry paste (creative ideas? No coconut milk here $$$ I ate red curry paste marinaded chicken yesterday, which was fab. I think the same thing could work with green curry paste.)
Star anise is a good addition to your basic Chai spice mix. Also good on popcorn can go either sweet or savory, depending on what else you use.curry paste and garlic stir fied rice
Gelatin: Make your own gummy candies! or marshmallows!
Green Curry paste: curry paste and garlic stir fried rice. Heat oil in wok, add a little bit of curry paste heat through the oil, add a little chopped garlic stir fry for a few seconds and add some leftover rice.
Note: I do eat meat, but not often, and even then only chicken or ground pork due to prices. I could try fish or shrimp, but that's very intimidating to me. They often come whole here. :-O
-
I have recently used up:
- frozen ravioli
- bag of frozen veggies (one more bag to go)
- egg noodles
- mushrooms
- whole wheat tortillas
Next up: rice, chickpeas, frozen mango chunks
-
Thanks to this thread (and the fact that we keep going over our food budget) I went through the house this weekend and wrote down all the meals we could make. I found 13 lunch/dinner meals. We normally shop every two weeks (so next weekend), but I may just do a fruit/milk/bread run next weekend and push the big trip back. That should save some money.
-
Here's a weird one: does anyone have ideas on how to use up culinary lavender? I bought it thinking I'd make lavender-infused desserts, but I have way too much. Other than infusing it in water, not sure what else to do.
Or make Lavender Simple Syrup - makes a great base for drinks as well as Lavender lemonade.
That's what I was going to say! Erica even has a recipe for you: http://www.nwedible.com/2014/02/how-to-make-simple-syrup.html
Thanks for the nod! :D
-
Things I'd like ideas for:
- star anise
- gelatin
- unknown kind of red chili preserved in a liquid that smells like BBQ sauce (inherited item without a label--fun!)
- green curry paste (creative ideas? No coconut milk here $$$ I ate red curry paste marinaded chicken yesterday, which was fab. I think the same thing could work with green curry paste.)
Star Anise - Throw a few whole star anise pods in when you cook rice. A couple cardamom pods and a bit of dried orange peel are good, too, if you have them. Nice fragrant spiced rice.
Gelatin - classic dessert option. Your best bet is the Knox recipe index: http://www.kraftbrands.com/knox/
Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce - One of my favorite things of all time. Spicy. Mix with some raspberry or blackberry or citrus preserve for a great glaze for pork or chicken or fish. Smush up and blend with mayo and sour cream and a bit of honey for a great sandwich spread. Use in chili, stew...any place you need heat and smoke together, this is a good option.
Green Curry Paste - I like green beans and pork stir fried with green curry. No coconut milk required.
-
Awesome ideas! Thanks :-D
-
Any ideas for using stale soft tortilla shells?
-
Thanks for the nod! :D
You're welcome! I love your recipes, particularly the cocktails! ;) If this were the "Drink all the gin in your house" challenge, I'd win it thanks to your gin and ginger cocktail. My husband and I both love that one a little too much.
-
Any ideas for using stale soft tortilla shells?
They make a yummy little dessert when fried. Drizzle a little chocolate sauce on them, sprinkle on a little powdered sugar, cut them like little pie slices.
-
Any ideas for using stale soft tortilla shells?
you could also use them in a layered dish (like Lasagna noodles) to make a tex-mex inspired lasagna, or do the same with eggs and meat and cheese for a breakfast casserole.
-
Because of you guys which got me writing down a bunch of meals we could make with what is at home (probably not even all of them), my husband has agreed to do a small run to Aldis for fruit/milk/eggs/bread instead of going and doing our semimonthly big trip. We are going to push off the big trip a week. This will really help because we have gone over budget in the last couple months. This thread has been a major blessing. Thank you to all who are participating and to the OP.
-
Any ideas for using stale soft tortilla shells?
you could also use them in a layered dish (like Lasagna noodles) to make a tex-mex inspired lasagna, or do the same with eggs and meat and cheese for a breakfast casserole.
Chilaquiles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilaquiles
-
25% of the way there! So far all I have bought this month is a gallon of milk and a carton of eggs. I know it'll get harder as we progress, but so far, so good. This week we've been eating turkey, roasted vegetables, and brown rice pilaf in various combinations (straight up, as fried rice, in a casserole). It only recently occurred to me to turn left-overs into something else so the kids (and I!) experience it as something new. Love that!
-
Just made a huge pot of pasta sauce using every wrinkled or dry vegetable in my fridge! Not only did I get a bunch of meals basically for no cost, but I can finally clean out my crisper drawer.
If you don't hear from me in a month, send help.
-
Has anyone used kelp noodles? I bought some a couple months ago, and they're about to expire. Not really sure what to do with them... stirfry?
-
Went to the store this weekend and stocked up on enough milk, eggs, fresh fruit, veggies, and yogurt to last the rest of the month (along with everything already in the fridge/pantry/freezer). This left me with $10.16 cents for the rest of the month for incidentals. Then, on the way to dinner at a friend's house last night, she called and asked me to pick up some hotdog buns. So new we're down to $6.87 cents!!!
This is gonna get interesting...We absolutely have enough food (more than enough) to get through the next 20 days, so that's not the issue. The bigger issue is the little whiney voice in my head that sometimes doesn't want to eat what's on hand, or that doesn't feel like cooking, or that's tired of leftovers.
Wish me luck!
-
Has anyone used kelp noodles? I bought some a couple months ago, and they're about to expire. Not really sure what to do with them... stirfry?
I haven't cooked with Kelp noodles, a quick goolge lead me to this post which has some suggestions:
http://www.choosingraw.com/kelp-noodle-101-how-to-prepare-and-serve-kelp-noodles/ (http://www.choosingraw.com/kelp-noodle-101-how-to-prepare-and-serve-kelp-noodles/)
They look like they would probably be good in lettuce wraps or spring rolls. I made some yummy rice paper spring rolls last night, with fresh herbs, noodles, carrot, bean sprouts, cilantro, lettuce and a peanut dipping sauce.
-
Has anyone used kelp noodles? I bought some a couple months ago, and they're about to expire. Not really sure what to do with them... stirfry?
Yes! I love them so much! Wonderful for gluten-free diets, etc. The packages I use -in a wet bag- say just to rinse and use. So, I rinse them in a colander, cut them randomly with scissors (they're very long), then use them cold with meat sauce or anything else I might otherwise have spaghetti, etc, with or stir fry, etc. They're light and slightly crunchy. Very refreshing.
-
I think I'm going backwards with this challenge - last week I visited several Asian groceries and stocked up on spices, dried mushrooms and other completely awesome, but pantry-occupying, ingredients.
-
I am glad to find this discussion as I'm trying to do this for two reasons: 1. reduce our monthly food bill, 2. use up most of our food before we go on a long vacation. I'm finding it an interesting challenge as I have lots of ingredients that I think I bought for a recipe and then never used and now I don't know why I have them.
Does anyone have any recipes using Bernard Jensens Apple Concentratehttp://www.vitacost.com/bernard-jensens-apple-concentrate?csrc=GPF-PA-Foods%20%26%20Beverages-726434101112&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=726434101112&gclid=CIeN64Pys74CFU5lfgodtG4A5g (http://www.vitacost.com/bernard-jensens-apple-concentrate?csrc=GPF-PA-Foods%20%26%20Beverages-726434101112&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=726434101112&gclid=CIeN64Pys74CFU5lfgodtG4A5g)?
I've had it a long time but it was still sealed and had no use by date. I think I bought it to sweeten baked goods. Does anyone have any vegan recipes that use it?
Also Ume Plum Vinegar. I seem to have 2 bottles and can't remember what I bought it for. Need vegan recipes.
-
The clock is ticking. We're moving in 29 days. We do a good job of cycling through our refrigerated and frozen food, but not so much the pantry. Here's the list of things that I've been staring at:
quinoa
Bulgar wheat
chickpea flour
masa
nori
wasabi paste
dried blueberries
split peas
couscous
small pasta shells (1/2 box)
Jell-o
I've got ideas for most of it, but I'm at a loss for the chickpea flour. Any ideas? I bought it for Indian-style fritters, but don't want to make any fried food.
-
quinoa - use like rice
Bulgar wheat - tabbouleh
chickpea flour - hummus (recipe here: http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes_detail.php?rid=866)
masa - corn tortillas
nori - sushi, sushi bowls, general snacking
wasabi paste - sushi, etc.
dried blueberries - cook sub for raisins in oatmeal, baked goods. Particularly nice in scones.
split peas - soup, natch. (my recipe here: http://www.nwedible.com/2013/10/split-pea-soup.html)
couscous - great with summer veg like cukes and peppers as a salad. Also a good basic starch-side with a bit of brown butter and salt)
small pasta shells (1/2 box) - Shells are good with creamy sauces that can get in the nooks. Also good in minestrone-type soups. For soup it's best to cook pasta separately and add to the rest of soup just before service or you get EEPS (ever-expanding pasta syndrome).
Jell-o - homemade gummy treats (recipe: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/01/06/homemade-gummi-candy/)
I've got ideas for most of it, but I'm at a loss for the chickpea flour. Any ideas? I bought it for Indian-style fritters, but don't want to make any fried food.
[/quote]
-
chickpea flour - hummus (recipe here: http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes_detail.php?rid=866)
This is brilliant! I had no idea you could make hummus with it, but of course! Excellent, thanks!
-
chickpea flour - hummus (recipe here: http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes_detail.php?rid=866)
This is brilliant! I had no idea you could make hummus with it, but of course! Excellent, thanks!
This might be the best idea ever! I have a bag of chickpea flour to use up too>
I throw bulgar into soups, use it to stretch out hamburgers, meatloaf, make Kofte, steam it just like couscous to use in salads and side dishes. I made this breakfast bake last week and has fed Hubby and I all week and is very tasty - you could throw your dried blueberries in it, I used raisins
http://www.anediblemosaic.com/?p=16998 (http://www.anediblemosaic.com/?p=16998)
-
Does anyone have any recipes using Bernard Jensens Apple Concentratehttp://www.vitacost.com/bernard-jensens-apple-concentrate?csrc=GPF-PA-Foods%20%26%20Beverages-726434101112&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=726434101112&gclid=CIeN64Pys74CFU5lfgodtG4A5g (http://www.vitacost.com/bernard-jensens-apple-concentrate?csrc=GPF-PA-Foods%20%26%20Beverages-726434101112&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=726434101112&gclid=CIeN64Pys74CFU5lfgodtG4A5g)?
I've had it a long time but it was still sealed and had no use by date. I think I bought it to sweeten baked goods. Does anyone have any vegan recipes that use it?
Also Ume Plum Vinegar. I seem to have 2 bottles and can't remember what I bought it for. Need vegan recipes.
That apple concentrate looks a lot like a traditional preserve called Boiled Cider. Assuming it's equivelent, I'd do a recipe search for boiled cider. Here's some ideas: http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/boiled-cider/12318/
I use boiled cider in cocktails (Here: http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/the-dark-and-drizzly-cocktail.html) but you can also use it as a maple syrup sub (soy yogurt apple pancakes with apple cider concentrate?) or just dilute it in water for a drink. Try a bit with hot water and lemon for an appley-tea type thing.
Ume Vin - try with basic marinated salads. It's good with cucumber. I'd do chickpeas and cuke with ume and a bit of sesame oil. Maybe a drizzle of honey if it needs a bit of sweetness. And personally, I would eat the HELL out of this avocado corn salad with ume vin dressing: http://www.joyofkosher.com/recipes/california-avocado-salad/
-
Thanks for the ideas for using apple concentrate and ume plum vinegar. Now I know the concentrate is called boiled cider I can find more information on the interwebs.
I also have some chickpea flour to use up and I have been hoping to try to make socca. I think that is why I bought it in the first place. Here is a link: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-socca-a-naturally-gluten-free-chickpea-flatbread-169513
-
OK - does anyone happen to know what to do with whole farro? I meant to buy the pearled kind, and when I first tried cooking it it wouldn't soften even after a couple of hours. The next time, I tried running it through the food processor first - and nothing happened. These grains are literally impervious to the steel blade of the food processor. Should I give up? It's a decent-sized bag.
-
OK - does anyone happen to know what to do with whole farro? I meant to buy the pearled kind, and when I first tried cooking it it wouldn't soften even after a couple of hours. The next time, I tried running it through the food processor first - and nothing happened. These grains are literally impervious to the steel blade of the food processor. Should I give up? It's a decent-sized bag.
Try soaking it before cooking. At the point when a teeny little white sprout starts to appear, drain and boil as usual. This might take a day or two. If it takes longer than 24 hours, swap out the water at least every 24 hours so it doesn't get icky. It sounds like your farro might be old, though - even whole (non-pearled) farro should cook to softness within a few hours.
-
I graduated and moved out yesterday, and the food I had left in the kitchen fit into one small shopping bag - so I didn't quite eat all of it, but I'm happy with the result nonetheless.
-
I'm a bit late to the party, but cheers for the inspiration! I just moved into this house a month ago, so I've been stocking up the cupboards, mostly staples and spices to make cooking a breeze with little else needed. The downside of this is bleeding out money over the last month - especially combined with buying some kitchen equipment (it's our first time renting a place completely to ourselves that came totally bare).
I will probably do the empty-the-cupboards challenge when I need to move out in December so thanks for planting the idea well ahead of time.
Until then, I reckon I'll see how many weeks I can go spending "only" $20 on groceries. (I'm sure many people would get by on that alone). Oh also, that's twenty New Zealand dollars. A lot of food here definitely costs more than in the US, but I think quality is pretty good, and there's heaps of Asian markets for cheaper produce, staples, etc. Still have to shell out $3.50/lb for bulk dried beans though.
The $20 challenge could potentially be relatively easy for me, as I love rice and beans, eat leftovers most meals and have many tricks up my sleeve for using them, and am pretty good at cooking creatively with what's in the cupboards.
The $20 is mostly intended for my husband. He's a hard-working man and really likes his New Zealand meat. I always buy cheaper cuts and braise them or otherwise stretch them. We also eat heaps of eggs. I know they're not as cheap as, say, oatmeal but they're as close as it gets to nature's perfect food supposedly, and they stave off hunger better than anything else for us and we eat them at all times of the day. We also will need milk, and are thinking about switching to unpastuerized. Although it costs more, we'll probably use less.
(In a couple of years I'd love to have chickens, and eat mostly meat my husband's hunted, and fish we've caught and have a bigger garden etc - but that's not happening just yet!)
Anyway, I'm excited about the challenge. Making a really nice big meal is great, but making a kickass meal when most people would say "there's no food in the house" is seriously satisfying in its own way! And on a side note, this is a good time for me to improve my "potatos and onions" cooking (do simple things well and don't cover up the taste of ingredients with too many flavors and spices) as well as to finally stop being a wuss and tackle homemade tortillas! (Very expensive in NZ compared to the US).
-
...
Making a really nice big meal is great, but making a kickass meal when most people would say "there's no food in the house" is seriously satisfying in its own way! And on a side note, this is a good time for me to improve my "potatos and onions" cooking (do simple things well and don't cover up the taste of ingredients with too many flavors and spices) as well as to finally stop being a wuss and tackle homemade tortillas! (Very expensive in NZ compared to the US).
I like surprising MYSELF with making really good food when the pickins are slim. Since I've been opting into a CSA, I haven't really had a low supply of food, though.
Homemade tortillas are so easy. I make them weekly from memory. Might I suggest this recipe? http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chef-Johns-Flour-Tortillas/Detail.aspx?src=VD_Summary And the video: http://allrecipes.com/video/659/how-to-make-homemade-flour-tortillas/detail.aspx?prop24=RR_RelatedVideo
I started with that recipe, but now mix 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt. Then add 1/4 cup fat (I've used ghee, butter, soybean oil, and olive oil with success--I usually just eyeball it, too, so probably use less than 1/4 cup sometimes) and mix it all up. Add 3/4 cup hot water. Mix, mix, mix, dump on floured counter, smush around a bit, and cover and let it sit a bit. Break the dough into however many balls you want. Roll one out with a rolling pin, plop it in a pan for a bit... I stopped timing that part. I flip it once or twice. Basically, while one's cooking, I'm rolling the next and dancing around my kitchen. Or washing dishes. Or cooking something else.
So yes... tackle the homemade tortillas. They're terribly easy, good for multi-tasking in the kitchen, and so good.
-
So yes... tackle the homemade tortillas. They're terribly easy, good for multi-tasking in the kitchen, and so good.
[/quote]
Cheers, I will try to tackle tortillas!
I've only tried making corn ones before - if I remember correctly, they were a bit thick and crumbly. I'm sure it's one of those projects where you just have to do it a bunch of times and get a feel. I tend to put those off - more of a cook fidgeting over the pot than a baker-type.
And yep, tortillas make leftover creations a breeze though. We can pretty much live on tacos, and I'm a huge fan of veg + hummus wraps. Also want to try heaps of different variations on rice and beans. Seems like every country "south of the border" has its own variations and I'd love to have a few really exciting rice and bean recipes under my belt. (For example, pickled pork in beans sounds mighty tasty.)
I will give it a go!
-
It's funny that Waynemate brought up homemade tortillas tonight and you commented Nikki, as I thought of you and your homemade tortillas earlier this evening when I was making dinner. I looked up recipes for tostadas, not that I don't know how to make tostadas but because I've always made them as my mama did, which is to fry them. I wondered if I could bake them so they'd be a little healthier. One of the recipes I read said something to the effect of "You could go crazy and make your own tortillas, but we just buy them." It made me laugh to think of "crazy" Nikki, making her homemade tortillas in her kitchen in Korea!
-
It's funny that Waynemate brought up homemade tortillas tonight and you commented Nikki, as I thought of you and your homemade tortillas earlier this evening when I was making dinner. I looked up recipes for tostadas, not that I don't know how to make tostadas but because I've always made them as my mama did, which is to fry them. I wondered if I could bake them so they'd be a little healthier. One of the recipes I read said something to the effect of "You could go crazy and make your own tortillas, but we just buy them." It made me laugh to think of "crazy" Nikki, making her homemade tortillas in her kitchen in Korea!
I'm totally okay with that mental association! Tortillas for life!
I'm actually about to marry into a Mexican family, and my future husband has assured me they will adore me because I can make tortillas and most of them have never bothered. Bahahaha!
-
Went to go have some expired tomato soup for dinner last night, and I couldn't do it. I had one can that expired in 2002!! I threw it out, but did have one of the ones that expired 2011. I can't believe I've been carrying that soup can through 8! moves (assuming I bought it on graduating college in late 2001). This experiment has been eye opening in what I eat and don't eat, and what clutters up my house and is wasted, as I slowly plug away at my stores. Also a lesson to be careful about couponing - that's why I have so many soups from 2011, buying them at 25-50 cents. Burnt the 2011 soup so I'm not sure how good it was to start. But I have a few more cans to experiment on still. And my husband is gone for 2-3 more night and not around to object.
-
So yes... tackle the homemade tortillas. They're terribly easy, good for multi-tasking in the kitchen, and so good.
Cheers, I will try to tackle tortillas!
I've only tried making corn ones before - if I remember correctly, they were a bit thick and crumbly. I'm sure it's one of those projects where you just have to do it a bunch of times and get a feel. I tend to put those off - more of a cook fidgeting over the pot than a baker-type.
And yep, tortillas make leftover creations a breeze though. We can pretty much live on tacos, and I'm a huge fan of veg + hummus wraps. Also want to try heaps of different variations on rice and beans. Seems like every country "south of the border" has its own variations and I'd love to have a few really exciting rice and bean recipes under my belt. (For example, pickled pork in beans sounds mighty tasty.)
I will give it a go!
[/quote]
I second making tortillas. It's really easy and inexpensive. Also, the tortillas are fantastic right after they're cooked. SO good!
-
OK - does anyone happen to know what to do with whole farro? I meant to buy the pearled kind, and when I first tried cooking it it wouldn't soften even after a couple of hours. The next time, I tried running it through the food processor first - and nothing happened. These grains are literally impervious to the steel blade of the food processor. Should I give up? It's a decent-sized bag.
Even really dried out farro should soften. Strange...
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/toasted-farro-and-scallions-with-cauliflower-and-egg
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/mixed-vegetable-and-farro-soup
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cheesy-farro-and-tomato-risotto
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/summer-farro-salad
All look pretty good and inexpensive to me...
Thanks! I will try the risotto, at least, before I conclude that I just have a weird batch of farro.
-
Alright, joining this long ongoing challenge. I'm going to try to limit our grocery bill to $50 for the next 3 weeks while we aggressively eat down whats in the pantry and freezer. We have pre-paid for a weekly CSA, so some fresh veggies and eggs are already covered. The $50 will probably mostly cover milk and sundry items for the babies (twin infants). Excited to save some money this month!
-
I just made my new favorite food ever. Thought I'd share here.
It's a Thai flavored Larb-ish style salad.
Brown up a pound or so of ground beef, pork, chicken - whatever you like. I used beef and it was awesome.
While meat is browning, shred a cabbage and whisk together a dressing of mostly freshly squeezed lime juice, with a little olive oil to smooth it out and a spoonful of red curry paste (the kind that comes in the tub and is kinda moist, not a dry powder). Just mix it up to your taste - the curry paste has a kick, so go easy if you don't like spice. When the beef is cooked through, toss the beef crumbles with the shredded cabbage and the dressing. If you have some cilantro, fresh mint, green onions, cucumber or carrots lying around, those would all be a good addition but I just went with cabbage and it was amazingly yummy.
-
I'm finally joining this challenge. My freezer/fridge/cabinets are packed, and I need to make a dent. I also need to cut back on my grocery spending. So I'm having a zero food budget weekend where I only eat what I already have.
My goal is to pull at least one thing out from the back of the cabinet and eat it each day. Cheers!
-
I just made my new favorite food ever. Thought I'd share here.
It's a Thai flavored Larb-ish style salad.
Brown up a pound or so of ground beef, pork, chicken - whatever you like. I used beef and it was awesome.
While meat is browning, shred a cabbage and whisk together a dressing of mostly freshly squeezed lime juice, with a little olive oil to smooth it out and a spoonful of red curry paste (the kind that comes in the tub and is kinda moist, not a dry powder). Just mix it up to your taste - the curry paste has a kick, so go easy if you don't like spice. When the beef is cooked through, toss the beef crumbles with the shredded cabbage and the dressing. If you have some cilantro, fresh mint, green onions, cucumber or carrots lying around, those would all be a good addition but I just went with cabbage and it was amazingly yummy.
This is sooo up my alley it's way down the street! Thanks, ground beef and cabbage are two of my favorite frugal ingredients, so this will be perfect heading into summer. Yum.
I just got back from a week long work trip, and took a fair bit of food with me. Just got back and the fridge is nearly bare, save the deli drawer, which got packed full of cheese and sausages on my last big shop. Anyway, it was nice to be able to pull the shelves out and clean them without it turning into a big production. The cupboards have lots of new space as well. Planning to stick to a $50 budget for shopping to get us to the end of the month. Shouldn't be a problem at all.
-
Due to CSA goodies AND my neighbor giving me some of his CSA goodies the past two weeks (he's been gone a lot and hasn't been able to eat it), my fridge and freezer are PACKED.
I've never had this much food before!!!
It's worth noting that I don't have a full-sized fridge or freezer. It's Korean studio sized, which is somewhere between mini and standard. Challenging.
My method to get through some of the excess produce has been to make things that freeze well, which is why my freezer's packed. Also a bit of bulky storage options and an almost-full bag of veggie scraps for stock.
My goal for the next week is to reduce some of the visual clutter in my fridge and freezer by using up things that are almost all gone, like the lime juice, baked spring rolls, and frozen-blanched bean sprouts. The pantry's looking great these days, so I know I can do it while still eating piles of fresh CSA goodies that come each Tuesday!
Attached: fridge and freezer now. As someone totally averse to visual clutter, I cringe. I cringe.
-
Put bran cereal, chia and hemp seeds into individual canning jars. They were languishing in the back of my pantry cupboard in bags or boxes and no one could ever "see" them. Sure enough, all 3 were used by various family members this morning! Victory!
-
Don't fear expiration/best by dates:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/12/26/167819082/dont-fear-that-expired-food
I've eaten a lot of delicious, perfectly good, expired food this weekend:
- Ate the remainder of the frozen spring rolls
- ate the frozen spinach with squeezed lemon juice, soy sauce, and minced ginger. Would have loved raw garlic, but no dice- we're out. Still delish
-made raspberry and blueberry oat muffins with applesauce, date puree, and old buttermilk. (score for using up the dates and buttermilk)
This has been a fun challenge!
Also cooked up/ate/froze the dry black beans to go with Spanish rice. Yum!
-
Well, I delayed starting my $20 a week challenge, as I was running low on all of our staple foods (and we have only been in the house a month, don't have that much stockpiled really...)
So I bought some bulk bags of potatoes, carrots, onions, lots of eggs, some inexpensive packs of meat. Cooked three pots of chicken stock and rendered schmaltz, and loaded up on Tapatio and cans of tuna on sale so the challenge should be a lot more feasible. I'm going for longevity here, and to keep my husband on board, so I'm not too fussed about the delayed start. Do want to also pick up some bulk barley and a couple bottles of oil before I start. And red curry paste. Erica, I'm so keen to try your larb recipe! Basically, I want to have the main pantry staples down before starting the challenge.
I have been cutting down on waste, thanks to this thread, and defaulting to using what I have already.
I am glad to report that I make an awesome Barley Mushroom soup yesterday, which was unbelievably simple when I wrote it down afterword:
I sauteed 2 large chopped onions, 2 large chopped carrots, and some chopped celery and mushrooms in a good amount of butter with a little olive oil. Put it in the crockpot with my strong homemade chicken stock and added a 500g bag of barley and split pea soup mix.
Eaten with some fresh dill and a little sour cream, but would've been just as good without them. It was unbelievable, thanks to the chicken stock (so much flavor and body and a good level of salt). I usually doubt that recipes that simple can have so much flavor, but this was legit. I am officially hooked on barley so thanks to everyone who's been mentioning it!
BTW, for chicken stock, I get bags of chicken backs for $4 from an Asian butcher, makes quite a bit of stock plus giving me schmaltz. The homemade chicken stock needs almost nothing added to it to make a meal, it is so good. So much body. No actual chicken meat needed.
-
HELP!
I threw a party, and (thanks in large part to my husband's insane insistence on tripling food to make sure we had enough food) I have WAY too much food leftover that will go bad if I don't manage it. What can I freeze and in what order do we need to eat the remaining food to make sure it doesn't go bad?
- Pasta salad w/no mayo - pasta, argula, capers, roasted red peppers, balsamic, olive oil, some parm
- White bean salad (cannelini beans, onions, lime, olive oil, parsley)
- Black bean mango salsa/salad w/lime, cilantro, red onion, olive oil (bring in to coworkers with some chips? I have a ton - due to some rain hiccups, it didn't get placed near chips)
- Homemade hummus (looks like online I can freeze?)
- Watermelon (looks like online says it'll last 7-10 days uncut, maybe can push it further to 2 weeks when we have family visiting?)
- Brownies (freeze? or bring in a second batch for coworkers)
-
CommonCents, I'd probably freeze most of it, then work it into other dishes. Soups, tacos, smoothies. The beans, brownies, and hummus would probably be fine just thawed and used as intended.
-
Thanks tmac! We were thinking the pasta would keep the least well, so we ought to eat that fresh this week. At least I don't need to be making food for a while! And DH already thought the black bean mango salsa would be great recast in a burrito with a grilled chicken.
-
Nice!
Our kids love watermelon slushies -- frozen watermelon, OJ, and /or seltzer. Drink or freeze into Popsicles.
-
The cannellini bean salad could be covered in chicken stock and frozen and thawed as soup maybe? I've been on a dried bean cooking kick and read to freeze them covered in their cooking liquid. I dunno if covering them in liquid is necessary, but probably wouldn't hurt.
That white bean salad would be great on toast. Or with tuna added for a killer lunch.
The watermelon could be used for agua frescas, perfect if you're coming into summer. (The rinds can be pickled too)
Maybe cook extra chicken, and eat the leftovers in hummus wraps? Or cannellini wraps?
Man, all that food sounds awesome.
-
I got two daikon radishes in this week's CSA. Any suggestions for them?
-
I got two daikon radishes in this week's CSA. Any suggestions for them?
This link has some suggestions:
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/12/daikon-radish-what-to-do-with-it.html?ref=search
Serious Eats is an awesome food site by the way, my go-to for most things. I'm sure they have plenty of other pages on daikon.
I am going to officially start my $20/week challenge tomorrow. I figure Friday is a good day to start it so we can have some nice new meals on the weekend, then eat delicious leftovers for most of the week.
Luckily, the supermarket was having a big meat sale, so I scored a bunch of beef roasts and casserole steaks and a whole chicken, all for less than the cheapest ground beef usually costs. The freezer is nice and stocked, and the pantry has plenty of eggs, beans, onions, and potatoes. Should be a good starting point! (Again, I'm going for longevity, and to make it attractive to my partner.)
Despite the pangs of guilt, I did chuck out a failed dulce de leche experiment (was trying to use up milk before it went bad and failed horribly), some pretty mangled beet-pickled eggs, and a couple other small failed projects. I tried to think of ways to possibly salvage these things but in the end decided to let it go and move on. Will do better next time!
-
Things I'd like ideas for:
...
[/list]
Bit of a delayed response, but I recently learned about throwing in one or two pods when cooking onions. (Might've been from MArk Bittman... can't remember)
-
Things I'd like ideas for:
...
[/list]
Bit of a delayed response, but I recently learned about throwing in one or two pods when cooking onions. (Might've been from MArk Bittman... can't remember)
Interesting idea! I haven't used them once since posting my question :-/
-
Cheers, I am trying your tortilla recipe tonight!
-
I got two daikon radishes in this week's CSA. Any suggestions for them?
This link has some suggestions:
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/12/daikon-radish-what-to-do-with-it.html?ref=search
Serious Eats is an awesome food site by the way, my go-to for most things. I'm sure they have plenty of other pages on daikon.
Thank you for the website!
-
I got two daikon radishes in this week's CSA. Any suggestions for them?
This link has some suggestions:
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/12/daikon-radish-what-to-do-with-it.html?ref=search
Serious Eats is an awesome food site by the way, my go-to for most things. I'm sure they have plenty of other pages on daikon.
Thank you for the website!
Glad you like it! It is my favorite food website. They have The Food Lab, where Kenji, who has an MIT degree, devotes all of his scientific knowledge and curiosity to coming up with killer recipes, answering cooking questions, and dispelling cooking myths. They also have "Drinking the Bottom Shelf" which has articles on the best cheap booze. For example, they'll try every bottle of wine at Trader Joe's that's under $5. And hacks, taste tests, etc. Super entertaining and not one bit snobby.
They also like to experiment with cooking everything they can in a waffle maker. Turned out to be the best way to reheat frozen pizza, interestingly enough!
****
Nikki, I'm glad to report the tortillas were a total success! I made a batch for Taco Night, but the beef was taking longer than expected to cook. So we scooped out a bowl of the beef cooking juices/sauce and ate all of the tortillas dipped into it. Then I made another whole batch and we ate those too the same way. It was awesome! I will definitely be making tortillas regularly and can't believe it look me this long to finally do it. So thanks!
BTW, I got the idea for our humble meal from the great book "The Feast of Santa Fe." The author writes about how humble the food supply in New Mexico was for centuries, pretty much just corn, bean, and chilies. He suggests 12 "feasts of simplicity", with the 12th day being Christmas. So the first day you roast a green chiles, mash it with garlic, and eat it with fresh tortillas, maybe with some butter and a little cheese. The second day you boil some beans and add it to the first day's feast. The third day, you add some red chile sauce to the beans. The fourth day you add a little pork to the beans. Etc. In this way you build up to an Xmas feast, although it's just the simple dishes from all 12 days combined.
Point being, reading that made me realize that just sauce and tortillas could be the first night's meal, and tonight we'll add beef,beans, and cheese to it and feast like kings.
(Granted, our beef is all decked out with lard, onions, garlic, chili powders, paprika, vegemite, soy sauce... so it's not exactly austere ;)
-
I'm moving this month, so I spent the last few weeks eating all the food in my house. As a result, my total grocery bill for May was $53.23! It's amazing how much I had accumulated. I've bought almost nothing the past three weeks, and over $30 of the grocery spending was at the beginning of the month before I started cleaning out everything.
-
I'm moving this month, so I spent the last few weeks eating all the food in my house. As a result, my total grocery bill for May was $53.23! It's amazing how much I had accumulated. I've bought almost nothing the past three weeks, and over $30 of the grocery spending was at the beginning of the month before I started cleaning out everything.
Bravo! It's awesome how much money can be saved just by using stuff you've already bought :-p
I'll be moving two buildings over at the end of August, and going out of the country at the end of July, so I have two months to reduce the amount of food I have to move as well. I still get my weekly CSA box, so the challenge will be to make awesome meals from my CSA box and things I already have on hand. It will be fun!
I ran out of flour while making tortillas for lunch and added in some gluten-free biscuit mix someone gave me. This stuff is awful--biscuits shouldn't be gluten-free. But mixed in with actual flour, it's not nearly as bad. I'd call this a success! Making my way through the rest of the bag will be interesting, though... it's pretty awful stuff. Sand-like.
-
I just made my new favorite food ever. Thought I'd share here.
It's a Thai flavored Larb-ish style salad.
Brown up a pound or so of ground beef, pork, chicken - whatever you like. I used beef and it was awesome.
While meat is browning, shred a cabbage and whisk together a dressing of mostly freshly squeezed lime juice, with a little olive oil to smooth it out and a spoonful of red curry paste (the kind that comes in the tub and is kinda moist, not a dry powder). Just mix it up to your taste - the curry paste has a kick, so go easy if you don't like spice. When the beef is cooked through, toss the beef crumbles with the shredded cabbage and the dressing. If you have some cilantro, fresh mint, green onions, cucumber or carrots lying around, those would all be a good addition but I just went with cabbage and it was amazingly yummy.
I tried this recipe, but maybe what was missing was the lime juice. I think I used apple cider vinegar since that was what I had on hand. This challenge has me reducing the number of vinegars I have around the house, and can now say that I miss rice wine. However, I wanted to mention that, at least the cabbage I had (red cabbage) had quite a bit of bitterness to it, and this didn't really work out until I added a fair bit of sugar to the dressing, as well as some coconut milk. I'm not much on sweet dressings, but it really needed the sugar to counteract the bitterness. Next time I think I'll use Napa cabbage instead and see if that negates the need for added sugar. Will definitely be trying it again, though. Something like this as a nice slaw with seared Ahi tuna would be the business.
-
Made a fair bit of progress today. A loaf of no-knead bread will give us a few days worth of breakfasts (the goal is to get at least a few of the open jars of jams and preserves out of the fridge)
Also made some banana chocolate chip muffins out of bananas way past their prime.
Took a large jar of smaltz out of the freezer...used a bit for the pan for some fried eggs - super tasty! Not sure what to do with the rest of it. Anyone have any ideas?
-
I've started to render and cook with schmaltz over the last couple months. Michael Ruhlman has a mini-cookbook called "The Book of Schmaltz: Love Song to a Forgotten Fat." Quite a bit of the content is on his blog or reprinted on other food sites.
I recommend it for sauteeing mirepoix/aromatics for soups, and for frying potatos.
Will surely remember more ideas for it soon!
-
this is sort of related, but I wanted to share that I am so happy that Mariano's is opening up just down the street from me. It's like an in between version of Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. The closest grocery store to me has horrible and disgusting produce and everything is overpriced. I was watching for sales/markdowns or having to pay $2.50 round trip bus fare to Whole Foods to get quality and other things the Jewel-Osco didn't have.
Now all the nearby stores are mailing out $10 off w/ minimum purchase coupons and lowering prices overall. The dumpy Jewel-Osco is actually trying to renovate and make things better.. gotta love competition.
Here's to hoping my household can continue to finish eating everything we buy and we resist the urge to buy too much food even at the lower rates.
-
Made a fair bit of progress today. A loaf of no-knead bread will give us a few days worth of breakfasts (the goal is to get at least a few of the open jars of jams and preserves out of the fridge)
Also made some banana chocolate chip muffins out of bananas way past their prime.
Took a large jar of smaltz out of the freezer...used a bit for the pan for some fried eggs - super tasty! Not sure what to do with the rest of it. Anyone have any ideas?
Had to look up smaltz. Chicken fat, is that correct? If it is, I wonder if you can use it almost like bacon fat? I use bacon fat to saute stuff, most especially cabbage. Love cabbage done that way, and it would probably be good with other vegetables.
-
Had to look up smaltz. Chicken fat, is that correct? If it is, I wonder if you can use it almost like bacon fat? I use bacon fat to saute stuff, most especially cabbage. Love cabbage done that way, and it would probably be good with other vegetables.
Yup, it's chicken fat. I have been using it so far like bacon grease, the problem is I have so much of it! I usually get drums with backs attached because they are cheapest, butcher them down and then throw the backs (and the TON of skin) in the crock pot for stock. That leaves lots of fat - sometimes as much as the broth!
-
Had to look up smaltz. Chicken fat, is that correct? If it is, I wonder if you can use it almost like bacon fat? I use bacon fat to saute stuff, most especially cabbage. Love cabbage done that way, and it would probably be good with other vegetables.
Yup, it's chicken fat. I have been using it so far like bacon grease, the problem is I have so much of it! I usually get drums with backs attached because they are cheapest, butcher them down and then throw the backs (and the TON of skin) in the crock pot for stock. That leaves lots of fat - sometimes as much as the broth!
I am in the same position. I make stock from bags of chicken backs and end up with so much chicken fat, a ridiculous amount for one person. I'm keeping a jar in the freezer so I only have a small amount in the fridge (I guess it loses flavor easily).
I was initially keeping the gribenes as well (the browned chicken bits and onions leftover from rendering schmaltz) but there was a ridiculous amount of those too.
Some ideas:
-chicken confit
-brown spaetzle in it
-roast potatos in it
-use it in place of butter or mayo on a sandwich
-brown sandwiches in it
-use for fried rice
-pilaf
-couscous
-in savory strudel/pie dough?
-fry/scramble eggs
-gravy
-in tamales?
-in stuffing/dressing
Edited to add: refry beans in it
-
oohh refried beans would be awesome! I didn't know that it loses flavor quickly in the fridge, better put the rest of it in the freezer. Thanks for all the suggestions!
-
I've heard storing it in 1/2 pint jars (or maybe even smaller) is a good idea, so you can just have a little in the fridge at a time.
I've kept it in the fridge for a few weeks though with no problem. Didn't do a taste test so can't say if it really did lose a lot of flavor.
I bet tortillas made with schmaltz would be great with refried beans! I will have to have a go at them.
Also- brussel sprouts sauteed or roasted in schmaltz?
White beans sauteed with onions and garlic in schmaltz on toast... mmmm
Apparently good in gnocchi as well.
Jewish cookbooks have heaps of uses for schmaltz, definitely recommended.
-
Somehow my pantry stash has built up again, so it's time to start fighting back via this challenge :-)
Did well last night by turning really really shit slow cooker risotto (seriously - so bad I was contemplating just throwing it out) into arancini. Yum. Extra cheese, breadcrumbs and some red sauce make everything better.
-
I need to join in, we want to move in August, if the house sells, so the eat is on, I will have to get creative.
I already started tonight by making oatmeal from the pantry and stirring in Apple Butter, which was already open and no one liked on bread, also stirred in some yogurt, cinnamon, and blueberries from the freezer and bananas.
I should meal plan from my pantry and especially freezer, I would love to not have to lug that freezer around full and worrying it will spoil.
-
I threw out the last two packets of instant miso soup mix I inherited from a friend who moved away. Dreadful stuff. Couldn't even force myself to choke it down.
Food shouldn't be miserable, you know? Farewell, shitty instant miso soup.
-
Had the following leftover still from my party: a big bag of leftover chopped red onions, a bunch of avocados, a few tomatos, a few expensive! limes, and a tupperware of chopped garlic. [ETA: And a bag of about a pound of cheddar cheese I had sliced and some cilantro.]
Made shrimp tacos (had frozen shrimp, and marinated in some chipotle sauce I had in the fridge & lime juice) with the above ingredients as the filling. Missing ingredient: tortillas, so rather than demand we head to the store, I whipped up a batch of homemade tortillas following the recipe posted here. Surprisingly easy although a bit time consuming. Maybe less so if you have two burners going at once. Might increase the salt a bit. (Also, surprising that it's cooked dry and not fried in oil like I thought it'd be, so a little healthier than I figured it'd be.)
And I'm feeling pretty damn impressed with myself for being able to make homemade tortillas! My husband was not as impressed as I thought he ought to be. He was already in the dog house though for suggesting we ought to eat McD's when we passed it by at the train station.
-
Had the following leftover still from my party: a big bag of leftover chopped red onions, a bunch of avocados, a few tomatos, a few expensive! limes, and a tupperware of chopped garlic.
Erica was a great post of freezing Guacamole. I have tried it and it is great! http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/make-freeze-guacamole.html (http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/make-freeze-guacamole.html)
-
Had the following leftover still from my party: a big bag of leftover chopped red onions, a bunch of avocados, a few tomatos, a few expensive! limes, and a tupperware of chopped garlic.
Erica was a great post of freezing Guacamole. I have tried it and it is great! http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/make-freeze-guacamole.html (http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/make-freeze-guacamole.html)
Yeah I didn't mention it, but we also made some guac separately as a snack for my husband while dinner was being made. I haven't yet gotten to the point that I think the gauc needs to be frozen - we have family coming over on Sat and I'm hoping it all last until then to make fresh for them, but good to know if the avocado seems like it's starting to go.
-
There are also avocado milkshakes...sounds super strange (especially if you didn't grow up with them) but they are super awesome!
Blend milk, ice cream, avocado and a touch of vanilla (if you like) serve with a thick straw :)
-
Had the following leftover still from my party: a big bag of leftover chopped red onions, a bunch of avocados, a few tomatos, a few expensive! limes, and a tupperware of chopped garlic.
Erica was a great post of freezing Guacamole. I have tried it and it is great! http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/make-freeze-guacamole.html (http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/make-freeze-guacamole.html)
You sir, are evil.
I've spent way too much time at work today reading that blog, damn you!
Can't do avocado milkshakes though, sorry. (Also, don't tend to have milk often in the house.)
-
Had the following leftover still from my party: a big bag of leftover chopped red onions, a bunch of avocados, a few tomatos, a few expensive! limes, and a tupperware of chopped garlic. [ETA: And a bag of about a pound of cheddar cheese I had sliced and some cilantro.]
You could also make tuna-avocado salad. Like tuna salad but with avocado to bind it together. I make mine with lots of veggies, usually a couple different color bell peppers in addition to the carrot and celery. I'll use lemon or lime juice, cilantro or parsley. Very adaptable.
It's filling and really healthy and everyone I've made it for loved it. I like it on hearty bread, maybe with some cucumber and tomato slices if they're around.
Some people like it in a quesadilla as well ;)
http://www.tablespoon.com/posts/creamy-avocado-tuna-salad/2022b3f5-ec71-437d-a75c-bc84057dd05d
-
Had the following leftover still from my party: a big bag of leftover chopped red onions, a bunch of avocados, a few tomatos, a few expensive! limes, and a tupperware of chopped garlic. [ETA: And a bag of about a pound of cheddar cheese I had sliced and some cilantro.]
You could also make tuna-avocado salad. Like tuna salad but with avocado to bind it together.
Ahhh! Thanks for the idea, but...I hate tuna. I absolutely, completely loath the smell of it (much less getting close enough to eat it) such that I ban family members and friends eating it near me. (More accurately, I refuse to go to my husband's families favorite dinner with his family when they visit from out of town because *ALL* his brother & sister will order there is tuna. His mom & he will at least decline to order it if I am present.) It has nauseous inducing qualities for me, which is why working in an open office is sometimes hard, because so many people bring it in for lunch.
-
Fair enough. There's always:
-Avocado margaritas.
-Grilled cheese with guacamole:
www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/04/grilled-cheese-guacamole-recipe.html?ref=search
-Eggs baked in avocado:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/04/eggs-baked-in-avocado-recipe.html?ref=search
-Salad-stuffed avocados (this is just to show the idea, but you can use whatever you have for the protein/salad)
http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/2012/05/recipe-caribbean-jerk-chicken-mango-stuffed-avocados.html
--------------
I need some recommendations. I have 40 or so pounds of carrots. I would like to store some long-term, although we live in a very wet and humid environment.
Otherwise, I would like to preserve them, or use them in things I can freeze, etc.
Unfortunately I moved a while back and don't have a single Mason jar to my name and they are very expensive here ($6+ each)
Ideas?
Definitely went a bit overboard on the bulk buying ;)
-
My hubby recently came home with a huge sack of carrots :) I shredded them (super easy if you have a food processor) and portioned them out into 1.5 cup servings - Most muffin recipes I found online are about 1.5 cups. I have been taking them out as needed and has been working pretty good.
I also make "freezer packs" of raw veggies - usually carrots, cilantro, bok choy, cabbage, bean sprouts and any Asian greens I can get. I usually add them to soups and sitr-fries right from frozen. They make a huge difference in the quality of our meals - but we live where it is really hard to find good fresh produce.
-
My hubby recently came home with a huge sack of carrots :) I shredded them (super easy if you have a food processor) and portioned them out into 1.5 cup servings - Most muffin recipes I found online are about 1.5 cups. I have been taking them out as needed and has been working pretty good.
Good thinking! I make soup the most, so I might chop a bunch of them and freeze them for that.
Also - looking at carrot risotto recipes:
The simpler one (uses 6 carrots):
http://www.marthastewart.com/316250/parmesan-carrot-risotto
The more fancypants one (uses like 12 carrots)
http://www.chow.com/recipes/28366-sweet-carrot-risotto
-
Had the following leftover still from my party: a big bag of leftover chopped red onions, a bunch of avocados, a few tomatos, a few expensive! limes, and a tupperware of chopped garlic.
Erica was a great post of freezing Guacamole. I have tried it and it is great! http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/make-freeze-guacamole.html (http://www.nwedible.com/2014/03/make-freeze-guacamole.html)
You sir, are evil.
I've spent way too much time at work today reading that blog, damn you!
Can't do avocado milkshakes though, sorry. (Also, don't tend to have milk often in the house.)
Thank you both!
So, uh....that frozen guac? I ate a BAG of it in a day by myself. That's like 2 avocados worth of guac. I was putting it on scrambled eggs like I was frosting a damned cake. And then when I ran out of eggs, I just used a spoon. I have a guac problem. Gotta go find more cheap avocados.
-
Duuuuuuuuuuuuudes! I just made a really good red cabbage dish using a some of the star anise that's been waiting patiently in my spice drawer. It's so good I had to come here and share:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5052/chinese-braised-red-cabbage (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5052/chinese-braised-red-cabbage)
It's a really nice change of pace from the typical vinegary (okay, this one has vinegar still), maybe appley, red cabbage dish I'm used to seeing recipes for.
The recipe says it goes well with Christmas meats, which I can definitely imagine, but I'm just eating it as my main dish with a side of rice.
-
Rise, old thread, rise!
I've been doing really well eating amazing meals from my CSA box and pantry. Actually I haven't bought any groceries in 19 days! I get my CSA box every Tuesday, so there's no shortage of fresh yummies. I've simply been making meals around what I already have on hand. I might need to go shopping soon, though, because I'm out of butter and milk and adore baking.
I'm still failing to find uses for Thai green curry paste that don't involve coconut milk or meat. It's really hard to see using it with the vegetables I get. Or I'm just not creative enough.
Also... umm... I *may* have acquired a bag of oohhhhhh 40-50 bulbs of garlic. Agghhh!!! That's a lot of garlic! How long will it last? They're dried, so I'm looking at at least 3-4 months, ya? I hope?
-
Dried garlic lasts pretty much forever, esp if they're in whole bulbs.
Sometimes I crush and freeze the cloves in cubes, so they're ready for use whenever. I'm a little bit of a garlic addict, and use it in pretty much everything. Sauteeing veggies, roasted and smeared on bread, in soups, etc.
-
Dried garlic lasts pretty much forever, esp if they're in whole bulbs.
Sometimes I crush and freeze the cloves in cubes, so they're ready for use whenever. I'm a little bit of a garlic addict, and use it in pretty much everything. Sauteeing veggies, roasted and smeared on bread, in soups, etc.
I'm also a garlic addict! I use garlic in EVERYTHING! Eggs, pizza, pasta...yum!
-
Thanks for reviving the thread Nikki!
Ideas for green curry paste: http://www.thekitchn.com/5-unexpected-dishes-to-add-curry-paste-183652 (http://www.thekitchn.com/5-unexpected-dishes-to-add-curry-paste-183652) I think making some green curry roasted potatoes would be tasty!
We have been slowly plugging away. Used up a box of potato pancake mix we forgot we had (and originally just bought to see how they were vs homemade) Not bad...we used up the various bits of fat we had to cook them in so they all tasted quite different and tasty - chicken fat, duck fat and bison sausage fat. Got rid of quite a few containers from the fridge.
Also made double stuffed potatoes using lots of leftover bits from the fridge which will feed us lunches for the rest of the week.
I have been selling a lot of our extra bulk spices on our local buy and sell page and because none of these spices are easily to be had in our area, I'm making a profit :)
-
Did up a ton of dried chickpeas in the crockpot yesterday and made a chickpea salad for lunch. Will freeze the rest to make multiple batches of hummus. Still have a boatload of chickpeas left, but hey, its a start!
-
We talked about making hummus with chickpea flour a while back, and I finally did it. Great! Super easy, and now I've got all the hummus I could want. And I want a lot. :)
Unfortunately, now that I have this awesome use for chickpea flour, I have to figure out how to buy some more. We've moved, and I don't have my non-super-market-food sources nailed down yet.
-
I posted about this somewhere up the thread, but I finally turned it into a post with a picture and measurements and everything. This Thai Cabbage Salad is how I am using all red curry paste from now on. It's so easy and delicious and the perfect hot-weather fast meal. Oh, and cheap. :) http://www.nwedible.com/2014/06/thai-red-curry-cabbage-salad.html
-
I posted about this somewhere up the thread, but I finally turned it into a post with a picture and measurements and everything. This Thai Cabbage Salad is how I am using all red curry paste from now on. It's so easy and delicious and the perfect hot-weather fast meal. Oh, and cheap. :) http://www.nwedible.com/2014/06/thai-red-curry-cabbage-salad.html
I just so happen to have a cabbage, too. Brilliant!
Curry paste + oil + veggies = roasted goodies is also something I haven't tried to execute. I have some potatoes!
Yay--plans.
-
My doggy and I would like to join this challenge. I went through the pantry and we have lots or pasta, quinoa, fancy flours and other yummy things just dying to be cooked up. Oh and I also found five different types of dog treats all in unopened bags. :-)
-
I want to join this challenge too!! Today I printed and filled out a pantry and freezer list. It is amazing to see what stuff I have on hand. I found 4 cans of pumpkin and made pumpkin bread today. I used chocolate chips that we had too. We didn't have eggs, so I found a vegan recipe. Turned out so moist and flavorful!!
-
I've been working on this challenge for a while and am down to less than a week's worth of food to get through. It is so tempting to go to the grocery store and get new stuff, but I am holding on! Very excited
-
^^Vegan recipe is a great idea and I will borrow it from you the next time I am out of milk or eggs!
I'm back in the challenge again for the rest of this month and probably most of August. My pantry is busting at the seems again, complete with a 20 pound bag of rice, and who know what is in the back of my freezer? Also, my garden is starting to yield fresh vegetables, so I can combine those with what I have inside the house for some tasty and creative meals.
-
While I am not purposely trying to eat up all the food in my house... I did cut down the Food Budget, for a few months, to pay off a certain debt quicker.
Therefore, I am trying not to make more trips than absolutely necessary to the grocery store. So... the enchiladas my friend sent me home with... I've been eating that for dinner 3 nights straight. haha. And I made a big pot of rice with roasted tomatoes and diced onions. I've been throwing the rice as a side dish to the enchiladas and using it in breakfast burritos. Oh, earlier in the week, I made a frittata for dinner. I think unless I want to eat Captain Crunch as my meals tomorrow, I'm going to need to hit the grocery store. I am missing my Veggies.
-
I'm going to join this. The only exception I'll allow is produce, I must have my produce, which is fairly cheap. I might also allow almond milk since it makes cream of wheat and oatmeal so tasty.
Everything else I seem to have in great quantity: pasta (tons of pasta), brown rice, white rice, black beans, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, frozen veggies, oatmeal, shredded wheat cereal. I can safely stop buying these things and get through my stock.
So I think I'll hold off on spending money for food except for produce and almond milk. Mostly cauliflower for aloo gobi and bananas for my oatmeal every week. Maybe also I'll allow orange juice or grapefruit juice.
Should save me lots of $. :)
-
I keep getting this goal all mixed up so I think it is to eat ALL the food at Costco. Dang.
DH is home now and we went to Costco yesterday. We make a terrible team. When we're together, we are the Spendy McSpendersons. We spent...I'm ashamed to even say it...$681. $110 of that was to renew our membership, the rest was on groceries and general household items (toothpaste, etc.).
I am joking about this, but I was horrified. The good news is that it spurred us to do an inventory of the pantry (upstairs and down), the freezer (upstairs and down), and the fridge. Said inventory is hanging on the fridge. I have left notes for the nanny about food items to use up for breakfasts and lunches, as well as dinner ideas for myself.
No excuses.
-
My doggy and I would like to join this challenge. I went through the pantry and we have lots or pasta, quinoa, fancy flours and other yummy things just dying to be cooked up. Oh and I also found five different types of dog treats all in unopened bags. :-)
I've been slow to get going, but I finally did use some of my pantry food today. I made these cookies: http://www.addictedtoveggies.com/2011/10/coconut-lemon-meltaways.html I did have to buy a lemon, but thanks to (because of) my pre-mustaschian spending, I had everything else that I needed. The dog is also working through a bag of Zukes that she received as a birthday present. Tomorrow I plan on making an almond milk smoothie with some frozen fruit and a banana.
-
I keep getting this goal all mixed up so I think it is to eat ALL the food at Costco. Dang.
DH is home now and we went to Costco yesterday. We make a terrible team. When we're together, we are the Spendy McSpendersons. We spent...I'm ashamed to even say it...$681. $110 of that was to renew our membership, the rest was on groceries and general household items (toothpaste, etc.).
Haha! I like how you minimized the total. Gotta love Costco but I don't go for that very reason, the total.
I'm so freaking proud of myself this month. I have:
- brought my own coffee to work (No buy)
- ate breakfast at home or brought it to work (no buy)
- have brought my lunch in everyday
- no fast food
and the daughter and I started eating from the Whole 30 grocery list (http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list.pdf). I bought a bunch of the items on the list and the daughter makes the decisions for dinner meals.
And eating home-cooked meals is so delish!
-
and the daughter and I started eating from the Whole 30 grocery list (http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-shopping-list.pdf).
You rock! A neighbor and I have tried the Whole 30 several times. Unfortunately, it's more like a Whole7, at best. :\
Still working my way through my pantry. I've been really lax in the last few months, and have been eating out and purchasing unnecessary groceries. Which is silly, since I can make tastier and healthier food at home.
-
Updates? How is everyone doing?
Still plugging away, we are looking at the possibility of having to move to a different town, so have renewed our desire to eat down our pantry, specifically our freezer. I created a list and have been faithfully consulting it and checking things off (this is big for me!)
I brought 3 containers of bone broth to a friend who has been sick and not able to eat solids which cleared out some room (although I have 6 chickens to go through so there will be more)
I used up a roast that I chopped into steaks and made some ground beef out of. Still trying to figure out the best way to use this cut of meat ( top round or maybe eye, I didn't label it as well as I should of) I did make jerky out of one of them and it was pretty tasty.
Have been using up all my random assorted berries in smoothies, stewing rhubarb (went from 40 lbs to only a couple of bags!)
Used my last couple of packages of ground lamb and had fiends over for some BBQ last weekend.
In the process of trying to use up some coconut flour that is a tough one!
-
I am going to be in the mode of eating everything in the freezer. In about six weeks we're getting a lamb and a beef quarter, so we'll need all the room we can get.
Also have way too many condiments cluttering up the fridge. Most of them are homemade, but they're still clutter and it's a PITA to see what's in there.
-
My fridge condiment shelves have wiggle room now! I finished off some mystery Cambodian chilies and olives during a mass-enchilada-making party. Still have the green curry paste, which I have eaten some on potatoes (thanks for that suggestion). And some adobo paste, mustard that's been expired MONTHS (separated and everything--I don't know why I still use it sometimes), and Worcestershire sauce. Various things in the pantry.
I'll be in another country for three weeks next month, so I paused my CSA subscription. I have a week to eat all of the fresh stuff, which is totally doable.
And then when I get back I'll be moving to a larger apartment that actually has a standard size fridge and freezer! I think the freezer is about the size of my current fridge. I'll able to freeze more things, which will be awesome for convenience meals. It'll feel so weird after having small fridges for the past two years.
-
The texture of my honey is off. I'm going to 'treat' it (http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2011/01/how-to-decrystallize-honey-and-other-honey-tips.html) and hope for the best. Also, am I the only barbarian storing my honey in a plastic container? I didn't realize that glass was superior for honey storage.
Nikki, I am envious of your green curry paste. Curry paste never lasts in my apartment.
Our pantry has mostly been cleaned out. I have a few lingering spices that I bought for a single recipe and haven't used. Last night, I went through our freezer. I had a lone frozen quesadilla (http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/02/hearty-black-bean-quesadillas/) made with a homemade tortilla. My husband ate a tortellini bowl he bought at TJ's a year ago. I'm defrosting homemade marinara sauce (http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/11/slow-cooker-marinara/) to have with beef ravioli for dinner tonight.
-
We're doing pretty well.
Ate up all the tasty stuff first and now have some weirdos lingering:
-a freaking 5lb bag of frozen green beans that we are sllllloooooowwwwllly consuming
-9 boxes of jello, which I don't remember buying and don't know what to do with (other than make jello, which we don't really like the taste of...)
-canned salmon. You guys, what were we THINKING when we bought that? It tastes awful, but we're eating it.
On the plus side, our freezer and pantry are so bare it's almost disturbing. Pretty proud of us! And, this mindset has made us almost entirely eliminate food waste! Only the occasional prematurely dead piece of fruit get tossed. We think more carefully about those bulk Costco purchases now that we know we have to eat it all... :)
-
We're doing pretty well.
Ate up all the tasty stuff first and now have some weirdos lingering:
-a freaking 5lb bag of frozen green beans that we are sllllloooooowwwwllly consuming
-9 boxes of jello, which I don't remember buying and don't know what to do with (other than make jello, which we don't really like the taste of...)
-canned salmon. You guys, what were we THINKING when we bought that? It tastes awful, but we're eating it.
Could you use the green beans and canned salmon in some fishcakes? I usually cheat and use instant potatoes some poached fish, peas and a load of curry/Indian spices. It would probably hide the salmon pretty good if you had some strong spicy flavors.
I have also roasted green beans, makes them easier to fit into meals. Also, some garlic stir fried green beans make a super tasty and quick side dish. I put a bit of oil in a wok add chopped garlic cook for a second or two and then add the beans straight from the freezer. Drizzle with a bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds and it is good to go. I actually have green beans in my freezer and should take my own advice :)
Good Job! on your progress Mrs. Frugalwoods
-
I need some advice. I have eaten all the eggs (potato salad) and my husband has eaten all the cereal. I need breakfast for tomorrow. Ideas?
-
I need some advice. I have eaten all the eggs (potato salad) and my husband has eaten all the cereal. I need breakfast for tomorrow. Ideas?
I don't stick to breakfast foods for breakfast. Yesterday I had an avocado. Today I had an apple with peanut butter. Figure out what you have to eat, and eat it! :)
I just ate a HORRIBLE can of soup. I must have bought it by accident. I felt like I was eating queso with chicken. Ick. I've learned my lesson. Look at the label of every can of soup before it goes into the cart.
-
Overnight oats or oatmeal?
-
We're doing pretty well.
Ate up all the tasty stuff first and now have some weirdos lingering:
-a freaking 5lb bag of frozen green beans that we are sllllloooooowwwwllly consuming
-9 boxes of jello, which I don't remember buying and don't know what to do with (other than make jello, which we don't really like the taste of...)
-canned salmon. You guys, what were we THINKING when we bought that? It tastes awful, but we're eating it.
Could you use the green beans and canned salmon in some fishcakes? I usually cheat and use instant potatoes some poached fish, peas and a load of curry/Indian spices. It would probably hide the salmon pretty good if you had some strong spicy flavors.
I have also roasted green beans, makes them easier to fit into meals. Also, some garlic stir fried green beans make a super tasty and quick side dish. I put a bit of oil in a wok add chopped garlic cook for a second or two and then add the beans straight from the freezer. Drizzle with a bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds and it is good to go. I actually have green beans in my freezer and should take my own advice :)
Good Job! on your progress Mrs. Frugalwoods
Ooooo fishcakes are a good idea, thank you! I love curry and Indian spices, so that sounds great. I'll pitch the idea to my chef (aka Mr. Frugalwoods).
We've done quite a few garlic/shallot green bean stir fries, just as you mention. It's pretty yum, I think we're just bored of it. 5lb is a lot. I don't know WHAT we were thinking.
Any ideas for the Jello? Ick.
-
Any ideas for the Jello? Ick.
Honestly, I'd donate it to a food bank or something with all the artificial colors and flavors in it...
My MIL once made jello sugar cookies....people either loved em or hated them
-
Any ideas for the Jello? Ick.
Honestly, I'd donate it to a food bank or something with all the artificial colors and flavors in it...
My MIL once made jello sugar cookies....people either loved em or hated them
Yep, that's what I'm thinking too. I have no idea when or why we bought it... I'm guessing someone had the flu at one point and we thought it would be a good idea. I should just donate it before it goes bad.
-
Any ideas for the Jello? Ick.
I'm too lazy to hunt down a recipe at the moment, but Jello poke cake is quite good. You make a regular sheet cake, then once it's cooled, poke holes in it and pour the liquid Jello over the top, then let it set. It's a pretty kitsch recipe, but honestly, it tastes way better than it sounds.
-
9 boxes of jello, which I don't remember buying and don't know what to do with (other than make jello, which we don't really like the taste of...)
Hello?!?!?! Let's have a party and make Jello shots! I can whip up all sorts of yummy combos!
As for the salmon, you could always make salmon croquettes topped with a lemon-dill sauce.
-
We're doing pretty well.
Ate up all the tasty stuff first and now have some weirdos lingering:
-a freaking 5lb bag of frozen green beans that we are sllllloooooowwwwllly consuming
-9 boxes of jello, which I don't remember buying and don't know what to do with (other than make jello, which we don't really like the taste of...)
-canned salmon. You guys, what were we THINKING when we bought that? It tastes awful, but we're eating it.
On the plus side, our freezer and pantry are so bare it's almost disturbing. Pretty proud of us! And, this mindset has made us almost entirely eliminate food waste! Only the occasional prematurely dead piece of fruit get tossed. We think more carefully about those bulk Costco purchases now that we know we have to eat it all... :)
5lb is a lot indeed, if they were like mine they are now a sort of dried out too. Try cooking them with your lentil dishes, just throw them in 5 min before the end. They start to taste like lentils and not green peas. Better texture though.
Jello. 9 boxes and you don't like it? That is an interesting situation. There are some no cook cheesecake recipes that use jello. Here is one but I am not a cool whip fan but you should get the idea.
http://www.jello.com/recipe/lemon-lovelies
Summer is here and jello/juice Popsicles are tasty and no drip.
I don't recommend lime jello salad with green peas, celery and carrots, aka 1970...
-
Summer is here and jello/juice Popsicles are tasty and no drip.
Ohhh my mom use t make these when we were kids and they were my very fave! okay...turns out I do like one application for commercial jello :)
-
Any ideas for the Jello? Ick.
I'm too lazy to hunt down a recipe at the moment, but Jello poke cake is quite good. You make a regular sheet cake, then once it's cooled, poke holes in it and pour the liquid Jello over the top, then let it set. It's a pretty kitsch recipe, but honestly, it tastes way better than it sounds.
Yes, this. It was the only think I could think of for Jello as well. My mom used to make a strawberry cake with strawberry Jello and we all loved it. I was a kid. I don't know if I'd like it now. But its worth a try.
-
Making good progress on a jar of minced garlic in the fridge. Need to start in on the jar of pureed ginger.
-
I need some advice. I have eaten all the eggs (potato salad) and my husband has eaten all the cereal. I need breakfast for tomorrow. Ideas?
In this situation, I eat leftovers, make pancakes (if you have time--you may have the ingredients on hand for some recipes), or just... forage. In Korea, there aren't "breakfast" foods. People eat the same things for all meals! So, on that note, any rice, kimchi, and fish? ;-)
-
I was going to start a thread on this, then saw some long-established ones here. I was inspired to eat all the food in my house by the book "The Kitchen Counter Cooking School" by Kathleen Flinn. (For those interested, I have posted my recommendation in the MUSTACHIAN BOOK CLUB.) She addresses food waste and practical tips for using what you have.
I was floored when I opened up my kitchen/pantry to see our stockpile. A lot of it is in the freezer, so not at risk of going bad anytime soon, but this is a month when we have bills to pay for property taxes and some work done on our house and I really think this is a good time to dip heavily into the food stash and get after it to help grease the skids on the old cash flow.
I made the Barefoot Contessa's zucchini gratin last night with our summer bounty and thought it was to-die-for good:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/zucchini-gratin-recipe2.html
This recipe could be used as a base for many veggies, including homemade green bean and mushroom casserole, while wiping out the need for canned creamed soups. Next time I'll probably put thyme in it. I couldn't stomach the price on gruyere at my market, so substituted swiss cheese. I've used parmesan before, and I imagine other cheeses (pecorino, white cheddar) would work well depending on what flavor you want.
-
9 boxes of jello, which I don't remember buying and don't know what to do with (other than make jello, which we don't really like the taste of...)
Hello?!?!?! Let's have a party and make Jello shots! I can whip up all sorts of yummy combos!
As for the salmon, you could always make salmon croquettes topped with a lemon-dill sauce.
Jello shots FTW! That could help me in our other quest to use up the liquor cabinet before buying more... Not sure though, I can't handle more than a shot or two.
We are going to a dinner party tonight, would be pretty funny to roll up (on our bikes) with Jello shots. If they didn't think we were frugal weirdos before...
-
Any ideas for the Jello? Ick.
I'm too lazy to hunt down a recipe at the moment, but Jello poke cake is quite good. You make a regular sheet cake, then once it's cooled, poke holes in it and pour the liquid Jello over the top, then let it set. It's a pretty kitsch recipe, but honestly, it tastes way better than it sounds.
Yes, this. It was the only think I could think of for Jello as well. My mom used to make a strawberry cake with strawberry Jello and we all loved it. I was a kid. I don't know if I'd like it now. But its worth a try.
Jello cakes! Who knew? I'm so glad I asked you guys!
-
If you're looking up recipes I think they call the Jello cake "Poke and Pour." People like it, I guess.
-
9 boxes of jello, which I don't remember buying and don't know what to do with (other than make jello, which we don't really like the taste of...)
Hello?!?!?! Let's have a party and make Jello shots! I can whip up all sorts of yummy combos!
Jello shots FTW! That could help me in our other quest to use up the liquor cabinet before buying more... Not sure though, I can't handle more than a shot or two.
We are going to a dinner party tonight, would be pretty funny to roll up (on our bikes) with Jello shots. If they didn't think we were frugal weirdos before...
Frugal Weirdos... would make a great forum handle. ;)
As for the shots, Cherry + Vanilla vodka (or Whipped Cream vodka) are my fave. Glad I could help kill two birds with one stone.
-
9 boxes of jello, which I don't remember buying and don't know what to do with (other than make jello, which we don't really like the taste of...)
Hello?!?!?! Let's have a party and make Jello shots! I can whip up all sorts of yummy combos!
As for the salmon, you could always make salmon croquettes topped with a lemon-dill sauce.
Jello shots FTW! That could help me in our other quest to use up the liquor cabinet before buying more... Not sure though, I can't handle more than a shot or two.
We are going to a dinner party tonight, would be pretty funny to roll up (on our bikes) with Jello shots. If they didn't think we were frugal weirdos before...
I wish someone would show up at my apartment tonight with Jell-O shots!
I'm making steady progress on our freezer. I need to cook some pierogies this weekend. I also have plans to use a few pounds of frozen vegetables (bulk cooking) while restocking the freezer.
Our fridge has been better, but I still have a lot of tahini. No chickpeas for hummus. Any other ideas?
-
I wish someone would show up at my apartment tonight with Jell-O shots!
I'm making steady progress on our freezer. I need to cook some pierogies this weekend. I also have plans to use a few pounds of frozen vegetables (bulk cooking) while restocking the freezer.
Our fridge has been better, but I still have a lot of tahini. No chickpeas for hummus. Any other ideas?
I am with you on that one! Someone needs to swing by my place, too.
Love peirogies!
As for the Tahini, found a great collection of recipes (http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2013/08/08/25-ways-to-use-tahini/). First thing I thought, was something of a spicy Tahini sauce like you would use for chicken satay.
-
Thank you, Chippewa! I saw a few recipes that I want to try, but I'm definitely going to try the black bean hummus this weekend. I'm making a large batch (2 pounds) of black beans in my slow cooker this weekend, and I should have some leftover.
-
I wish someone would show up at my apartment tonight with Jell-O shots!
I'm making steady progress on our freezer. I need to cook some pierogies this weekend. I also have plans to use a few pounds of frozen vegetables (bulk cooking) while restocking the freezer.
Our fridge has been better, but I still have a lot of tahini. No chickpeas for hummus. Any other ideas?
I am with you on that one! Someone needs to swing by my place, too.
Love peirogies!
As for the Tahini, found a great collection of recipes (http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2013/08/08/25-ways-to-use-tahini/). First thing I thought, was something of a spicy Tahini sauce like you would use for chicken satay.
Ok, we've got the makings of a fabulous potluck here:
-Jello shots
-Peirogies (also a huge fan)
-Tahini, which we can spread on my 5lb bag of frozen green beans and/or my canned salmon
Just talked to DH and he said NO on the Jello shots for tonight's soiree. We are instead being adults (boring) and bringing homemade hummus and mojitos with homemade simple syrup and foraged mint.
-
Just talked to DH and he said NO on the Jello shots for tonight's soiree. We are instead being adults (boring) and bringing homemade hummus and mojitos with homemade simple syrup and foraged mint.
Haha! This makes me laugh. Have fun tonight. Mojitos make for a close second. Especially w/homemade and foraged ingredients!
-
Our fridge has been better, but I still have a lot of tahini. No chickpeas for hummus. Any other ideas?
I really love the Halva Shortbread from Moosewood, a copy of the recipe is here:
http://homecooking.about.com/od/cakerecipes/r/blc78.htm (http://homecooking.about.com/od/cakerecipes/r/blc78.htm)
It is a little crumbly, but buttery and sweet and awesome. I also use Tahini like peanutbutter on toast, it's even better mixed with some grape or mulberry molasses, but I know those aren't common ingredients over here.
-
I did a pretty good job of clearing out the freezer before refilling it with this year's bounty. Remaining from last fall are a couple of bags of pumpkin pulp which I'll use in baking or soup if it ever cools down.
I used up various grains but still have loads of beans on hand. I swear that they are multiplying in the pantry (probably due to too many jello shots!)
-
So I read this post and thread a few weeks ago, and decided we needed to eat as much as we could from the pantry and freezer before restocking. Here's today's question... How old is old? last night I made brownies from a boxed mix that "expired" in 2006. It was pretty good! I found concentrated lime juice in one of the freezers. It supposedly was past its prime as of 2004. It made some excellent margaritas! So what's too old to eat? Anyone have a realistic rule of thumb for this? My wife wont eat it if the expiration date has passed. Of course, I didn't tell her the margarita she was drinking was more than ten years old...
-
So I read this post and thread a few weeks ago, and decided we needed to eat as much as we could from the pantry and freezer before restocking. Here's today's question... How old is old? last night I made brownies from a boxed mix that "expired" in 2006. It was pretty good! I found concentrated lime juice in one of the freezers. It supposedly was past its prime as of 2004. It made some excellent margaritas! So what's too old to eat? Anyone have a realistic rule of thumb for this? My wife wont eat it if the expiration date has passed. Of course, I didn't tell her the margarita she was drinking was more than ten years old...
If it smells bad or is growing mold that can't easily be skimmed off (I'm thinking of some cheeses that often get a spot-o-mold that can easily be cut off). I think, in general, expiration dates are far too conservative. Not sure about meat expiration dates--we don't eat much meat, so I can't comment on that.
-
I think with stuff like dry cake mix, it will last indefinitely in that it won't hurt you. However, I wouldn't eat anything if it started smelling sort of dusty/musty/sawdust-like because it would probably not taste very good. Stuff like flour does have a shelf life in that it is better when it's fresher, but it doesn't suddenly turn and give you food poisoning unless it maybe gets moisture in it and molds or something.
It's harvest time, so there's more coming in than going out, but that gives me more motivation to use up random stuff and make room. Which reminds me, I should go dump the little drab of balsamic jelly into the short ribs I have braising right now. Maybe I'll even throw in the last of the habanero jelly. Sweet isn't a bad thing with short ribs.
-
Unfortunately, my most recent attempts have resulted in using up food by ruining it (goodbye overly salty steel-cut oats! Goodbye chia seed pudding that I didn't mix well enough!) but I did get rid of a frozen pie crust by making turnovers and have cleared out some of the grain surplus.
-
Of course, I didn't tell her the margarita she was drinking was more than ten years old...
Ha ha ha. I consider everything in the freezer or in a can to last forever. So far, I haven't been proven wrong by experience.
-
Anyone have recommendations for edamame (not in pod)?
What about these?
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/edamame_ginger_dip.html
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/warm_quinoa_salad_with_edamame_tarragon.html
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/herbed_corn_edamame_succotash.html
-
Anyone have recommendations for edamame (not in pod)?
What about these?
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/edamame_ginger_dip.html
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/warm_quinoa_salad_with_edamame_tarragon.html
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/herbed_corn_edamame_succotash.html
I think the quinoa salad could be an option if I sub in brown rice. The succotash is an awesome option for a side dish.
Thanks!
-
Anyone have recommendations for edamame (not in pod)?
We have BAGS of it from a trip to the Asian grocery store. Since I found out I have a soy allergy, I haven't used any of it. However I'm motivated to make something for husband to eat just to get rid of it.
Also...puff pastry? I bought a thing from Trader Joe's over a year ago.
Could you make a edamame bean hummus?
For puff pasty you could make strudels, tarts, pizza pockets, samosas...basically anything wrapped in a puff pastry crust is usually a win :)
-
Anyone have recommendations for edamame (not in pod)?
We have BAGS of it from a trip to the Asian grocery store. Since I found out I have a soy allergy, I haven't used any of it. However I'm motivated to make something for husband to eat just to get rid of it.
Also...puff pastry? I bought a thing from Trader Joe's over a year ago.
Could you make a edamame bean hummus?
For puff pasty you could make strudels, tarts, pizza pockets, samosas...basically anything wrapped in a puff pastry crust is usually a win :)
I'm a serious newbie in the kitchen, so I've never used puff pastry! I've never made any "wrapped" items.
I'll look into making a edamame hummus. My DH is picky, so I'm not sure he'll like it. Oh well! I do have a lot of tahini in the fridge.
-
You can also use puff pastry as a pizza crust. No folding required!
-
Puff pasty is the easiest to work with. Thaw in the fridge, roll out, cut and shape as desired. I make Palmiers for the easiest and most impressive appetizer ever.
there are tons of variations and you can change up the cheese/spices. Basic recipe is here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1805673/red-pepper-walnut-and-goats-cheese-palmiers (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1805673/red-pepper-walnut-and-goats-cheese-palmiers)
I do a Parmesan and cracked black pepper, cheddar and smoked chili powder...you can customize them really easy
-
Puff pasty is the easiest to work with. Thaw in the fridge, roll out, cut and shape as desired. I make Palmiers for the easiest and most impressive appetizer ever.
there are tons of variations and you can change up the cheese/spices. Basic recipe is here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1805673/red-pepper-walnut-and-goats-cheese-palmiers (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1805673/red-pepper-walnut-and-goats-cheese-palmiers)
I do a Parmesan and cracked black pepper, cheddar and smoked chili powder...you can customize them really easy
Awesome! Thanks for the recipe. Since I've never used it before, I've been overwhelmed. I'll try to defrost it next week!
-
Puff pasty is the easiest to work with. Thaw in the fridge, roll out, cut and shape as desired. I make Palmiers for the easiest and most impressive appetizer ever.
there are tons of variations and you can change up the cheese/spices. Basic recipe is here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1805673/red-pepper-walnut-and-goats-cheese-palmiers (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1805673/red-pepper-walnut-and-goats-cheese-palmiers)
I do a Parmesan and cracked black pepper, cheddar and smoked chili powder...you can customize them really easy
Awesome! Thanks for the recipe. Since I've never used it before, I've been overwhelmed. I'll try to defrost it next week!
it's okay if I eat the whole lot to myself? ;) yum. thanks for the recipe, too!
-
Thanks for all of the advice! I finished off all of the chicken breasts from the freezer and half of a container of panko (never opened). My husband loved it, but I thought it was bland. Our freezer has room! In the past few weeks, we have finished off a package of ravioli, chicken pierogis, two pounds of corn, black bean quesadillas, and marinara sauce. From our cabinets, I've finished all of our canned soup, a few of our seasoning packets (curry), and few cans of coconut milk.
Any advice for canned asparagus or artichokes?
I will try to use in the next 2 weeks: Tahini, puff pastry, edamame (SO much), and seasoning packets (we have SO many).
The biggest upside to this activity has been curbing my tendency to buy things we don't use. We have so many seasoning packets that we pick up for <$1 at ethnic markets, but we never use them. Our grocery bill has gone down significantly by eating out of our cabinets, but this activity will help keep it down.
-
We have a bunch of "disaster preparedness" food stocked in the pantry.
So many "dried" soup packets to eat. Ick. Any ideas to turn these into some sort of meal? Lots of veggie soup (just add water variety). Wondering if I could use it to flavour rice/quinoa/couscous... hmmm... I may be on to something here.
Also, canned meat (turkey, chicken, ham)... any ideas?
-
Any advice for canned asparagus or artichokes?
Are the canned artichokes water or oil packed? Oil packed I shop up and add to drained pasta - with a little lemon zest and Parmesan, maybe some oil packed sun dried tomatoes, if you have them? makes a great light meal.
Waterpacked artichokes I use to makes dips. I buzz up some white beans, spinach, artichokes and whatever cheese I have kicking around (a blend of Cheddar, Parm and some sort of melting or cream cheese ) and spices with a dollop of mayo, sour cream or yogurt, throw it into a ramekin to bake and get all bubbly. Takes about 5 minutes to make, is way, way healthier then the restaurant artichoke dips, makes a ton and is really good with chips, bread, crostini, as a sandwich spread. I actually keep a jar from costco on hand specifically for this, it is a life saver whens someone invites you over or you have to make something last minute.
We have a bunch of "disaster preparedness" food stocked in the pantry.
So many "dried" soup packets to eat. Ick. Any ideas to turn these into some sort of meal? Lots of veggie soup (just add water variety). Wondering if I could use it to flavour rice/quinoa/couscous... hmmm... I may be on to something here.
Also, canned meat (turkey, chicken, ham)... any ideas?
Dried soup mix is a good boost of flavor in the above dip or in a spinach dip. My main issue with it is the veggies seem to never really fully rehydrate for me and I hate the texture. My mom makes an "Instant" soup mix out of all her garden dried veggies which is awesome. You might be able to do the same with the veggie soup mixes by pulverizing it in a blender? I find it really handy to have on hand at work when I'm feeling snacky or to warm up in the winter. It also makes a "veggie seasoning" powder that I use to thicken soups and rices and such, it is just a more usable form.
I'm not sure what form the canned ham is in if it is flaked or more like the Spam/Swift variety. My Dad use to say the Spam/Swift was a million times better lightly fried in a frying pan and hidden in some garlic fried rice :) I imagine fried rice would be an option for any of those proteins.
Or made into cakes? Mashed potato base (I cheat and use the instant mash from Costco that doesn't have a bunch of crap in it) and whatever meat and veggies you want? coated in Panko, bread or cracker crumbs and lightly fired. I usually do a curried Salmon cake with frozen green peas and serve with a side of homemade chutney. Might be one of Hubby's favorite meals and incredibly quick - all out of the pantry and freezer.
As you can tell, I don't really use recipes and rarely measure, but I hope the ideas help :)
-
Lots of cooking going on over the last few days...
So far, got six bananas out of the freezer (three in a chocolate banana bread, three in a smoothie with some peaches and cantaloupe that needed to go). Cleared out cottage cheese and goat cheese that had to be eaten in some twice-baked potatoes, and lettuce and microgreens on their last legs in a salad. Cherry tomatoes that were on the verge went into a fresh tomato pasta that also used up the end of a container of blue cheese. Coconut milk and frozen shrimp into a Thai soup that also cleaned out some produce.
So basically, not so much pantry clean-out, but catching up with the fresh produce and dairy that had gotten a bit out of hand. And now I can eat for the rest of the week!
-
Awesome Noodle!
I spent the day experimenting with watermelon rind. A chutney, curry and pickles are all on the go. They helped me put a dent in my spice collection - have to wait till tomorrow to see if they are successful. If so, I'll feel pretty good about finding some new uses for something I would normally just compost.
Turned a bunch of whole spices into some Garam Masala mix to have on hand, I put it in everything but have been out for a while so it was time to make a new batch.
-
Had a litre of milk that was about to expire, so I finally made a powder pudding mix I got as a gift from my parents when they went to Spain. The food itself was fine, but not seeing that box in my pantry is much tastier!
-
I had somehow grabbed a bottle of honey mustard yogurt dressing instead of the flavor I wanted at the grocery store, and opened it before I realized what I had done. I really do not like sweet salad dressings, so I have been pondering for quite awhile on what I might do with it. Googling around, I came up with the inspiration to used it in baked chicken fingers. I got a recipe on the web, but where it said to dip the chicken in an egg-milk mixture, I used the salad dressing instead. Then went on to dip in breadcrumbs (used panko) and bake. Very good with a little sriracha on the top, and it cleared out the end of the panko as well as most of the salad dressing.
Otherwise, still working on the produce. I did a very nice potato and green bean salad to use up those two, and a couple of strawberry banana smoothies to use up overrripe bananas, the end of LAST year's frozen strawberries, and the last of a carton of almond-coconut milk.
-
Had a kale/tomato/cucumber/mushroom/carrot salad getting about ready to check out in a day or two. Instead of the both of us eating very large portions of it 2x the other day, I dumped 2 cups of dried split peas into my pressure cooker, dropped in some already homemade veggie stock on hand, and that salad, along with a seasoning mixture I make for certain soups. Also cut up the last potato on hand.. 15 minutes later we have soup that will last us for a few days.
I pretty much do this for all produce about ready to check out but this was the first time we had a large quantity of salad that I just dumped straight in, heh.
-
I'm so in. I want us to eat healthier (especially since baby will be eating real food soon) so I want to clear out all our food to make room for a fresh healthy start.
Our freezer has a lot of unmarked food "items" that one of us keeps waiting for the other to use up. Our pantry isn't too bad, but I still want to clear it all out and restock with ingredients instead of convenience.
-
I found a 4.5/5 star muffin base recipe on All Recipes that I plan to make using up random leftover fruits and other things like shredded coconut, chocolate chips, and whatever else I can find in the pantry.
Here's the recipe if anyone wants. I find the reviewers to offer great ideas for flavors:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Ever-Muffins/ (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Ever-Muffins/)
-
My chest freezer is full of meat. I don't keep much in my pantry but I'm definitely planning a Labor Day Weekend Cooking Jihad because the chest freezer badly needs to be defrosted.
-
Made blueberry buckwheat muffins. These addressed: using up the end of a bottle of agave sweetener I found I didn't like, using up cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and buckwheat flour that needed to be used up, making a dent in the frozen u-pick blueberries (turns out I pick a lot faster than I would have thought), clearing out buttermilk that needed to be used. Verdict: They were fine...nothing I'll ever feel the need to make again, but an interesting experiment. They would probably be best with some jam or cream cheese, which sort of negates the point of healthy muffins...
Next up--a new miso-glazed fish recipe, which will take care of the end of the honey and also a bag of frozen fish that needed to go.
-
Did this in spring, now re-joining to clear kitchen in time for a house move!
I don't keep much around in the first place, so it gets interesting :) Last round I learned from the boards how to make whole salmon delicious again and again, and fast, and I've done that several times a week since.
-
I wondered where this thread had gone; glad it's got new life.
My best of late was over Labor Day weekend. I made scratch waffles for breakfast and we packed a picnic for a free concert in the park. Next day, I was looking at two extra waffles and some leftover Key Lime Pie that a guest had brought to the picnic. You guessed it, the pie went on top of the waffles! I toasted the waffles, then topped with a slice of pie and zapped both for thirty seconds. I'm ashamed to admit how sinfully good it was. But all in the name of eating everything in the house...