Pantry Challenge
We've taken on a challenge, to prepare meals using what's already in the pantry or freezer, adding only milk, eggs, and fresh fruits and veggies.
Unfortunately, some items do get shoved way back in the pantry (very bad design), so we found our full tin of saltines was stale, stale, stale. They refused to unstale, no matter which method we tried, so we tossed them over the fence to the buck herd, who weren't so picky... We even had to clean the tin with a little bleach to finally get the stale smell out of it. Not buying that brand again...
Grocery shopping is sure easy now. We just buy milk, eggs, salad fixings, and distilled water for the cats and WLToo's Bipap machine.
Our garden is only producing the occasional onion at the moment, and a fair amount of cilantro. Broccoli is looking good, but hasn't made heads yet. The greens are getting eaten up by something that just won't die, no matter how much we spray the plant, so I don't see mustard or turnip greens in our immediate future.
We tried using the black truffle oil we got for Christmas, but it's got no real flavor, so I'm thinking we'll make a salad dressing with it, just to get rid of it. I think oil, red wine vinegar, and herbs de provence - to keep it subtle.
Next, I'm baking a jelly cake, to get rid of all the jams and jellies people keep giving us, that we don't eat. I plan to experiment with biscuit mix, eggs, and jellies as the only moisture. Even if it goes flat, it will still be edible. Might do the same with pancakes.
The two cake mixes will become pumpkin cakes. That will get rid of all the packaged mixes and the extra cans of pumpkin.
Chest freezer is in good shape, now that we've moved the older packages from the bottom to the top, although we could use some more vegetables. But we'll put a dent in the canned veggies first.
Have three shelves of herbs and spices to go through as well. As we use up a particular type, we're not restocking unless it's one we use all the time. No premixed seasonings - I can make those myself. Found Emeril's Bayou Blast recipe online, so I made a salt free version as well as the regular one.
This is fun, although it's going to take a very long time, since there are only two of us and we don't eat that much.
Inspired a friend to do the same. At the very least, when we're done, we'll have cleaner pantries.
Unfortunately, some items do get shoved way back in the pantry (very bad design), so we found our full tin of saltines was stale, stale, stale. They refused to unstale, no matter which method we tried, so we tossed them over the fence to the buck herd, who weren't so picky... We even had to clean the tin with a little bleach to finally get the stale smell out of it. Not buying that brand again...
Grocery shopping is sure easy now. We just buy milk, eggs, salad fixings, and distilled water for the cats and WLToo's Bipap machine.
Our garden is only producing the occasional onion at the moment, and a fair amount of cilantro. Broccoli is looking good, but hasn't made heads yet. The greens are getting eaten up by something that just won't die, no matter how much we spray the plant, so I don't see mustard or turnip greens in our immediate future.
We tried using the black truffle oil we got for Christmas, but it's got no real flavor, so I'm thinking we'll make a salad dressing with it, just to get rid of it. I think oil, red wine vinegar, and herbs de provence - to keep it subtle.
Next, I'm baking a jelly cake, to get rid of all the jams and jellies people keep giving us, that we don't eat. I plan to experiment with biscuit mix, eggs, and jellies as the only moisture. Even if it goes flat, it will still be edible. Might do the same with pancakes.
The two cake mixes will become pumpkin cakes. That will get rid of all the packaged mixes and the extra cans of pumpkin.
Chest freezer is in good shape, now that we've moved the older packages from the bottom to the top, although we could use some more vegetables. But we'll put a dent in the canned veggies first.
Have three shelves of herbs and spices to go through as well. As we use up a particular type, we're not restocking unless it's one we use all the time. No premixed seasonings - I can make those myself. Found Emeril's Bayou Blast recipe online, so I made a salt free version as well as the regular one.
This is fun, although it's going to take a very long time, since there are only two of us and we don't eat that much.
Inspired a friend to do the same. At the very least, when we're done, we'll have cleaner pantries.
