Sunday, March 29, 2020

Freezer & pantry progress - update #3

Happy Sunday! It's been a good opportunity to use all of my freezer & pantry items, so I've been tracking them (progress below).

  • Sushi rice (Sam bought for a school cooking project, so this is the remainder) Used for chicken stir fry
  • Multiple packs of sardines. These are M's, and he bought them when he first started doing Keto, but hasn't eaten many. No one else will eat them for sure, so I need to gently motivate - Done!
  • Several packages of Liptons onion seasoning. My parents bought it when they were here. I don't have any recipes that use this, so will need to come up with something - used up one, which was actually Ranch dressing. So, two packages of Liptons to go. I'm thinking of making a meatloaf tonight with one package. 
  • A huge jar of tahini. I need to make hummus, but will need other ideas, because there's no way we will eat that much hummus
  • A few jars of homemade pesto. I have a chicken recipe that uses pesto, so just need to make it - Gone! In various chicken dishes. 
  • Pine nuts. Not sure what I'll do with these
  • 1/2 a bag of frozen spring rolls. No one really loved them, but they need to be eaten - Done. Served with egg roll in a bowl, which provided a nice dipping sauce for the actual spring rolls.  
  • So, so, so many bags of frozen bananas. I've encouraged M to buy fewer each week, but that has gone unheeded. - Yes! Muffins & many, many smoothies finally finished these off. 
  • Mini pizzas. I'll make these for the kids for an upcoming lunch or dinner. - Woohoo! All 12+ of them have been consumed by small people, including when we needed to unexpectedly feed friends. 
  • Mini naan breads. About 1/3 gone. 
  • A package of gnocchi (meal kit). - gone. 
  • A package of salami & sopressata  - One and a 1/2 gone. Used for homemade pizzas + two happy hours.
  • 1 package of chicken noodle soup - Used up for lunch on Friday. 
  • 1 box of tomato pepper soup - Used last weekend, when no one was feeling very good. 

Other things I didn't even know we had at the time I made this list:
  • 1/2 of a leftover delivery pizza. Discovered in the freezer & quickly turned into a post soccer meal for the kids. 
  • A handful of dried cherries, that had been pushed to the back of the pantry. Used up in pineapple banana muffins. 
  • A huge bag of wings. Used at the boys birthday party
  • Brussel sprouts (freezer). I think my parents bought them & put them in the freezer. I just discovered them. I wasn't impressed with the way I prepared them, but the are out of the freezer!
  • 1/2 a bag of cubed butternut squash - I didn't love the texture, after freezing. But, I roasted it and served it as the base under the chicken pesto dish we had. 
  • the remainder a chicken pesto dish - we liked the flavor, but it had too much liquid during the original making. So, I roasted butternut squash to serve under it & absorb some of the liquid. It worked well. 
  • A box of jello. No idea where it came from, but the kids mixed it up this weekend, and loved it. 
  • The remainder of a package of gluten free berry treats I bought M for skiing on NYE. I baked those at lunch, and the kids ate them before I got off of my conference call  ;)

Here are the current areas of focus this week:
  • Liptons (make a meatloaf)
  • Finish off small tahini in fridge, so I can move onto the giant gar in the pantry
  • Have M wrap up the last package of salami
  • Mozzarella sticks (we have both frozen breaded ones & fresh). Weave a few of these into the menu, somehow.
  • Use up tremendous amounts of heavy cream, and freeze the rest.

I was reasonably productive yesterday:
  • Washed Nick's sheets
  • Did laundry
  • Made a new chicken/pesto dish. It was great, but super rich
  • Listed 3 new items on eBay, and sold another item for $20. Money in, junk out!
  • Figured out how to download books on my laptop, via the library! Win of the day, for sure
  • Made pancake poppers (like muffins) for breakfast. They were "okay". Definitely not a big winner.
  • Organized my sock & underwear drawer, digging out things I won't use. 

For today, here's what I'm planning:
  • Meditate
  • Journal
  • A walk or a workout DVD (weather dependent)
  • Make homemade pasta (first time) with Sam
  • Make a meatloaf
  • Yard work
  • Wash the rest of the sheets
  • Vacuum
  • Figure out work schedule for next week
  • Kids plan their conference calls for next week
  • Finish first digital book 

What about you? How are you doing with your pantry/freezer progress?

16 comments:

  1. If you eat pot roast that's what I use my options for. Meat and veggies in the pan cover with the soup miss. Add wine and cover with foil and cook at 300 for hours. I'm sure it will work great with meatloaf or even to make pre seasoned burgers.

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  2. I still have the odd thing that needs to be used up but this eating at home 100% of the time does make you forage deeper into the cupboard and freezers :)

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    1. It's so true - we have been digging deeper lately

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  3. There's always chip dip for the onion soup mix! I actually have a long grain and wild rice chicken dish from a church cookbook that uses it. I'll try and find it and take a photo to post.

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    1. I thought about dip, but we don't have sour cream or chips. Would love the rice dish recipe

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  4. Wow you are doing great on getting rid of those rare items you find in the freezer and go, "What?"

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    1. I feel like I'm a pretty disciplined shopper & planner, so not sure how these items crop up... but, they do

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  5. Sprinkle the Lipton over chopped potatoes and bake for 45 min at 350 - my kids love them

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  6. I'm trying out Chrome to see if it allows me to comment. Safari has been having issues with a few things lately. Anyway . . .

    You can use the tahini for baba ganoush if you can get an eggplant and roast it out on your grill. Yum - the smoky flavor is heavenly. And with the heavy cream you can make whipped cream - it's such a treat and with all the air whipped in it's light and VERY low carb!

    Fingers crossed this works!

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    1. Yes! Great to hear from you. I'll have to pick up an eggplant next time we're out.

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  7. If you have melting chocolate or chocolate chips, you can mix the pine nuts in, then drop into parchment paper or lightly greased foil. Makes delicious candy.

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  8. Tonight I scrubbed and cubed potatoes, tossed in oil, then tossed in Lipton's Onion before baking at 350 for 30 minutes. Goes great with a grilled meat.

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