View Full Version : Use-It-Up Challenge
AmeliaJane
11-25-12, 3:17pm
I recently realized that my pantry/refrigerator/freezer were getting really out of hand...decided with a new year coming up in just over a month, it would be nice to start fresh with some clear space in my home. I know we have in the past had use-it-up challenges but I couldn't locate the thread, so here's a new one!
Over the last few days, I have used up:
--a bottle of barbecue sauce and most of the frozen chicken breasts making pulled chicken for sandwiches. Then I finished the pulled chicken!
--a box of tomato soup, eaten for suppers
--a jar of bacon jam and most of a sleeve of graham crackers, in two (separate) dishes brought to our Thanksgiving potluck
--sour cream (overbought due to a grocery list error) and frozen cranberries into a coffee cake
--the end of a jar of pickles, in egg sandwiches
For a bonus round, I also finished up three half-finished library books and a Netflix DVD over the long weekend so I could return them!
Meezer_Mom
11-25-12, 4:17pm
Bacon jam?! *off in search of recipe*
Bacon? Jam?
Used up the cabbage I bought last week to make cole slaw in the dog food I made this weekend.
Also made dog biscuits. Used up 3 separate bags of different kinds of flour.
Made salisbury "steak" and onion gravy and mashed potatoes and peas for dinner yesterday (and will eat this much of the week.) Decided to use up the remainder of the cranberry sauce I made for chik'n a la king last week. It's almost gone.
My problem? One word: condiments. Many, many open jars and bottles I'll probably never touch again. I'm thinking it's time for a purge. When do open condiments get too old, anyway?
SteveinMN
11-25-12, 10:37pm
When do open condiments get too old, anyway?
In my experience, open condiments sometimes last long enough to exceed the "best by" date on the container. Don't ask how I know this. :|(
Some condiments have no "best by" date. Very sweet or very sour/vinegary condiments tend not to support bacterial growth well and so can last quite a while -- months, perhaps even a year -- if they are uncontaminated with other foods. As a matter of organization, however, if it's been maybe a year since you last used a condiment/sauce, it's time for it to go. I've started writing the purchase/open date on the lid in permanent marker just so I don't have to remember that the oyster sauce dates back to 2010.
shadowmoss
11-26-12, 8:46am
I have made myself sick at least twice on mayonaise because I bought the jumbo 'cheaper' jar at Sam's. I live alone and don't make a lot of sandwiches. I now only buy small jars and check the dates. It was a joke at work for a long time about me and mayonaise.
I have a lot of hotel travel size shampoo, conditioner, and lotion (I stay down in the capital a lot) and I'm going to give those to the local orphanage. I live in Honduras, which is why any of the above sentence makes any sense. I was hording them, then realized that the shampoo doesn't do good things to may hair. I'll pass them on.
I'm going to inventory my food stash and start using it up.
lmerullo
11-26-12, 10:41am
I love these challenges - it is coming at an especially meaningful time for me. Dh had a recent heart problem, and as a result both of us are following a different diet. This means I am weeding out a lot of pantry items. This past weekend I think I got whittled down to only the things we can and will eat. That meant two boxes of food to my dd, and one to our work "snack" cabinet. Then, there was all the opened packages of flour, cornmeal, bisquit mix etc - trash, sigh!
Moving forward, I hope to be able to excavate the stand alone freezer and defrost it. With the big turkey I bought last year (on clearance) out of there, it is certainly doable before the end of the year.
ApatheticNoMore
11-26-12, 1:29pm
When do open condiments get too old, anyway?
when they are growing mold :). really never paid any attention to a condiment expiration date in my life, then really only tend to have pickles, mustard, sometimes bought salsa, vinegar, soy sauce, stuff like that (half this stuff like pickling was literally invented as a means of food preservation). Check for mold or the substance having become entirely dried up, give it a smell. Mayonaise had made me sick even when new, so ugh no, when I must have a mayonaise fix, I might as well go to a coffee shop type restaurant.
I hope this thread is not for food related use- it-up only. My use it up project is my fabric stash. I am working my way through it cutting all my leftover scraps into 3 and 6 inch squares. Then I intend to make a quilt of just the scraps.
Blackdog Lin
11-26-12, 8:18pm
Oh, Imerullo, I hope your husband's health problems become managable and he does okay, but try not to throw away any more pantry items! Perhaps you could think of a neighbor, or coworker, who might be willing to use them up?
DH's back got BAD for the last time in '06 or '07, he couldn't do his job anymore, and we were in a state of flux trying to figure out (what other job? disability? live on one income?, which is what we did for most of 2 years). And I'll be darned if a coworker of mine, who had gotten a recent diagnosis of being gluten-intolerant after 18 mos. of trying to find out what was wrong with her health, thought of me when she had to clean out her kitchen. All her bags of flour and cornmeal, and canned goods, and everything! that she couldn't eat anymore she gifted to us. She also had a garden glut of zucchini, as happens many years around here - we learned a LOT of ways to fix zucchini meals that summer. Anyway, we were so grateful, and felt so lucky that she thought of us when having to clean out her kitchen. It made a huge difference in our lives at that time, having those groceries.
Maybe you could think of someone who might be a home-cooker who could use the leavings of your kitchen, before you throw any more out.
I hope this thread is not for food related use- it-up only. My use it up project is my fabric stash. I am working my way through it cutting all my leftover scraps into 3 and 6 inch squares. Then I intend to make a quilt of just the scraps.
I don't see why it should.
And Apathetic--salsa easily grows mold. I buy an egg-free mayonaise and must get it in the small jars and keep it refridgerated because it collapses within about 2 months of me purchasing it. But as far as some of those stupid condiments I still have. Some of them are jars of crap I literally haven't opened in 3 or more years and I have an entire refridgerator door filled full of these jars. I must purge! --er, declutter.
pony mom
11-27-12, 12:22am
My use it up challenge is HABAs. Since I'm trying to switch over to totally pure, simple natural skin products, I've been using my Avalon Organics lavender moisturizers a bit more heavily than usual so I can start using my grapeseed oil exclusively. Love the AO stuff, but GSO is much cheaper. And a huge bottle of Alba Organics lotion will slowly be used up too.
BTW, my skin is glowing after just using it for a few days. Now I've got my mom doing the oil cleansing method in addition to GSO.
I have using up stuff in my pantry as well. It is unbelievable how many staples I have squirreled away all over the place.
AmeliaJane
11-27-12, 6:58pm
Finished off some broccoli slaw hanging around the refrigerator and some chocolate that had been hiding out in the back of the cupboard. (The fact that I could lose track of chocolate tells you how badly needed this challenge was!) For those wondering about bacon jam, I had been reading about it as a condiment for hamburgers and it was indeed very tasty! My grocery store stocks it.
AmeliaJane
12-1-12, 7:19pm
Yay! Black bean and butternut squash enchiladas took care of a can of black beans, a can of enchilada sauce, the end of a jar of chili powder, a bag of tortillas that were going stale, the ends of two bags of shredded cheese, a bag of diced squash, the last of an avocado, and an aging block of cream cheese.
Also finished two movies that had been hanging around so that I could take them back to the library.
Does anyone have suggestions as to what to do with refried beans other than making bean burritos? Somehow, I ended up with an overabundance.
I think it is time for me to purge the three year old ketchup hiding in plain sight in the door of the fridge. I just don't use ketchup for much of anything, apparently.
Refried beans, salsa, mix together, use as dip with taco chips. It's a more meal-like thing than just chips and salsa.
SiouzQ:
Oh, yeah. Probably going to purge (declutter) many of the condiments that have been monopolizing the door space in my fridge forever. Seriously, that jar of olive/fig tapenade that I opened several years ago and didn't like is simply not going to be eaten (and probably shouldn't) and not going into any recipe, either.
Does anyone have suggestions as to what to do with refried beans other than making bean burritos? Somehow, I ended up with an overabundance.
I make my dog food so I mix 2 full cans in every time I make it. If you have a dog, you could mix in a little each night when you feed her.
AmeliaJane
12-8-12, 5:21pm
Have been busy with some other projects, but had a can of tomato soup from my stash for dinner a few days back, and used up the end of a package of flatbreads and a jar of artichoke tapenade for this afternoon's snack.
Yay! Black bean and butternut squash enchiladas took care of a can of black beans, a can of enchilada sauce, the end of a jar of chili powder, a bag of tortillas that were going stale, the ends of two bags of shredded cheese, a bag of diced squash, the last of an avocado, and an aging block of cream cheese.
Also finished two movies that had been hanging around so that I could take them back to the library.
Does anyone have suggestions as to what to do with refried beans other than making bean burritos? Somehow, I ended up with an overabundance.
Tostadas! Yum! Or toss them into a batch of chili or bean soup.
AmeliaJane
12-16-12, 3:57pm
Today's clean-out project was a batch of chili in the crockpot (always my favorite way of using up anything vaguely Mexican-flavored). That took care of a can of black beans, a can of tomato sauce, half a giant can of diced tomatoes that had been leftover from another recipe, the end of a can of jalapenos, a lonely chicken breast, three wilting peppers, some sausage, and the tad end of a jar of salsa I didn't like all that much. I also used up the last of a package of prosciutto and the end of a jar of pickles making my lunch. (Lunch may also have included finishing up the guacamole from a lunch out yesterday, but I admit nothing :) )
I am loving being able to see the inside of my refrigerator...
fidgiegirl
12-16-12, 4:45pm
We have also been in use-it-up mode this weekend. I think tonight I will tackle some chilaquiles. I have been dreading frying up the tortillas, but I think the whole thing will just be mushy if I don't.
This morning I rendered bacon fat from a very fatty package we bought. I cut up the whole package into pieces and was able to fish out the meaty bits when all was done. We will use them in a potato soup this week - perhaps I'll prep it tonight for the crock pot. We'll see. The fat is set aside for a fish fry with my in-laws using up some of the bass DH and DFiL caught this summer. I think we'll make sure to do that over Xmas break - time to get that fish eaten up.
The fun part of the bacon project was how I learned how to do it. First I was mad about the package not being what I had hoped, and since it was from Whole Foods, it cost a mint so I was even MORE mad that I'd wasted money unnecessarily. Knowing WF I probably could have returned it and been fine. But I was telling some friends about this frustration, and one said, just use the fat for cooking. And I protested, cuz I was still mad, but she planted a seed. So then at lunch at work I have started sitting with some people from another program who just started eating lunch in our lunchroom. Turns out one of them is a hobby chef, a real foody. So I asked what HE thought I could do to utilize this bacon. And he gave the idea of the bacon bits, but I still wasn't satisfied, because I had it in my mind from friend #1 that we could ALSO use the fat, but I wasn't sure how that worked. So then a few days later I asked my MiL and FiL about the fat, and they said it would be fine and that was when he suggested we use it for the fish. Not until I had talked with all these people did I go online to find out what temp to put the pan at in order to accomplish this. It's just kind of the story of my life in a microcosm, that little project. I love the Internet, but usually need some other people to make these DIYs and learnings possible. It makes me smile. :D
fidgiegirl
12-16-12, 4:47pm
Today's clean-out project was a batch of chili in the crockpot (always my favorite way of using up anything vaguely Mexican-flavored). That took care of a can of black beans, a can of tomato sauce, half a giant can of diced tomatoes that had been leftover from another recipe, the end of a can of jalapenos, a lonely chicken breast, three wilting peppers, some sausage, and the tad end of a jar of salsa I didn't like all that much. I also used up the last of a package of prosciutto and the end of a jar of pickles making my lunch. (Lunch may also have included finishing up the guacamole from a lunch out yesterday, but I admit nothing :) )
I am loving being able to see the inside of my refrigerator...
LOVE chili - it's totally our go-to for a "clean-out" meal. We've even started keeping a "tomato leftovers" container in the fridge so that as we have dribs and drabs of pasta sauce, salsa, pizza sauce, etc. we keep it in there and chuck it in chili when we mix up a batch. No two chilis are ever the same!
A laugh - I thought the prosciutto went in the chili at first! Unique, I thought, but tasty? Then I re-read. :)
SteveinMN
12-16-12, 8:02pm
Tonight's dinner was today's use-it-up. "Artisan" brats (wish I could remember the flavor since neither one of us cared for it much) on a bag of sauerkraut I had had in the bottom of the fridge (for long-ago use with pork chops or a roast) and roasted red potatoes. It was a "desperation dinner" earlier in the week because I had to get something on the table fast (or we would have bought take-out). But it -- well, it was a swing and a miss. It hung around in the fridge for a few days, getting shuffled beneath other leftovers, and I've just dispatched it as my dinner.
Dinner tonight was soup made from pantry and freezer fixin's: one pound organic ground beef (from local organic store,) carrots and celery, garlic, beef stock and noodles form Aldi--made into delicious soup, cornbread and homemade Snickerdoodles. Aldi wine, orange juice and water were the beverages.
Also put the gasoline leftover from the lawnmower into my car..
Grossgrain ribbon, unused from the Latin Club Costumes was used on Christmas gifts.
Leftover "clumping cat litter" has been repurposed to my nursing trunk stock to waste medications of deceased patients.
All the kitchen waste is in the compost heap. If I can not use it all next spring, my gardening neighbors can.
The leftover 2x2 cotton gauze and leftover Norco from my daughter's wisdom tooth surgery will be saved until DS#2 has his extracted in about 1 year.
SteveinMN
12-18-12, 1:39pm
Leftover "clumping cat litter" has been repurposed to my nursing trunk stock to waste medications of deceased patients.
??? IMWTK...
treehugger
12-18-12, 1:59pm
The leftover 2x2 cotton gauze and leftover Norco from my daughter's wisdom tooth surgery will be saved until DS#2 has his extracted in about 1 year.
We have large stockpiles of 2x2 cotton gauze and other sizes of related items from when my husband was on dialysis. Any ideas on other ways to use these up? Neither us nor the dogs (thankfully!) injure ourselves frequently enough to use it for the medical purpose.
We have a few Norco left, too, from both our surgeries, but we are saving that for emergencies. :)
Kara
shadowmoss
12-18-12, 2:51pm
??? IMWTK...
I was thinking whether I really want to know what she was doing with the cat litter myself.
??? IMWTK...
I'll tell you if you tell me what "IMWTK" means.
When patients die, they often leave a lot of unused medications that legally can not be given to anyone else. We used to dump all that stuff down the toilet, but it started ending up in the water we all drink. So now, we mix the pills and liquid medications, add water if necessary, microwave to melt the controlled relase stuff and then mix it with cat litter to absorb it and double bag it and put it in the trash.
treehugger-around here we instruct family of deceased hospice patients to give those supplies to one of the local missions that travels to third world countries with medical missions. Or for some items they can not take, especially if expired, there is a local vet hospital that will take them.
treehugger
12-20-12, 5:01pm
treehugger-around here we instruct family of deceased hospice patients to give those supplies to one of the local missions that travels to third world countries with medical missions. Or for some items they can not take, especially if expired, there is a local vet hospital that will take them.
Great ideas, thanks! We did ask at the dialysis center, but (understandably) they didn't want any of it back. Didn't even think about offering it to my vet.
Kara
Fidgie: I don't get what the problem was w/ the bacon to begin with. You say too fatty but bacon by definition is fatty.
Why didn't you just cook it like regular bacon and eat it that way?
fidgiegirl
12-20-12, 6:19pm
It was thick cut, and I had never had bacon so fatty in my life. It was gross cooked normally . . . we're happy with the results now!
SteveinMN
12-20-12, 6:43pm
I'll tell you if you tell me what "IMWTK" means.
It means "inquiring minds want to know" :)
Thanks for the details. We've got a good amount of old stuff and I knew it could no longer go to the sewer. I like the idea of neutralizing it with the kitty litter.
shadowmoss
12-21-12, 9:19am
Hmmm. I thought it meant 'I Might Want To Know'. In this instance both work.
SteveinMN
12-21-12, 4:50pm
I've got a mess of greens cooking on the stove. Yum -- and they're all for me (DW does not like them). I forgot I bought them at the coop a couple of weeks ago; only had to toss a couple of small leaves for their extra "exposure" to the fridge. Threw in the bone to a spiral-sliced ham that someone brought to ... oh, I dunno -- Easter? :|( It's been in the freezer all this time and passed the smell test, so I'm using it up. Lunches for me this week!
Happy Holidays everybody! We are overflowing with food in our pantry and freezers right now.
My DH was in a very serious car accident and spent a couple weeks in ICU. He's home now and recovering. All of our incredible friends were bringing meals, baked goods etc. Of course we weren't even really home and my Mom had my kids so she just kept putting all of this into the freezer.
I am already overstocked because of a great garden year and we raise our own meat, so three freezers are full to the brim. I would like to STOP grocery shopping and start using up the bounty. Unfortunately that takes extra time, organization and motivation.
Add to all of this the generous snacky food gifts we have just received, cookies, candies, cheeses and crackers and we could seriously live for months and months on this.
So this morning the kids and I sorted snacks. Packages of unopened food (lots of it gifts) and filled 8 grocery bags of assorted items. I will pull one bag out each week for the week instead of going to the store. This also helps regulate my 14 year old son. We always have fruit, granola, oatmeal, things for sandwiches to have for snack but if there is a box of cookies in the house that's the first thing he'll grab. This way they get treats for the next two months and I can make sure the good healthy food gets eaten too. I try to go for an 80/20 philosophy around here. 80% organic healthy, 20% to fill his teenage cravings. We find it's a good balance for us.
So I am in full use it up mode!
Today, day after Christmas we are finishing our takeout leftovers from Christmas Eve dinner (family tradition) and dinner will be homemade chicken meatball soup with some escarole in the produce drawer that must be eaten today. I have fresh Italian bread rising to go with it. My baking supply cabinet is out of control too....but more about that later.
SteveinMN
12-26-12, 5:42pm
I'm sorry to hear about the car accident, TMC, but I'm glad DH is on the mend. It sounds like you have the food situation under control, too -- at least saving you some time and effort in shopping for the food, if not in planning meals from the bounty.
I'm sorry to hear about the car accident, TMC, but I'm glad DH is on the mend. It sounds like you have the food situation under control, too -- at least saving you some time and effort in shopping for the food, if not in planning meals from the bounty.
Thanks so much. I just need to put forth some creativity and organization, thawing on time for example. I'm hoping to keep myself honest by posting here. :)
I would like to save 80% of my food budget for January to pay off some out of pocket medical bills from the accident. This includes eating out. January should be easy, dreary February will be harder.
fidgiegirl
12-26-12, 8:05pm
Uffda, TMC, that is no good about the accident. But what generosity! And I am so glad you are planning how you can use it up so the food love doesn't go to waste. So easy to overlook something or other when there is so much.
We planned pretty well for the Xmas dinner we hosted, those leftovers were gone the next day and the turkey's already been boiled down into stock. The rest of the meat is in a soup right now. Other than that, we can use up some freezer stuff this week while we're home.
We also purchased no wrapping over Xmas and continue to use ours up. It never really dwindles, though, because we use bags that we just put back in the stash for the next year. :) Even if we give things in bags to others outside of the family people often give them back because they don't want them, either! It's pretty crazy, actually.
Ok, here is my killer cheap burrito recipe and cost.
Many of the ingredients were purchased @ the salvage store Fresh to Frozen
9 12" whole wheat tortillas 1.19
3-12" white tortillas from old bag that was left over .29--that's price for flour tortillas @ Fresh to Frzn has skyrocketed since September from .88 per bag to 1.19 per bag!
3 cans beans .88 each
1 c. picante sauce--this had been sitting in my fridge and was going to go bad--I think it cost about $1
1 can enchilada sauce--again lingering in the pantry
1.5 cups dry Jasmine rice (remainder of bag)--.50
remainder of bag of Daiya cheddar that I got on sale $2
one pretty old jalapeno pepper that was languishing in my fridge .25?
1 sweet onion--.50
1 red pepper--1.34
olive oil--.10?
frozen corn--.50
Ok this made me 12, count 'em 12 big burritos for like @ .90 each! I ate one for din-din and put the remainder in the freezer (first I individually wrapped them in plastic and then froze the lot in the bag the torts came in.) This will be my go-go emergency meal whenever I'm really desperate for the next 2 months!
I think that's phenomenal. They are about 50% larger than the Amy's burritos that are rock bottom cheap @ Mart-mart @ a price of $2.28 each. I saved a ton making these and used up several things that were going to go bad...
Awesome, bunnys.
Huge, .90 meals.
Ok, here is my killer cheap burrito recipe and cost.
Many of the ingredients were purchased @ the salvage store Fresh to Frozen
9 12" whole wheat tortillas 1.19
3-12" white tortillas from old bag that was left over .29--that's price for flour tortillas @ Fresh to Frzn has skyrocketed since September from .88 per bag to 1.19 per bag!
3 cans beans .88 each
1 c. picante sauce--this had been sitting in my fridge and was going to go bad--I think it cost about $1
1 can enchilada sauce--again lingering in the pantry
1.5 cups dry Jasmine rice (remainder of bag)--.50
remainder of bag of Daiya cheddar that I got on sale $2
one pretty old jalapeno pepper that was languishing in my fridge .25?
1 sweet onion--.50
1 red pepper--1.34
olive oil--.10?
frozen corn--.50
Ok this made me 12, count 'em 12 big burritos for like @ .90 each! I ate one for din-din and put the remainder in the freezer (first I individually wrapped them in plastic and then froze the lot in the bag the torts came in.) This will be my go-go emergency meal whenever I'm really desperate for the next 2 months!
I think that's phenomenal. They are about 50% larger than the Amy's burritos that are rock bottom cheap @ Mart-mart @ a price of $2.28 each. I saved a ton making these and used up several things that were going to go bad...
This is excellent and exactly one of my goals. To keep ahead of everything before it goes bad and create good stuff that everybody will eat. These sound good!
Good day here, did not do any after Christmas shopping at all. Stayed home and used up stuff.
Kids home from school this week and DH not yet back to work.
Today was an odd assortment of fridge leftovers for lunch and breakfast was pumpkin French toast with some leftover frozen pumpkin purée and some homemade Italian bread that's going stale on my counter. Opened a can of pantry peaches and voila.
fidgiegirl
12-30-12, 7:41pm
Potato soup on the stove, a total use-it-up. I never realized what a great soup it is to use up dairy stuff. We had a lot of odds and ends from hosting Xmas, like some half-and-half, sour cream, etc. and I just dumped it all in.
Tussiemussies
12-30-12, 8:35pm
Potato soup on the stove, a total use-it-up. I never realized what a great soup it is to use up dairy stuff. We had a lot of odds and ends from hosting Xmas, like some half-and-half, sour cream, etc. and I just dumped it all in.
Sounds delicious with the sour cream and cream!
SteveinMN
12-30-12, 10:29pm
Catch-all turkey soup last night. Turkey bones from Christmas dinner, the meat (besides about a pound I pulled off the breast and froze and what has been used for turkey sandwiches to date), a "poor-blano" pepper that was looking a little spent, some leftover cabbage, chopped onion, carrots (okay, I added a few because I like carrots in chicken/turkey soup), celery that had inadvertantly spent overnight in the freezing car, a few leftover mushrooms, and some cumin and adobo seasoning. Lunch for a few days and lots more room in the fridge!
The last couple of weeks I have really been using up the holiday leftovers and bits of this and that--the end of a bag of coffee, bottle of fancy vinegar, tub of butter--at various times. Today, though, I made an apple caramel cake that let me clean out a bunch of apples that were too soft to eat out of hand (I had already made and frozen applesauce earlier this fall--yes, I sometimes let the apple supply get away from me...), half a jar of caramel topping, the end of two different bags of nuts, a bottle of vegetable oil, a half-cup of mini chocolate chips. It was a bit of a gamble as I ran out of oil and had to substitute melted butter for part of the fat, and also I put more fruit in than the recipe called for but darned if it didn't come out pretty well! I figured if it didn't work out and I had to toss it, I hadn't gone out to buy anything specially...
I've discovered the virtues of peanut butter balls: 1/2c peanut butter, 1/2c powdered milk, 1/4c honey. Mix, roll into balls, then roll balls in seeds, nuts, powdered cocoa, whatever. Refrigerate. Makes about 12.
So far I've rolled them in ovaltine powder and hemp seeds (both sample sizes), but I've got a mish mash of possibilities.
They are SO good and satisfy the sweet tooth on a starch-free diet.
AmeliaJane
1-20-13, 2:37pm
Still picking away at this, although more slowly. I'm starting to notice more space in the freezer and fridge, though. One milestone was that today I finished the last partial jar of pickles--there had been three or four in there when I started the project. Also made a pantry pasta last night that used up a bag of noodles and a can of tuna packed in olive oil.
One thing I seemed to have ended up with a lot of is hot chocolate mix. I do not drink much of that due to not liking extremely sweet beverages but it keeps arriving as gifts. Of course, I could take it to my office and give it away, but does anyone have any other ideas about what to do with it?
Tussiemussies
1-20-13, 3:03pm
Still picking away at this, although more slowly. I'm starting to notice more space in the freezer and fridge, though. One milestone was that today I finished the last partial jar of pickles--there had been three or four in there when I started the project. Also made a pantry pasta last night that used up a bag of noodles and a can of tuna packed in olive oil.
One thing I seemed to have ended up with a lot of is hot chocolate mix. I do not drink much of that due to not liking extremely sweet beverages but it keeps arriving as gifts. Of course, I could take it to my office and give it away, but does anyone have any other ideas about what to do with it?
If you like chocolate ice cream, maybe you could try using it with cream and a good ice cream maker? You'd probably have to work with it a bit, you might be able to take the hot chocolate recipe and use heavy cream for the water or milk part, don't heat it but mix well and pop into a good ice cream maker.???
I am working on using up a good portion of my fabric stash. There is too much of it. I'm making some items that I can donate to our church and school auctions this spring as well as some gifts. It's a good winter project and feels a lot more productive to me than knitting, which takes many hours to produce one small item.
fidgiegirl
1-20-13, 6:10pm
If you like chocolate ice cream, maybe you could try using it with cream and a good ice cream maker? You'd probably have to work with it a bit, you might be able to take the hot chocolate recipe and use heavy cream for the water or milk part, don't heat it but mix well and pop into a good ice cream maker.???
Love this idea - we seem to always be overrun with mix as well. It's a common teacher gift at Xmas, so DH receives a lot of it. :)
One thing I seemed to have ended up with a lot of is hot chocolate mix. I do not drink much of that due to not liking extremely sweet beverages but it keeps arriving as gifts. Of course, I could take it to my office and give it away, but does anyone have any other ideas about what to do with it?
Chocolate tapioca pudding! Use the hot chocolate mix in place of the cocoa powder and sugar that the recipe normally calls for. I've used up all manner of chocolate things by making chocolate tapioca pudding. Yummy! Maybe it's because I really love tapioca pudding, maybe it's because I really love chocolate, maybe it's both. Whatever the reason, it's so good that I'm going to go make some now!
Excess hot cocoa mix can also be donated to the food pantry or possibly your church's kitchen. Our church keeps it on hand for coffee hour.
Also, consider checking the ingredients and tossing any that contains hydrogenated oils.
decemberlov
1-21-13, 10:04am
Made a bean soup mix last night that I had in my pantry for ages. Also added some rice I had, diced tomatoes and chicken broth. It was amazing. Only thing I bought was a baguette for $1.00. So I did dinner for 5 plus lunch for today for $1 :cool:
It came from Womens Bean Project:
Women’s Bean Project strives to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty by helping women discover their talents and develop skills by offering job readiness training opportunities.
With this stepping stone toward success, the women will be able to support themselves and their families, and create stronger role models for future generations.
fidgiegirl
1-21-13, 10:14am
Chocolate tapioca pudding! Use the hot chocolate mix in place of the cocoa powder and sugar that the recipe normally calls for. I've used up all manner of chocolate things by making chocolate tapioca pudding. Yummy! Maybe it's because I really love tapioca pudding, maybe it's because I really love chocolate, maybe it's both. Whatever the reason, it's so good that I'm going to go make some now!
A great, inexpensive idea for DH's lunch desserts. He always likes a sweet treat in his lunch.
So the mix we happen to have right now is drinking chocolate, it calls for mixing with milk, would I "make" the hot chocolate first, then work with it as liquid, or just use the mix as I might use, say, cocoa in a recipe? I have only made pudding once. No oils in this particular mix.
A great, inexpensive idea for DH's lunch desserts. He always likes a sweet treat in his lunch.
So the mix we happen to have right now is drinking chocolate, it calls for mixing with milk, would I "make" the hot chocolate first, then work with it as liquid, or just use the mix as I might use, say, cocoa in a recipe? I have only made pudding once. No oils in this particular mix.
Kelli, here's my basic method for making chocolate tapioca pudding using hot chocolate mix for the chocolate flavoring.
2-2/3 c milk (can use soy or almond milk)
3 tbsp small pearl tapioca (I prefer this rather than quick cooking)
1 or 2 large eggs, beaten (2 eggs makes it more custard-y, but I've made it with only 1 egg and it's still quite good; I've also made it with no eggs)
1/8 tsp salt (optional)
hot chocolate mix to taste (I would start with 1/3 of a cup and work from there)
Put the milk in a heavy bottom saucepan with the salt if you are using it. Heat to just barely boiling, stir in the tapioca and continue just below boiling for 1 minute, then reduce heat a bit and cook for 17-20 minutes stirring constantly. When it starts to thicken, slowly add the eggs while stirring, cook for about a minute, then add the hot chocolate mix. Stir until well combined, then taste test. Add more hot chocolate mix if you want it more chocolate-y. :D
You can do the same with chocolate chips, although you will probably need to add some sugar.
Hope that helps!
fidgiegirl
1-27-13, 10:45pm
Thanks, cdttmm! I'd likely omit the eggs, as I've always just ended up with a bunch of eggy flecks whenever I've tried similar experiments in the past. How does it thicken? I thought pudding always required corn starch to thicken.
We used up a bunch of chicken and chicken carcasses yesterday in a chicken wild rice soup, but haven't eaten any yet! Tomorrow night we will! I must take an inventory of use-it-up items. Soap purchasing is on a hiatus for a while, that's for sure. Eek!
Thanks, cdttmm! I'd likely omit the eggs, as I've always just ended up with a bunch of eggy flecks whenever I've tried similar experiments in the past. How does it thicken? I thought pudding always required corn starch to thicken.
Tapioca is an awesome (and gluten free!) thickener. I've recently discovered that it is tapioca starch that is often used in place of gelatin in order to make products vegetarian or vegan.
You may find that the pudding doesn't get really thick as you cook it, but it will continue to set up as it cools, so keep that in mind.
Oh, one more note, the recipe above makes 4 servings (of course, that's if you eat normal sized portions, which I can never seem to do when it comes to chocolate anything!!!).
fidgiegirl
1-28-13, 9:54am
Tapioca is an awesome (and gluten free!) thickener. I've recently discovered that it is tapioca starch that is often used in place of gelatin in order to make products vegetarian or vegan.
You may find that the pudding doesn't get really thick as you cook it, but it will continue to set up as it cools, so keep that in mind.
Oh, one more note, the recipe above makes 4 servings (of course, that's if you eat normal sized portions, which I can never seem to do when it comes to chocolate anything!!!).
You know, as I laid in bed last night I had a "doh!" moment about the tapioca being the thickening agent. LOL! Thanks!!
Small forward progress--I cleared out a couple of bottles of salad dressing. For some reason I have ended up with a million bottles even though I was not in the salad habit. One became the marinade for a batch of grilled chicken breasts, and the other I took care of by stepping up the salad eating.
Ok, I have a lot in the freezer that needs to be used. One thing is frozen veggies. I'm going to stop buying fresh ones until all the frozen are used. That way when fresh local ones are available I can buy them, including from my garden. Also, I want the freezer space for upcoming years harvest in the fall. Ditto for fruits.
I am on a gluten free diet and have been for years. I like the chocolate tapioca idea. Thanks! I have some unused cocoa mix. I haven't had very good luck with tapioca. I just made some with rhubarb and it was gummy. But I just cooked it with water, no milk or eggs. I just used a third of the sugar, though, and the sweetness was fine. Mixed it with yogurt and took away the gumminess. Anyone know, was the gumminess from cooking with only water, or did I cook it too long?
Now I need to restrict salt. So now, GF and low salt. :( My plan is to gradually use things up or give to the food pantry, depending on the amount of salt. I'm going to go through all the condiments, and some are too salty. Some unopened ones, like dill pickles or high salt salad dressing, I'll take to potlucks or give to charity. Also, canned salmon and tuna I'll wash and use very sparingly in salads. Also, I have some Mrs. Leeper's GF tuna casserole mix. I can still use the GF pasta, but the very salty sauce mix will have to go. I plan to mix non-salted with salted things as well. Like, I have some canned beans that have some salt. I will rinse them thoroughly then use a second can of unsalted beans for my chili. Luckily I have some frozen unsalted tomatoes. I'll add them to the low-sodium can I have. So, that's the basic strategy for anyone going on a low salt diet. Just watch the daily amount total. Dilute what you can by mixing with other things.
P.S. After writing the above, I made the chili. I also dumped some frozen corn in with it, a half-bag in the freezer. It tastes pretty good for very low salt.
fidgiegirl
3-16-13, 12:06am
Hi everyone,
I am back on the use-it-up bandwagon. Went through the freezers and cupboards today. I try not to keep tons and tons on hand but it does get out of hand sometimes. Condensed the tea supply down and mentally inventoried.
I did make the chocolate tapioca pudding! It was rich and delicious. Didn't use anything completely up but whittled it down, including some whole milk that needed to get gone.
Took note of my spices and plan to organize them, but the jars I wanted were out of stock at the store. They will ship them to me for no shipping fee, so that's good and saves a trip back.
AmeliaJane
4-13-13, 10:50pm
I was on a bit of a pause with cooking due to work and family commitments (and a round of the spring sniffles) but now I am on a Refrigerator Reclamation campaign. I thought of this thread because I had somehow bought too much milk and decided it would be a great time to try out the chocolate tapioca pudding experiment (one of my slow cooker cookbooks often calls for instant tapioca as a thickener so I have it around.)
So far: over the last week or so, used up half a bag of frozen shrimp and the rest of the frozen sausage in a jambalaya, other half of the shrimp, a bag of edamame, and some sad green onions in an Asian pasta salad, milk and cocoa mix in chocolate tapioca pudding, a mealy apple, a sample jar of honey, and the last of a bag of dried cranberries in a breakfast oatmeal parfait with Greek yogurt, two packets of spinach dip mix in a Greek yogurt dip, some asparagus and grape tomatoes that were past their prime along with a partial package of feta cheese in an improvised pasta, and just boiled a bunch of eggs near expiration date so I can have them in lunches and cooked some butternut squash that was at the end of its usefulness to go in enchiladas.
Sadly, I have also been tossing way too much but hopefully that will shrink now that I can pay closer attention.
AmeliaJane
4-14-13, 12:01pm
Came across this "use-it-up" project on the NPR website: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/04/11/176905108/a-project-to-rescue-pantry-puzzlers-before-they-hit-the-trash
My favorite part of the website is the Tumblr where people can post pictures of random cupboard finds and ask how to use them up. Some commenters are really creative, and sometimes I am struck by how little people seem to know about food and cooking. (Ie, what do I do with an unopened jar of Nutella? EAT IT! OR SEND IT TO ME!)
Another "reclamation round" this weekend. Used up cherry tomatoes and mushrooms in a pasta, juiced some blood oranges that were too withered to eat and put the juice in club soda, and used up the last of a Costco megabox of brownie mixes and some mini-chocolate chips and hazelnuts from a previous baking project in brownies for a party tomorrow.
Next weekend I have to make banana bread. The "freezer banana" population is way out of control and I have been tossing some out of sheer self-defense.
fidgiegirl
5-5-13, 10:40pm
Amelia, I love the juicing of the oranges idea.
We also put a lot of frozen bananas in smoothies. I get what you mean about the freezer banana population! We had so many for a while! We use a grocery delivery service and for whatever reason, they almost always send more bananas than what we order. :)
fidgiegirl
6-14-13, 5:02pm
AmeliaJane, I finally went to your link, it is super fun!! And as someone who works in technology integration I was glad to finally have a fun way to check out Tumblr. Another dangerous time suck there! :)
Well I am going to be on a use it up kick again. DH is on a fishing trip and I made myself two dishes that I've been eating all week and am kind of sick of them, so into the freezer some will go. But at the same time I'm trying to eat down the big freezer! Ay ay ay! Lots more fruits and veggies hanging out in my fridge than I'd thought as well. Going to try to do an inventory tonight and plan a few meals for the weekend and next week. I'll be home more so that will be nice.
fidgiegirl
6-15-13, 11:46am
Going to try this brownie recipe (http://www.yomommaruns.com/2013/04/clean-eating-avocado-brownies.html) to use up some frozen avocados.
fidgiegirl
6-15-13, 1:10pm
Well, the recipe ended up being a better use-it-up item than I had initially thought. I was going at it for the avocado angle but I also used a bar of baking chocolate that had been sitting in the cupboard for a long time, polished off a jar of honey from the co-op bulk section, and of course the avocados. I also emptied my baking soda jar so I can clean it out and refill from the Costco bag.
The avocados were fussy, though. I had frozen them whole at the last second on the way out the door to a vacation and they weren't ripe when I froze them. I think I salvaged them but it was messy and I am not sure it will give the rich and creamy flavor to the brownies that I imagine ripe ones would. Oh well! I still have two in the freezer but that's less space taken up than five!
ETA: Brownies are extremely moist, almost too moist. I wondered about this when I poured the batter in the pan - it was more liquid than batter. This may be the first brownie I'll prefer cold - I think chilling will firm them up and make them more fudgey than sopping-moist cake. But they have a nice dark flavor. It was worth the experiment, anyway.
fidgiegirl
6-16-13, 7:06pm
Had a salad for lunch, was pleasantly surprised to see that the lettuce was still good. Ate an apple (that had been languishing for a while, but still also quite good) on top and some salad dressing I'd brought home from work.
AmeliaJane
6-16-13, 9:53pm
I made a lunch dish that involved leftover rice, goat cheese and salsa (a little odd, but it came out well) and realized that I had all the makings for a favorite pasta dish involving blue cheese and tomatoes that used up some produce that needed to go. I caught a summer bug and haven't been very hungry, but it's been a good excuse to use up various abused bananas and frozen fruit in some smoothies. Also finally cleared out the end of a container of olives that's been hanging around for awhile. I wasn't feeling well enough to go to the grocery store this weekend so this week will be a good time to practice "ingenious frugality." I used to be really good at it in my poor student days. All weekend I've been saying, "I'm out of X, do I have to go to the store now?" and realizing that no, I have Y that will work well enough to get me through the week.
fidgiegirl
6-16-13, 10:24pm
Why, that's . . . well . . . ingenious! :D
fidgiegirl
6-17-13, 2:50pm
Just stuffed myself on Thai Noodle Salad (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/thai-noodle-salad-2/detail.aspx), which started on the bag of shrimp from Costco, made progress on the box of rice noodles, used an old carrot and some garlic salt (why did I ever buy that?) and some old frozen peppers. It was yummers!
I wanted to ask you all - what would you do with some frozen bass? It really needs used up but has been in the freezer a while so I don't want to thaw and cook it by itself . I'm thinking a soup? But it's not really soup season. Maybe I could bread up the chunks and make some kind of fish bites. Hmmm. Ideas very welcome.
AmeliaJane
6-17-13, 3:57pm
Re: frozen fish...I had the same problem awhile back with some frozen tilapia and made this:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Halibut-Pot-Pie-with-Mashed-Potato-Crust-236492
It is really not too heavy. I had a coupon for a free package of mashed potatoes from the refrigerated section of the grocery, and it worked great! I don't care for fennel, so I substituted in asparagus and it was fine. Afterward I was thinking some sliced mushrooms would have been a good add.
fidgiegirl
6-17-13, 5:22pm
It looks fantastic. Is the flour just a thickener? I can easily sub corn starch if so but I always like to understand the function of the flour.
what would you do with some frozen bass?
I'd bake it and top it with a flavorful sauce. My preference would be like a thinned hoisin sauce, but you wouldn't want to buy hoisin sauce if you didn't already have it (it's a stock item for us). Without hoisin sauce, you could use a less-sweet barbecue sauce. Either way, you could baste as you cooked to try to work some moisture back into the fish. Or maybe use a very light vegetable-based or tomato-based gravy with an herb like dill in it (or maybe a thickened tomato or V8-type juice).
fidgiegirl
6-17-13, 6:52pm
Hmm, the tomato base idea reminds me of my fave Mexican fish dish, huachinango a la Veracruzana (http://allrecipes.com/video/1048/veracruz-style-red-snapper/detail.aspx). Plus, it's really fun to say. I have never made it with red snapper - hey, have I ever even made it myself? So delicious. Could use the bass in that.
Or, we have some chipotle pomegranate sauce from Tastefully Simple. I wonder if that would work.
I make my own hoisin-like sauce. I use a base of soaked, pureed prunes or dried apricots. Add a little rice or cider vinegar, some soy sauce, a pinch of cayenne or a little chili-garlic paste. I usually make about a cup at a time, divide it into thirds, and freeze 2 small containers of it.
SteveinMN
6-18-13, 10:29am
I'll have to try that one, Rosemary -- as soon as the big jar of hoisin sauce is gone! :)
fidgiegirl
6-18-13, 7:31pm
Well, Steve, it IS the Use It Up thread. Get on that! ;)
I am supping on the remainder of a not-so-delicious box of tomato soup, improved with salt and pepper. :) I also had a salad of the borderline lettuce and some olives that had been hanging around. I decanted the leftover oil/vinegar from a jar of artichokes from Costco into an easier-to-pour bottle. It is delicious as a salad dressing, but I hadn't been using it because the jar was hard to pour from.
I will have one of the brownies for dessert. I noticed they don't leave me crazy for more sugar after I eat them, like brownies with white sugar or lots of grains might. Huh. I should try your recipe you shared a while back, Rosemary. Didn't it have prune paste or something like that? You are pinning a lot of good ones lately, too.
Well, Steve, it IS the Use It Up thread. Get on that! ;)
It's a BIG jar...:help:
Wasn't quite sure where to post this one...
But I decided on Use-it-Up because it did.
http://i44.tinypic.com/n4wric.jpg
Braised beef with carrots. It finished up the string beans and the noodles, as well as the carrots which were starting to wilt in the crisper, all the remaining garlic I froze last fall, the remainder of an old opened bottle of wine, and the remainder of my little tub of Herbes de Provence. And it is tassssss-ty!
AmeliaJane
6-22-13, 10:16pm
Mine was not nearly so photogenic--a chicken enchilada casserole that took care of the last frozen chicken breast, a package of frost-bitten corn tortillas, some black beans and green chiles that were hanging around the cupboard, and a container of sour cream. Also bacon and tomato sandwiches for lunch that used up the last tomato and the bacon.
fidgiegirl
6-22-13, 11:10pm
Mmmmmmm mmm!
Kelli - the brownies I've been making lately are based on a can of black beans! Here's the recipe. You can bake it in the oven, and omit the spices if desired. I don't care for the flavor of banana in my brownies but these are excellent made with roasted, mashed sweet potato or canned pumpkin in place of the banana. Might need to add more sweetener or some pureed dried fruit if you use pumpkin since it's not as sweet. I never use agave - use any liquid sweetener in its place.
http://healthyslowcooking.com/2010/02/08/slow-cooker-black-bean-brownies-gluten-free/
fidgiegirl
6-23-13, 9:47am
Thanks Rosemary!
I'm going to try hard to only use what I have here at home. It's just me right now. Everyone is gone visiting. So, my challenge to myself is to see how long I can go without buying anything. I find myself running the store 3 or 4 times a week for odds and ends. I think I spend too much.
Since we are ditching the freezer, I have a large quantity of shredded raw zucchini to use up... Will keep you posted!
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