Since we hope to be moving soon, we’re trying to make a concerted effort to eat food from our fridge, freezers and pantry. That way, we have less to move and can use up some of the food that we’ve had for ages. The added bonus is that we’ll have to buy less at the grocery store.
Thus enters the “Eat-what-we-got” Challenge.
Dum, dum, duuuuuum.
And I thought you could help – by sharing simple recipes that will use up some of the ingredients below. I’ve already begun pinning meal possibilities here.
I usually do not plan meals because I have a stubborn will that leads me to want to eat anything other than what I’ve planned for that night. But for this challenge, I think it’s necessary. I’m going to try to post a week’s worth of meals on Sunday for the next month or so, using the things in the fridge/freezer/pantry.
I’ll just list the options and can choose what to make each day. I’ll share how I did the next week.
And then you can share some simple recipes for future weeks, to use up all the food we have. Deal?
This weeks’ meals:
Lime garlic chicken with frozen corn and hash browns
And here’s the list of what we currently have. There may be some things I’ve missed, but this is most of it. It’s relatively ridiculous. I’m clearly a food hoarder, which is unnecessary when there’s only two of us. I’ve colored the items I’ll be using this week in red.
Meat
Pre-cooked ground sausage
Chicken tenderloins
Chicken breast
Ground beef (2)
Breakfast sausage
Beef roast
Pre-made lasagna
Chili (2)
Salmon
Tilapia
Vegetables
Frozen corn (4)
Frozen mixed veggies (2)
Frozen snap peas
Frozen peas
Frozen shredded zucchini and squash
Frozen Asparagus
Frozen winter squash
Potatoes
Hash browns (4)
Fruit
Strawberries
Peaches
Rhubarb
Cheese
Cheddar (4)
Mozzarella (3)
Italian blend
Mexican (2)
Cream cheese (4)
Pasta
Penne (2)
Macaroni
Lasagna
Fettucini (2)
Linguine
Spaghetti (3)
Egg noodles (2)
Canned goods
Black beans (6)
Tomato sauce (7)
Tomato paste
Pizza sauce (2)
Spaghetti sauce (5)
Mushroom
Tuna (2)
Corn
Manwich (2)
Cream of mushroom soup
Cream of chicken soup (2)
Baked beans (3)
Olives (2)
Artichoke
Enchilada sauce (4)
Misc.
Bisquick
Taco seasoning (5)
Tortillas
Beef stew seasoning
French onion soup mix (2)
Italian seasoning (3)
Corn bread
Walnuts
Brown rice
White rice
Raisins
Peanuts
Pecans
A variety of baking supplies, including flours, sugars, etc.
I’ve added this list to my sidebar and will update it weekly.
So, any ideas for simple recipes to make in future weeks? Spill it (with links, if you please)!
We’ve done this from time-to-time, it’s fun!! 🙂 Here’s one of my favorites that you have all the ingredients for (I think!):
http://phasesofthemoons.blogspot.com/2008/06/pasta-italia-easy-summer-dish-great-for.html
It’s on my good friend Anna’s blog, so I hope she doesn’t mind me linking it here! 🙂
Just got an email for this recipe today and thought of you – between your extra fresh basil and the items you listed above, I think you’d have a good number of the ingredients for it … and it looks so yummy!
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/creamy-tomato-basil-pasta-chicken-115510.aspx?cm_mmc=eml-_-mtd-_-20110712-_-6009
14 things of cheese?!?! I never remembered there being this many cheeses when I was there! I will be looking closer from now on.
It looks like you have almost everything you would need for Spaghetti Pie, one of our favorites! (I think the pre-cooked ground sausage would be fine.) http://feedmyfamily.blogspot.com/2011/02/spaghetti-pie.html
I’m not sure if anyone has posted something like this yet, but it would be very easy with your variety of pastas and is very quick! Making sure you use the right amount of wine is essential to the flavor! And salt and pepper!
Spaghetti Carbonara
Silky with egg and melted cheese, freshened with parsley, and spiked with black pepper, spaghetti carbonara brings intense flavors into balance. We also love this dish for its short cooking time. The ingredients are things we tend to have always on hand, making it the ultimate weeknight-dinner solution. Just add a green salad or seasonal vegetable and the meal is complete. Also, we left out the cream that’s often used in this dish in the United States, so it’s both lighter and truer to the Italian original. And we’ve included some variations to keep the recipe interesting in case you find yourself making it over and over again. Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes. Notes: The heat from the hot pasta partly cooks the eggs. If you are concerned about eating raw or undercooked eggs, use 1/2 cup pasteurized eggs in lieu of fresh.
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
2 eggs
3 ounces parmesan cheese
1/2 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for garnish
1/4 pound pancetta or thin-cut bacon
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound spaghetti or spaghettini
Preparation
1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Meanwhile, crack eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly. Finely shred or grate cheese, add 1/2 cup to eggs, and set the rest aside. Finely chop parsley and add to eggs. Add pepper and whisk to combine well. Set aside.
2. Cut pancetta or bacon into 1/4-in.-thick slices, peel and chop garlic, and set both aside. Heat olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook until liquid is reduced by about half. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. When water boils, add salt and spaghetti. Boil pasta until it is tender to the bite. Drain well and immediately pour pasta into bowl with egg mixture. Toss to thoroughly coat pasta with egg mixture (the heat from the pasta will partly cook the egg and melt the cheese). Pour pancetta mixture on top of pasta and toss to combine thoroughly. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Variations:
Peas, please: Add 3/4 cup frozen peas to the egg mixture.
I love to make a slow-cooker dish with chicken, tomatoes & pinto beans. I think you could easily sub with black beans.
2 cans pinto beans (black beans)
2-3 cans of tomatoes
chicken tenderloins (I usually throw in 1/2 of a bag of frozen chicken tenders)
1 pack of taco seasoning
I usually also add some Mrs. Dash for additional flavor without the sodium.
Slow-cook on high for 4 hours. I usually shred all of the chicken once it’s cooked, but you don’t have to. It’s great burrito-style in a tortilla or served over brown rice.
I hope this helps!!
Jenn
We did this a couple of weeks ago when we got the new fridge. It is amazing what you have laying around….and how old some things are that you have been keeping in the fridge. Maybe it is just us, but it was slightly scary how many condiments were sitting in there with expiration dates more than two years ago. Bleh. I am awful at coming up with recipes using what we have so I am no help there. Can’t wait to see what you are able to clear out!
Oh gosh Kim, I just emptied our freezers this weekend (yes, we have 2). I think we could eat chicken everyday for the next 6 months without buying any more. You could make a simple pasta with sauce, ground sausage and cheese. What about pasta salad, pizza and omelets/scrambles to use all those veggies.
We made this the other day. http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeID=27173&fbid=G2mLk_rll2y
However, we didn’t use Cream of Chicken. Instead we used Condensed Cheddar Cheese. It was super yummy. Others liked it with the Cream of Chicken but said it needed a few more spices.
I don’t have any recipes to share since I don’t cook, but I wanted to wish you luck. When I was a kid my Swedish mom was great at throwing together left overs and making a new and yummy dish. She called it Pita-Pana (probably means “a little of this and a little of that”).
You could do a variation of a healthy soup from my favorite cookbook by Heidi Swanson – Super Natural Cooking. It works well with a variety of vegetables and frozen works as well as fresh.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic
3/4 cup medium grain brown basmati rice, rinsed
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup sugar snap peas, cut in half on the diagonal
8 asparagus spears, trimmed of their woody ends and cut on the diagonal into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground pepper
drizzle of olive oil to serve
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes until beginning to soften. Add the rice and cook stirring for one minute until the grains are well coated in the oil. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until rice is just tender, 40 minutes or so.
Add the sugar snap peas, asparagus and green peas. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until vegetables are bright green and still a bit al dente. Serve immediately with a swirl of fruity olive oil on top.
Serves 4.
http://kitchenculinaire.com/2010/05/spring-minestrone-with-brown-rice/
You could make my mom’s pot roast! I always make mine in the crock pot, but you can make it in the oven as well. You just need a roast, onion soup mix, carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper and red cooking wine. Brown the roast, put in the crock pot or casserole dish, arrange carrots and potatoes around roast, season w/salt and pepper and sprinkle soup mix over all. De-glaze your pan w/red cooking wine (enough to cover the bottom), then pour over roast and veggies. Then fill your soup mix packet with water, pour on top, and you’re done! I cook my roast on low for most of the day, or you can cook it covered with foil at 350 for 2 hours. This is a perfect meal all by itself, or you can add rice or other veggies to go with it.
You have a great pantry going, even if you do need to finish it off. I am awful about meal planning. Awful!
All this talk about food is making me so hungry I can’t stand it :o). Mmm warm hot food, this juice and veggie fast is going to kill me.
yeah for cabinet cooking {and almost moving into the new hosue!!}.
i’m hosting a july giftaway – anthropologie pillow and some goodies! i hope you’ll enter!
We aren’t moving and this idea is awesome. We are getting a new fridge in a little less than 2 weeks so I’m gonna do this with what we have on hand an try to get rid of some of the stuff we have. You are so smart!! That’s why I follow you. 🙂
i love that – i want to do that at our house, bc there is so much that never gets eaten!
we like to do baked potato meals – if yours are whole, you could do that with them – we do all types – mexican, savory, italian, etc – just the kind of stuff you might put on a pizza but on a potato. you could do one with your chicken, zucchini, cheese. or one with the chicken, diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce and corn 🙂
Unfortunately, this doesn’t use up too much of what you have, but when I saw that you have potatoes and sausage, it’s what I thought of.
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/baked-potato-eggs-10000000659302/index.html
Really tasty, but I usually just poach the eggs and throw them on top, since it’s hard to bake them properly. I like to eat the leftovers for breakfast, but it’s easy to scale down if you’d rather not deal with leftovers.
Hmm…Chicken Tettrazini could wipe out some of that pasta, cream of chicken soup, chicken and frozen peas. Oh, and some shredded cheese! The same basic “sauce” could be served over some Bisquick biscuits for Chicken over Biscuits. Both are a hit at our house.
I’m not a big recipe person, but I hope these are somewhat useful . .
I like to cook chicken breasts in a 9×13 pan. To make a whole meal out of it, I mix 2 cans of cream of chicken with enough water so the soup covers chicken, then fill in the empty spaces around the chicken with whatever random frozen veggies or pasta I can find. Bake at 350 for 40ish minutes, depending on how thick your chicken breasts are. You can add any kind of seasoning – Cajun seasoning, an Italian blend . .
Or, another recipe based around “cream of” soups is to put the soup in a small pot, fill that same can with water and add that to the same pot. Whisk it together. Throw in whatever veggies you’re feeling that day and a can of tuna. Simmer for about 10 minutes, depending on how long it takes cook the vegetables. Again, add whatever spices suit your fancy. Boil some pasta (about 1/2 a box) and drain. Combine your sauce and pasta and enjoy. 🙂
Here’s one that involves quite a few things you have listed.
My mom calls it Pig in the Corn. It is not healthy, but that’s what makes it so good!
1 lb hamburger
8-10 oz egg noodles
1 med. white onion
1 can creamed corn
1 can cream of mushroom soup
6-8 oz cream cheese
Brown hamburger with onion.
Cook egg noodles.
In bottom of casserole dish, empty cans of creamed corn and cream of mushroom.
Add hot (drained) noodles and hamburger to soup and corn.
Mix that all together.
Add 6-8 oz cubed cream cheese to top.
Bake at 350 until cream cheese is melted, stir.