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Spring Pantry Challenge

3K views 91 replies 35 participants last post by  Hollysmom 
#1 ·
Here's the place for anyone wanting to use their pantry and stored foods.

You can organize your pantry, focus on using up what you have, avoid the grocery stores complete, or stock up your pantry.

To quote Amys1st from the January thread:
Some people do it to use things up and only shop for things like dairy etc. Others use it to supplement their normal eating habits. Do what you want and help everyone else. This works great for the no spend mamas as a supplement their challenges!

So, let's get together and share ideas and successes for the Spring.
 
#52 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ewp11100 View Post
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
 
#53 ·
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?
 
#54 ·
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.
 
#55 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by major_mama11 View Post
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).
 
#56 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Sihaya View Post
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?
 
#57 ·
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.
 
#58 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by HydeParkB View Post
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.
 
#59 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chimpmandee View Post
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
:
 
#60 ·
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
 
#61 ·
I'm in too! I just restocked our pantry - our food coop is taking a haitus till June (organizer is having a baby) so I placed a large order...I stocked up with flour, basmati rice, split peas, oatmeal, and chickpeas. We're good on flour and oil too, and the freezer has a ton of different meat (chickens, wild meat (elk, moose, dear), some bacon, pork chops, a pork tenderloin - and more!) I'll still have to shop for some veg and fruit - don't have much left from canning in the fall, but I definitely want to use up some of the stuff I have kicking around!

Anybody know how long cheese keeps in the freezer? I've had some in there since July...hmmm.....
 
#64 ·
I just threw away bacon because it was so old, DH was good about it but I know he is frustrated by the waste. I have a list of frozen food but it doesn't have dates so I don't know what I have to use first. This month I will go through the freezer again and mark the dates and then I will meal plan. And after this I will date things on my list.

Does anyone have a good website if how long you can keep food - frozen and non-frozen?
 
#66 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by annettemarie View Post
OK, another question--I have a lamb shank. I don't know what this is or why I bought it, but what can I do with it? Can I make a stew or soup for supper? Can I add some bulgar?


Lamb shanks are divine. I am pretty sure that it is the front leg of the animal.

Thaw it, sear it in oil, add some nice broth and simmer, simmer, simmer. It will make a flavorful broth and the meat should fall off the bone. I make them once a year for dh's birthday and simmer them in a bottle of red wine. Oi! So good.

I have used this technique (though I made some changes to the recipe since I was short ingredients: onion for leeks, parsley/thyme for herb de provence):

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...rovence-109263
 
#67 ·
The lamb stew was yummy.

OK, tonight's concoction:
I have these Mexican-flavored "beef crumbles". I know they're crap, but they were 4/$1 at the surplus outlet and I figured they would come in handy if I was in a pinch, but I need to use them. I also have some whole wheat tortillas and some salsa con queso, so I was going to make burritos by mixing the salsa con queso with the crumbles and put out some shredded cheese and tomatoes out. I'm out of lettuce
: so we may need to run out and get some for salad. Does that sound like it would work? I'm not exactly Top Chef material.
 
#68 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by annettemarie View Post
I have these Mexican-flavored "beef crumbles"....I'm out of lettuce
: so we may need to run out and get some for salad. Does that sound like it would work? I'm not exactly Top Chef material.

Do you have onion, green pepper, or beans? I might mix in some sauteed onion and/or green pepper and some cooked beans. (We have bags and bags of frozen green pepper strips from the garden.) I suppose it will depend on how well flavored the beef crumbles are - I'd probably have lots of salsa or other mexican seasoning nearby.

Today I had my first of the crockpot beans and rice servings I frozen over the weekend. Pretty good. I forgot to add cheese and extra salsa this morning, but it was still decent.

I've also got a couple recipes I want to try out this week - Sesame Chicken (we have a TON of sesame seeds. DH keeps buying new bags.) and Braised Pork with Shitake Mushrooms (in the crockpot!).
 
#70 ·
Dinner was great!

OK, today's pantry usage:
I had some frozen chicken breasts stuffed with broccoli that we had for lunch.

We're having chicken quarters marinated in a baja lime marinade for dinner from the freezer and pantry.

I also am thawing out some hummus that was BOGO.
 
#71 ·
I did pretty good this morning. While eating breakfast, I was able to boil some pasta for lunch. This pasta is OLD. And threw in some more frozen pesto. It's from 2005. I am really pushing the limits, but it tastes just fine.

DH bought bagels at Costco last night (UGH!, so expensive IMHO). So DD asked for "the red cheese." That apparently is cream cheese with sundried tomatoes. So, we continue to use those up. However, I think we'll need to keep an eye for sales on cream cheese again.

DD and I are going on a road trip over the weekend, so I am going to make sure to take some snacks and drinks and hopefully avoid any fast food along the way.

Last night I had a dream that the freezer in the basement was almost empty. Alas, it was just a dream.
I wonder if I should take a cookbook with me on my trip so I can do some meal planning.
 
#72 ·
My nephew is being deployed to Iraq. Next week he leaves for the pre-deployment training, so we had a big party for him last weekend. I had some frozen hors d'oeuvres that I was going to use over the holidays, but never did. I have 3 freezers (one that is the regular fridge/freezer) and one of them is filled to the gills with a side of beef and about 50lbs. of chicken. It was good to free up some room in the other freezer and use up the hors d'oeuvres. I am going to fill some of that space with IQF cookie dough balls. While I have the space, I make cookie dough, make the balls, put them on a cookie sheet, then freeze them IQF. Once frozen, I put them in zipper bags and can pull out a few at a time to bake for after-school treats.

Speaking of school, dd is about to be on spring break. We're not going anywhere and she loves to cook with me, so we're going to do a couple of things. I like to can soups, so we're going to make up bean soup and chili soup specifically for canning next week. Then I'm going to make up some baking mixes (I love my Make-A-Mix cookbook) for brownies and muffins and dd will get to have fun with my food saver. These mixes just require eggs/oil/milk and voila! We'll make the cookie dough (and eat a little
) next week, too.
 
#73 ·
So I fed the freezer today to use things. Our produce sent us a big honking cabbage, like the size of a basketball so I made stuffed cabbage again.
Bought some yummy home made ricotta so made mannicotti and a smaller lasagna with all other stuff on hand.

Some interesting things that have happened:

We have a neighbor who has kids the same age as our kids and our dd1s are in the same class so they are friends. We have gotten quite friendly so since we are big time cooks, we worked out a deal we give them at least one meal a week and they give us 64 oz of their keg beer. They claim that is there "buying in bulk" as I call it! They love my cooking and their dd loves it more- "Mom can we make it like Mrs L.....does..."
So this week they had a baked pasta dish and then last night tacos. We are all happy and some nights a bit tipsy!

Then, another neighbor who also are our friends and have 2dd twins in
dd1's class and their son is in dd2's class bought a 1/4 of a pig. We are arranging a trade for my beef. She is mad with all the bacon she got and we are doing cartwheels over it, so she will get ground beef and some roasts and steaks. I will get bacon "YUMMM), a ham, pork chops, and ham hocks for soup, and maybe even ribs!!

Tonight its swedish meatballs and again, a family is needing a meal so I am making enough for dinner, the freezer, and another family.
 
#75 ·
I am prepping tonight for making Sesame Chicken tomorrow night.

I did need to get green onions. However, I was able to use up 1/2 a yellow onion in the fridge, some congealed honey, sesame seeds (how did we get so many?), green peppers from the fridge. All the other ingredients were on hand, and I even made my own teriaki sauce.

And for this evening's dinner, we had Polish sausage from the freeze, a bag of frozen broccoli, homemade bread and home-canned spiced Red Hot apples. The sausage is one of our 'cheater' meals, but at least it was a well rounded meal.

However, there are still SO MANY TOMATOES in the freezer. Soup? Tomato Juice? I don't know!
 
#76 ·
I was getting something out of the deep freeze and stumbled on a bag of what looked like chicken parts. Dated 4/7/08 w DH's handwriting. So I let it defrost and figured I could make something with it for dinner or stock etc. Turned out, it was cut up chicken ready for cooking. I keep my menus from months past (yes a bit OCD, but it gives ideas for meals) so I looked up the date. DDs and I were out of town, DH was leaving out of town, so he must have cut up chicken we didnt use so he froze it. then I noticed we had a chicken dish and delivered one as well so we must have had too much.

So DH cooked it up and we had a chicken alfredo dish w broccolli last night. So much chicken, he had it for lunch w some more pasta and a cold dressing sort of thing. It was like finding money in your coat you didnt know was there LOL.
 
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