Anyone up for an April Pantry Challenge? - Page 2

[happy1nluv]

Jello: You could always make one of those multi-layered bundt pan things with it... You know, make a layer one color, let chill in the mold - then keep going til full. If you are daring, you can add fruit to the layers. They are pretty at least...

Can't think of anything else...and yea, I agree about the mayo + jello = foul... sorry.

[mmgarda]

Help me!

We are TOTALLY broke and our pantry is WAY stocked now (thank God/ess). Ok, I actually do need to go get bread, pasta, cereal and coffee. But that's IT. And I could actually hold off on the cereal if I need to.

SO, how does this work? Do we share recipies? Do we post a list of ingredients?

I have a chicken in the crock pot and leftover potatoes in the fridge, so that's dinner for tonight. I plan to save some of the chicken and shred for tacos tomorrow.

Where do I go next?

[KC in KS]

Melina, I think a group like this is helpful for new ideas on what to do with the odds and ends in your pantry. A woman in another group I was in discovered she had six boxes of powdered milk, for example, just couldn't make that many cookies! So we all chimed in with other things to do with it. You might get just ideas, you might get recipes.

Here's one of mine. For Christmas, DH got a five POUND can of black olives. All I ever do with black olives is serve them as a side dish, or occasionally on a salad or tacos. Basically, they're a garnish to me. Anybody have any other suggestions?

KC

[mmgarda]

Olive suggestion

Oo! You could make tapenade and freeze it. . .

Put the olives (and if you have other types of olives) in the food processor or blender with chopped garlic, a little vinegar and some italian herbs (dried). Pulse until it's all chopped fine. If you are able to can it, great! If not, put small portions in the freezer. Then you can spread it on sandwiches, eat it with crackers, stir it into pasta sauce, add it to soups. . .

[mommaem]

Originally Posted by mmgarda

Oo! You could make tapenade and freeze it. . .

Put the olives (and if you have other types of olives) in the food processor or blender with chopped garlic, a little vinegar and some italian herbs (dried). Pulse until it's all chopped fine. If you are able to can it, great! If not, put small portions in the freezer. Then you can spread it on sandwiches, eat it with crackers, stir it into pasta sauce, add it to soups. . .

You could use other canned items, right?? i just really dont like olives!! This thread is great...i also have a ton of stuff in the pantry! just dont know what the heck to do with it...mostly consists of beans..chic peas,garbonzo,black...and tomatoes i dont get canned fruit or veggies ever...i know i have some other misc stuff in the pantry as well. oh yeah i love articokes..so any good recipes would be wonderful, i need new recipes,kwim?!!!! thanks momas
emily

: :7-23-05 :2bfbabe:

:

[mmgarda]

tapenade=olives

You can't really make tapenade w/o olives, so I wouldn't suggest other canned items for it. It was just a suggestion to help KC use up the 5 lb. can!

[Synchro246]

Originally Posted by KC in KS

July Day Salad
1 box (3 ounces) lemon-flavored Jello
1 cup boiling water
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cups (1 pound) creamed cottage cheese
1/2 cup minced celery
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon instant minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds
Salad greens

YEEEUCK! Sounds like the person who invented that was doing a pantry challange. I have a few questions- what is "instant" minced onion? and what is "creamed" cottage cheese?

You know what I think I might have the ingredients needed for this (as long as the onions don't have to be "instant"). I'm going to make it just for the heck of it. Let's see how much I can eat before I puke.

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Millet?

One thing I have an over abundance of is millet. I'm not sure why I even bought it. It must have been on sale!

Any ideas? We do eat meat, so it doesn't have to be vegetarian, but veg recipes are just as welcome.

[aisraeltax]

in order for me to do this, i need to take one trip to get things that i can actually use for all the crap i have in my pantry, such as flour, oats and just a few things.
this is what i have most:
pasta, pasta, pasta
tomato products (tomato sauce and tomatos)
soups
lentils
ramin (sp?)
a huge box of bisquix that i never use
a million bottles of dressing (dont ask me why...dont really know)
canned fruit (i eat it for lunch b/c its easy with the baby and i know fresh is better but sometimes im lucky to open a can and stick a fork in it, kwim?)


thats all i can think of for now.
im going to make some macaroni and cheese tonight, so that will exhaust my elbow pasta i think.

i can do another chicken soup and use my orzo for that.

would like to do something different...been watching a bunch of cooking shows. i have never liked to cook and am trying to learn to enjoy it. anyone else in that situation?

[mmgarda]

Millet and Bisquick suggestions

For Millet - use it like you use rice. Add it to soup, use it w/ stirfry (I particularly like it topped w/ a curry-spiced stirfry), cook it in broth and serve it as a side. Also, you can add nuts, dried fruit and milk and eat it like oatmeal.

For Bisquick - make pancakes! or biscuits! Use it as a topper for shepherd's pie or a pot pie.

[Poddi]

I'm in. Mostly I want to clear out my freezer so I can defrost it. Saving money always feels good, too. Can anybody tell me what I'm supposed to do with canned broad beans (fava beans)? Any tips on using up my 6 cans of cream of mushrooms would be appreciated, too.

[aisraeltax]

anyone have good recipes for shephards pie or pot pie? i love both.

last night i used up 2 boxes of elbow macaroni to make mac and cheese. dh doesnt like it though..says its too bland. im thinking of putting some stewed tomatos in it..any thoughts? i hate the thought of this huge dish sitting there.

[mmgarda]

Shepherd's or Pot Pie

The nice thing about these dishes is that they are SUPER easy to make and they're of the throw-whatever-you-have-in variety.

Basic Recipe

2 c. chopped/shredded/ground meat, already cooked
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 c. peas
1 can cream of vege/cream of chicken soup OR 1 1/2 to 2 c. gravy
Mashed potatoes OR bisquit mix OR cornbread OR pastry
Salt
Pepper
Herbs (Chicken: rosemary, sage, tarragon, basil, thyme; Red Meat: thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram; Southwest: cumin, garlic, oregano, chili powder, cayenne)

Saute onion, celery and carrots in a little oil until starting to soften. Mix in with meat, peas, soup/gravy, salt, pepper and herbs. Top with potatoes, bisquit, cornbread batter or pastry. Bake according to topping instructions (or ~30 min at 350 degrees for potatoes - until browned and everything is heated through).

Of course you can vary the veges any way you like. We sub green beans or asparagus or broccoli for the peas. Chicken works well with creamy soup, beef and pork work well with gravy. If I'm doing a siouthwest version I usually throw in bell peppers, tomatoes or tomato paste and corn instead of carrots and peas.

[lincap]

I'm in!! I have to check what we have in there!!! I will probably need help with some items!!!

Also :

[mmgarda]

Help me use up my TVP

I never really figured out how to use this stuff, but I'd like to get rid of it. . .seems like a perfect candidate for the pantry challenge.

Ok, first, it's probably a year old. It's been in my fridge. Is it still ok?

If so, I'd like to throw it into an easy lasagna or pasta bake. What's the best way to reconstitute it? Should I just mix with the sauce and bake or should I soak it first or what?

What would you all do with it?

[sarah10998]

reconstitute the tvp use proth if you have it, that will make it less bland. I use it in anything I would use ground meat but I add extra spices because it doesn't have much flavor by itself, meatloaf, chili shepard pie tacos. all good with tvp HTH Sarah

[mmgarda]

HOW do you reconstitute?

That's the part I don't know. How much liquid? How long do you soak it?

And my other question is how long does TVP last? Does it go bad?

FWIW, I threw it into some chili. It soaked up ALL the liquid and I must have added like 4 more cups of water. It was just over 1 c. TVP, so. . .

[aisraeltax]

i have a million cans of tomatoe soup. i think its from when dh was sick and wouldnt eat anything other than tomatoe soup. anyone have any good suggestions?
i got rid of 2 boxes of banana cream jello last night and a box of angel cake mix. i made the cakes cut them in 2 and put hte banana cream in the middle.
no, i would have NEVER done that without this challenge.

anyone know what to do with a box of chocolate cake mix for a family that doesnt like chocolate cake? no, i dont know how it got there. lol!

[mmgarda]

Tomato soup

Use as base for other soup (combine w/ broth, veges, meat)

Use as a base for chili in the crock pot (add beans, peppers, garlic, onions, chili powder, meat/tofu/tvp)

Make sloppy joes

Serve w/ pizza toppings (shredded cheese, pepperoni, sliced mushrooms)

Serve w/ grilled cheese or tuna sandwiches

Make casserole: rice + veges + soup topped w/ cheese

[TwinMom]

It's almost halfway through the month, but I'm joining, if that's okay. I don't think I could go through an entire month, anyway. My pantry is overflowing; you can see for yourself here. I've got to use up some of that stuff! I do need to purchase ingredients for what I'm making to take to Easter dinners, but other than that I am going to stick to what I have.

Umm, whoever has that 5-pound can of olives? You can send it straight to me, I will eat it in one sitting.