February Pantry Challenge... - Page 4

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by leomom

I slice or chop and freeze all these veggies in freezer bags when they are on sale:

zuchinni
squash
onion
green pepper
red peppers
celery
carrots

Then I can add a handful to a recipe whenever I need.

Do you blanch first? i've heard you should, but i've done it without blanching. Is that bad?

well, i had no internet yesterday. I was going to ask you all how i could make ataco bake out of black beans, corn, and stale taco shells. I ended up squishing the beans into the bottom of a dish. adding the corn and some taco seasoning, then a layer of soy cheese i had in the freezer, and finally the crushed shells. i baked at 350* for 30 mins. it was good! I realized i shoulda added some salsa, but we just put it on at the table. it did frustrate me that i didn't buy the plain yogurt i saw for 50c a tub. that would have made good "sour cream", but oh well.

[leomom]

Originally Posted by Mama Rana

Do you blanch first? i've heard you should, but i've done it without blanching. Is that bad?

I don't. :

OK, I have some whipping cream that expires today. Any ideas????

[yogabug]

I read on another post somewhere that you can use it to make butter. Just put it in a mixer for 8-10 minutes and butter will form. I want to try this myself if I can find some organic cream. Good Luck!

[Amys1st]

I use trinity for soups, stew, rice, gumbo...

[annettemarie]

Originally Posted by yogabug

I read on another post somewhere that you can use it to make butter. Just put it in a mixer for 8-10 minutes and butter will form. I want to try this myself if I can find some organic cream. Good Luck!

We sort of did this yesterday for St. Brigid's Day, but we put it in a glass jar with a marble and just shook the crap out of it. It was yuuuuuuummmmmmyyyy! With the little cream that's left I am going to make a pasta sauce with some parmasan cheese.

This really is inspiring, although I must admit I did make my monthly Amish-store run today. :

BUT I got a box of 30 organic fruit leathers for $2.79 (OK, two boxes!), 6 boxes of organic rice crackers for 69 cents each, and some organic cereal for $1.29.

I am hoping this thread will keep me out of the "real" store except for milk and stuff like that!

Annette

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

This really is inspiring, although I must admit I did make my monthly Amish-store run today. :

BUT I got a box of 30 organic fruit leathers for $2.79 (OK, two boxes!), 6 boxes of organic rice crackers for 69 cents each, and some organic cereal for $1.29.

I am hoping this thread will keep me out of the "real" store except for milk and stuff like that!

Annette

These are great finds- but to really challenge yourself, use your amish stuff up before going and see how you do, its hard but we are here.

[Nu_Mommy_2003]

New here but wanted to join in

I have some organic vanilla yogurt that expires today and raw milk. I hate for it to waste away (the $$ an all). Any Ideas?

Can I freeze the yogurt and use it in smoothies??
DH wanted a taco salad but we have NO sour cream can I use one of these (milk or yogurt) for a sub??

[leomom]

nak

any ideas what i could use as a substitute for a can of coconut milk in a curry chicken recipe?

[hotmamacita]

coconut milk? i dunno. i've never used coconut milk in a curry of any kind.

rice milk is pretty mild though.

[hotmamacita]

thanks for the pralines recipes, btw...


looking forward to using my pecans

[leomom]

don't have any rice millk...i have coconut, and i have milk....

[Jennisee]

Ok, I need some ideas for using up 1/2 a can of mushrooms. I made a pizza the other night and put mushrooms on DH's half, 'cuz I won't eat 'em. Now, how do I use up the rest? I'm thinking of putting them in an omelet for him. Any other ideas?

I also have some millet and pearled barley. Can I just cook them and add them to a dish, like you would w/ rice?

The baked apples that I made the other day turned out great. I washed them and cut out the core, leaving apples w/ holes in them. I combined some chopped butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and chopped pecans, and stuffed that into the apples. I baked them in a small Pyrex dish for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. The stuffing mixture started to melt and come out the bottom of the apples, and then sizzle and splatter. So, I opened the oven and poured a little bit of water in the dish. In retrospect, I should've done that before I put the pan in the oven. (You know, I bet apple cider would be good instead of water!) I saved all the juicy drippings and have been adding it to flavor oatmeal for breakfast. Yum!

[isosmom]

Nu Mommy - I would make smoothies with the yoghurt today and then freeze it, kinda like frozen yoghurt.
Jennisee - I bet you could just cook those grains and throw em into things when you need them. Although millet doesn't freeze the best imo.
Tonight we're having pasta with sauce and veggie crumbles that have been in the freezer forever and a green salad with roasted garlic dressing (we've got a ton o garlic)

[annettemarie]

Originally Posted by isosmom

Nu Mommy - I would make smoothies with the yoghurt today and then freeze it, kinda like frozen yoghurt.

Oh yeah, we freeze leftover smoothies in make-your-own-popsicle molds all the time.

nak
Annette

[nitareality]

Okay...I've had these in my pantry for over two years : Jasmine rice noodles (thicker...almost fettucinni thickness) and rice stick (super thin). I originally bought the thicker rice noodles to replicate some fried (but soft ) rice noodles from my long ago favorite take out place. I could never figure out what sauce they were using (brown...it would get crusted up on the noodles in places ) so I never opened the package. I'm willing to give up the dream of these fried noodles, but what else can I do? I have a large array of ingredients...except hoisin(?)...if I had that I would make the yummy peanut sauce I've seen floating around here. Any idea? Then the rice stick...goodness knows why I purchased these other than I love noodles and especially thin noodles, but I'm stumped with these. I (LOL and especially DH...he gets a little irate about food that we moved in summer 2004 and still haven't used : ) would be so thrilled to see these go to tasteful use!

[Nu_Mommy_2003]

Originally Posted by isosmom

Nu Mommy - I would make smoothies with the yoghurt today and then freeze it, kinda like frozen yoghurt...

Great Idea DS thought we had popscicles. But what to do with the Raw Milk???

[Jennisee]

Originally Posted by Nu_Mommy_2003

Great Idea DS thought we had popscicles. But what to do with the Raw Milk???

Do you have any pudding mixes around? You could make pudding, and maybe even freeze some as pudding pops. Or you could make homemade pudding, but I'm not familiar w/ how to do that.

I know a lot of people who like rice w/ milk and sugar.

You could use it to make milk-based sauces like alfredo sauce or white gravy.

You could use it to thin cream cheese for a cold pie. Then add some cocoa for a chocolate pie, or lemonade for a lemon pie, etc. Then fold in some whipped cream or Cool Whip and spread in a graham cracker crust or already-baked pastry crust. Chill.

Ok, I know I'm really stretching it here.... :LOL

[Rainbowbird]

Ohhh, I am so glad I found you guys...

I participated in the Jan. thread but somehow missed the link to get over here. I thought, wow, all those people decided not to do this again???!! LOL

Anyway, by chance I finally happened over here. I loved the old thread so this is great!

We are going to the store today for some toddler essentials (bananas, milk, cheerios) and a couple of things DH wants (coffee, blueberry juice( but I'm keeping it to a minimum. I've actually had better luck sticking to my grocery delivery service. Despite the shipping (I get a discount though so sometimes I only pay 2.95) I save b/c it is all so planned out and I avoid impulse buys. And it is so great not to lug groceries and a toddler around in the snow!

I'll post more later...gotta read those meal ideas and get organized around here...

[annettemarie]

Potentially Stupid Question

Can frozen bread dough (thawed of course!) be used as a pizza base?
Thanks!
Annette

[Jennisee]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

Can frozen bread dough (thawed of course!) be used as a pizza base?
Thanks!
Annette

I would think that it would taste different and have a different texture than pizza dough, but I'll bet it would still taste good. I've made pizza on all kinds of bases--biscuits, French bread, English muffins.