Spring Pantry Challenge - Page 3

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

I used up some of my frozen bananas yesterday to make bread. I have enough for 1 more loaf- but the rest was a bit groddy from thawing during our ice storm. These were just ones I rescued from the kids half-eaten though. Hopefully - I can get that almond butter ate today- it seems that the kids are kind of reacting to that now so I need to eat it myself I guess. It is not expired, but I could use the jar it is in for other things. Oh- and I have a way to use my dry sea veggies- my friend bought a pill maker- so I am going to borrow it to make it up into capsules so I will actually take them- which would be good for me anyway.

Heee! I'm not the only one who has a rescued banana stash in the freezer!

[Magpie1972]

I did make the jelly. It's one of the "free" jellies. We also have pick your own strawberries around here, but the elderberries grow free on the sides of rural roads. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were of my Nanother taking us to pick elderberries growing in ditches then making jellies from it. Even better once she started straining the hulls through cheesecloth.

[crunchy_mama]

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy

Heee! I'm not the only one who has a rescued banana stash in the freezer!

Seriously- there are way too many half- eaten bananas around here! WE are working on reducing food waste but those bananas are my bane!

Well- I have some brownies in the oven using up the last of the almond butter and didn't have quite enough so I used half pumpkin seeds(whirred real quick ). Oh- and I did some more searching for recipes for poppy seeds and think I have a few winners- which will be perfect for this spring when spinach and strawberries come in season.

Oh- and I found another item I need to use- Cream of Rice. I bought it to see how close it was to the expensive Rice and Shine Luke likes- well I should have known better it is way nasty and processed. I don't know if I should just through it out or what. I have about 7 oz left- so not a ton.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy

Heee! I'm not the only one who has a rescued banana stash in the freezer!

I took one out, defrosted and the syrupy stuff made an awesome bread! We have a few rotting banannas I will make into a bread this weekend.

[aliah79]

Can I get a little help with ideas?

We have 5 days until payday, and had very little to buy groceries with this past payday. So we're definitely eating out of the pantry. Problem is my pantry is pretty bare right now.

Freezer:
Lots of frozen chicken breasts
Family pkg chicken thighs
1 turkey breast
1 pkg stir fry veggies

Pantry:
1.5 boxes of pasta
Lg bag of jasmine rice
Canned tomato sauce
Canned diced tomatoes
Chicken broth (lots)
Small amount of quinoa

Other:
1.5 sticks of butter
Small amount of cheddar
Small amount of mozarella
Cream Cheese
Sour Cream
Milk (about 1/2 gal)
2 eggs
Celery
Carrots (a few)


I have two ravenous little boys, a husband who needs lunches, and me who stays home and needs to make lunch for me and & the boys... plus dinners.

I can probably make some bread, though it never seems to turn out very well. Plus I have various spices and condiments, etc.

I do have a small amount of money I could buy a few things with... like we really need eggs... some fresh produce is high on my list too since we have almost nothing as far as fruits & veggies go, even my hidden jars of applesauce were eaten last week LOL.

So far I have:

Chicken stir fry - leftovers for lunch
Chicken w/ tomatoes, mozarella & pasta - leftovers for lunch
Pancakes and/or waffles

I was thinking I could use some chicken thighs & broth and maybe try making some egg noodles for some soup...

Make some oven fried chicken w/ the other thighs... (the boys favorite)

Thought or ideas?

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by aliah79

Can I get a little help with ideas?

We have 5 days until payday, and had very little to buy groceries with this past payday. So we're definitely eating out of the pantry. Problem is my pantry is pretty bare right now.

Freezer:
Lots of frozen chicken breasts
Family pkg chicken thighs
1 turkey breast
1 pkg stir fry veggies

Pantry:
1.5 boxes of pasta
Lg bag of jasmine rice
Canned tomato sauce
Canned diced tomatoes
Chicken broth (lots)
Small amount of quinoa

Other:
1.5 sticks of butter
Small amount of cheddar
Small amount of mozarella
Cream Cheese
Sour Cream
Milk (about 1/2 gal)
2 eggs
Celery
Carrots (a few)


I have two ravenous little boys, a husband who needs lunches, and me who stays home and needs to make lunch for me and & the boys... plus dinners.

I can probably make some bread, though it never seems to turn out very well. Plus I have various spices and condiments, etc.

I do have a small amount of money I could buy a few things with... like we really need eggs... some fresh produce is high on my list too since we have almost nothing as far as fruits & veggies go, even my hidden jars of applesauce were eaten last week LOL.

So far I have:

Chicken stir fry - leftovers for lunch
Chicken w/ tomatoes, mozarella & pasta - leftovers for lunch
Pancakes and/or waffles

I was thinking I could use some chicken thighs & broth and maybe try making some egg noodles for some soup...

Make some oven fried chicken w/ the other thighs... (the boys favorite)

Thought or ideas?

Well you look like you have 4 meals already!

I love to dice up a turkey breast, saute it with some onion and garlic, throw on some salt and pepper. Turn the heat down low and add your cream cheese and a couple tbsp of sour cream. Spice as you like. I would put in some garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cayenne, or curry powder, or chilli powder and cumin, etc. Throw in whatever veg you have on hand, and toss it into a casserole dish with rice or noodles. Grate some cheese on top and bake for 20 min at 350.

Ideas for lunch:
Make a big thing of chicken salad (uses up some chicken and celery)

Make pizza dough (way easier than baking bread) This can tide you over a couple of lunches. (I have a great recipe if you need one)
1st lunch: roll out some of the dough and brush with butter and italian seasoning and garlic powder. Bake at 400 degrees till golden brown. Cut up and dip in pizza sauce. (Tomato sauce with italian seasoning, oregano, and garlic) Serve with carrots and celery and dip.
2nd lunch: Use your left over chicken mozza dish to make calzones. Roll out little circles (I cut them out with a dessert bowl, it's a perfect size), put a couple spoonfuls of the left overs into each and fold over. Crimp edges with a fork and brush with an egg white. Grease and flour a cookie sheet and bake calzones till golden brown. (400 degrees)

Other ideas from what you have:

Rice pudding : Feels like a treat, but can easily be warmed up for breakfast, or served cold for a snack or dessert. (again, I can easily provide recipe.)

ETA check out www.breadtopia.com to learn breadmaking for newbies. I am now making awesome bread!!!!

[Sihaya]

Joining in the middle of the month because DH is going to be laid off in a week and I don't want to spend any more than we absolutely have to on food for the rest of the month. Just did a food inventory and am relieved to discover we have more than enough food to last us at least 6 weeks with only minimal shopping (carrots, potatoes, onions, butter, eggs, & milk). We also have Angel Food boxes and a beef share coming at the end of March.

Working on putting together more concrete meal ideas and will update the list here as I come up with more ideas.

[HydeParkB]

We've been doing well with using what's in the freezer, although I keep stocking it. Found ground pork on sale, and made some sausage. And I got a couple extra corned beefs.

However, I'm working through a lot of the veggies and meats. I don't know if we'll get it cleared in time for garden harvest, but we'll try. My shopping at Costco today was just cheddar cheese, tortillas, and milk. And I got $3 worth of bread at the bread store.

Crockpot recipe question:
There's a recipe in a cook book that basically combined soaked dried beans, water, onion, a ham hock, and a jar of salsa. In the recipe it's cooked on high for 6 hours, with the beans added for the last two hours.

I'm wondering if I can just put everything in together and cook it on low for 8-9 hours?

[annettemarie]

Oh my gosh, I need help.

I went to the Amish surplus outlet yesterday and could barely close my freezer.

No more buying stuff, except fresh fruits and veggies or restocking staples. Or maybe a really really good sale.

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by HydeParkB

Crockpot recipe question:
There's a recipe in a cook book that basically combined soaked dried beans, water, onion, a ham hock, and a jar of salsa. In the recipe it's cooked on high for 6 hours, with the beans added for the last two hours.

I'm wondering if I can just put everything in together and cook it on low for 8-9 hours?

I wouldn't soak the beans. Just cook on low until the beans are done.

Let us know how it turned out, that sounds like a yummy recipe!

[Dabble]

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy

Oh! Oh! Oh! I just remembered a cool site I have bookmarked. You can input the ingredients you have on hand and it will search the web for recipes that use them. http://www.supercook.com/ It is really fun to play with. Especially with random stuff that you have no idea what to do with.

Wow, thank you SO MUCH for posting that site! I have no idea how I haven't come across it before now, and I am so impressed with it! What a great way to use up food!

[ewp11100]

Originally Posted by ewp11100

I'm in! We are oving at the end of April and I reeally need to clear some of this food out! We won't be having our freezer for 6 moths so that's a big priporty as well as all this colds cereal I have gotten from WIC or .25 a box. I just opened a 20lb of rice and I have a 10lb bag of dries pintos that will be a challenge. Oh well I guess we'll have tons for burritos, lol.
I guess my biggest goal is not to shop I usually only buy lost leaders/WIC/fresh, I have a hard time passing up a good deal. Must be why there is so much canned soup in here (good for hubby lunches, evil cackel!)

So update! I'm doing really well on emptying the freezer We cooked a whole turkey on tuesday which liquidated quite a bit of space! My husband runs a "recyling lunch" at work. He collects and dives for everyones coke cans then takes them to recycling and buys a bunch of food for the guys to have a bbq @ work (they have a grill). SO I "sold" most of my steaks to them (2 london broils and 6 T-bone I got super cheap). I probably broke even on the money as aluminum is just not bringing in the $ since they lowered prices But I freed up much needed space. I should be able to consolidate to one freezer in a week or two. Then clean one, switch everthing to the other, clean the other and get it ready for storage. Ok rambling

[Ruthiegirl]

I am joining mid month. My pantry was really depleted this winter while we were cutting back on our grocery spending. Now my son has been diagnosed with a whole mess of food sensitivities and I really need to get a grip on our food planning.

So, my big challenge is to restock the pantry, BUT we cannot have eggs, wheat, buckwheat, tomatoes, cow's dairy, any cheese, pintos and kidney beans. Aaaaack!!!!

My co-op order looks something like this:

coconut oil
basmati rice
brown rice
red lentils
2 cases of rice cakes (for easy snacks)
almond butter
peanut butter
almonds (to make milk)
walnuts
tea
gluten free flour
gluten free baking powder
corn chips
gluten free brownie mix
wheat free tamari


I know we need more meat. Without eggs and dairy, our meals can get pretty lean. A bit of meat seems to really help keep everyone full. I am struggling with paying high prices for better quality meat, since we are eating so much more of it than we used to eat. I do not have a freezer, but may look into getting one and doing a side of beef. Or maybe some lamb and chickens. Still thinking and calculating the upfront costs.

I also need to look for some quinoa, barley, other wheat free grains? Beans? I am kind of stuck at this point. Anyone stocking a pantry while feeding folks with food allergies?

[major_mama11]

March is almost over, but count me in anyway!

We have a new baby on the way in 7 weeks, so now is definitely the time to get organized. If I don't do it now, it ain't gonna happen. I tend to stockpile when things are on sale, and then forget what I have and end up throwing things out bc they've expired. Also, eating through the stockpile will help save on the grocery bill- a good thing considering that we will be without my income for ~12 weeks.

I have 2 freezers full of frozen veggies, both storebought and frozen from the garden - some are probably 2+ years old. The bags and bags of frozen tomatoes from the garden are there solely for using in soups and stews, but then when I'm actually cooking I always forget the stuff is buried in there. I really need to do an inventory so I will know what I have. No point stocking up my pantry and freezer if we're not eating through it in an organized way.

Off the top of my head, we have frozen tomatoes, frozen spinach, frozen mixed veggies, dried split peas, noodles, and also whole wheat flour that has been in the pantry for a while. So maybe tonight I'll get started by baking some bread and throwing the other stuff together for a big pot of veggie soup.

Another thing I need to inventory is my canning supplies, in preparation for summer. I'll be back at some point with my inventories.

[HydeParkB]

Originally Posted by major_mama11

March is almost over, but count me in anyway!
I have 2 freezers full of frozen veggies, both storebought and frozen from the garden - some are probably 2+ years old. The bags and bags of frozen tomatoes from the garden

Omigosh, this is one of my issues.

Aside from chili, what are some good ways to use up these tomatoes? Anybody have great ideas (and even recipes).

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by Sihaya

Joining in the middle of the month because DH is going to be laid off in a week and I don't want to spend any more than we absolutely have to on food for the rest of the month. Just did a food inventory and am relieved to discover we have more than enough food to last us at least 6 weeks with only minimal shopping (carrots, potatoes, onions, butter, eggs, & milk). We also have Angel Food boxes and a beef share coming at the end of March.

Working on putting together more concrete meal ideas and will update the list here as I come up with more ideas.

Just a couple random thoughts
We don't have a grain grinder, but use lots of flax meal in baked goods. We just grind in our cheap coffee mill.

Also is the liver and heart left from a previous beef purchase and no one will eat it (BTDT )or do you like it?

[HydeParkB]

Well, I used up a pound of Great Northern Beans (pantry), a couple ham bones (freezer), and some home-canned salsa. Threw it all in the crockpot overnight, and it was ready this morning. Tonight I'll make up a big batch of rice and freeze beans and rice in lunch size portions.

While I was hunting around for beans, I realized a bunch of my dry goods are in CANNING JARS. Which we always run out of and I have to buy new. So, I'm going to work on clearing some of those out and replenishing with jars that can't be used for canning.

[Dabble]

Originally Posted by HydeParkB

While I was hunting around for beans, I realized a bunch of my dry goods are in CANNING JARS. Which we always run out of and I have to buy new. So, I'm going to work on clearing some of those out and replenishing with jars that can't be used for canning.

That reminds me: I'm a little chagrined to think of all of the good glass screw-top jars I have tossed into recycling over the years instead of re-purposing them for other food storage. Then I go out and buy other containers to hold stuff??? Are we just not of a mindset to automatically re-purpose these things? And I thought I was doing well to recycle them, but obviously it is much more efficient to just continue using them. Duh.

Now I'm having to retrain DH to hold onto these jars and their lids (like spaghetti sauce, pickles, etc) instead of recycling them once they have been washed out. They make handy pest-proof food storage for any number of assorted pantry goods.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by Chimpmandee

That reminds me: I'm a little chagrined to think of all of the good glass screw-top jars I have tossed into recycling over the years instead of re-purposing them for other food storage. Then I go out and buy other containers to hold stuff??? Are we just not of a mindset to automatically re-purpose these things? And I thought I was doing well to recycle them, but obviously it is much more efficient to just continue using them. Duh.

Now I'm having to retrain DH to hold onto these jars and their lids (like spaghetti sauce, pickles, etc) instead of recycling them once they have been washed out. They make handy pest-proof food storage for any number of assorted pantry goods.

If you have a good way to get the pickle smell out of the lids, let me know. I've tried everything (including : bleach).

I save my jars, too, but the pickle jars have me :

[beansmama]

I'm in!

I know i'll still shop...but i was just realizing how much stuff i have in my pantry that i don't really use anymore (millet, whole wheat flour - i prefer finer grain ww flour now, split peas, barley, quinoa, lentils, etc. It's not that i'll *never* use these again...it's just that i don't need SO much of them just sitting around, getting old.

So yeah, totally in!

I'm going on vacation for a week in a few days, but after that...i'm down