Expired: 1 box of Sure Jell (make jelly or jam)
1 can coconut milk
1 can table cream
5 packets of dry powdered milk (Mix up one packet to use as baking/cooking milk)
4 cans of peaches (gracious! I thought I'd used more of these up! I'll put a can in the fridge. John will eat them plain if he sees they are there)
1 packet instant chocolate pudding
1 packet instant butterscotch pudding
1 can Deviled Roast beef
1 jar Lemon Curd
In the fridge: 1 very ripe banana (I mixed the baked sweet potato and the banana to make banana nut chocolate chip muffins)
1 roast chicken breast half (I've made a Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Casserole for supper tonight)
A bit of creamed corn (I've found that creamed corn plays heck with blood glucose levels... I decided this was best given to the dogs to eat, so out it went)
A dab of coleslaw (Slaw dogs for lunch).
Pizza (homemade. Enough for two lunches which brings us up to four lunches for the week ahead).
Thawed sweet potato and butternut squash (I'm thinking waffles from the butternut squash once I've drained it well. The sweet potato went into the banana nut muffins since I didn't have enough banana)
1/4 pound cooked seasoned ground venison.
Flour and cornmeal tortillas. (Cornmeal ones went in the cheesy Chicken Tortilla Casserole. I'll bring the flour tortillas to John's attention as a sandwich bread.)
Cranberry Sauce (I put this into the freezer.)
Freezer items: Strawberries. Lots and lots of strawberries from last year's season. Strawberry Preserves are what I mean to make with these. I have them on the stove now thawing (not on heat just in a deep pan) so that I can make preserves later this afternoon. I'll use paraffin to seal as I did the homemade jelly.
I took out a 1/2 cup container of buttermilk so I can culture some buttermilk for baking. I also took out some sour milk which I'll use in making the butternut waffles.
Final Thoughts: There are really too many items to use up in one week's time by all means but going through these items has certainly made me brainstorm better about how to use them. There are a few things I don't feel terribly pressured to use at the moment, like the lemon curd which should keep well past it's expiration date. I'll try to find recipes I might use some of the other items. My goal is to have them all used up by end of March, or at least transformed into newer items (like preserves or waffles) which should extend their life. I can freeze the waffles for instance and then we have a ready item for breakfast on those mornings when I'm not terribly motivated to cook. Ditto for the muffins I made. Those will go into the freezer, too.
I have a grocery bag in the freezer that is about half full of odds and ends like pesto cubes, basil leaves, a yogurt starter, another container of sour milk, etc. I'm trying to keep myself cognizant of what I have in that bag so that I can plan to use those items up as well. Some of them are older items.
What do you have that needs to be used up? Have you made a plan for any of those items? Share if you have because you might very well inspire someone else!
9 comments:
I've been trying to do the same as you in using up things that need used ASAP or freezing them for future use. I froze some leftover Zuppa Toscana for 2 future meals, baked more bread and have a plan to use up a package of cornbread mix tomorrow in making some tamale pie (will use up two chicken breasts that I precooked and froze for that along with a can of enchilada sauce that needs used ASAP). Today I took the other half of a bag of frozen ravioli and made a ravioli casserole using some spaghetti sauce (another ASAP item) and some grated cheese (yep, another thing that needs to be used up). This is one of hubby's favorites and is so easy since I do not have to boil that raviolis first....just pop them in a casserole dish with sauce, cover with fil and bake at 400 F for 45 minutes, take out and add the cheese and stir in, turn off the oven and pop back in for another 15 minutes (using the residual heat from the oven that is now turn off).
Just the inspiration I needed! That bit of ground venison that I cooked for pizzas on Saturday, frozen cheese ravioli and some frozen spaghetti sauce would make a great casserole for supper one night. Must keep this in mind! Thank you, Debbie, for sharing that idea.
I have 4 mini meat loaves that I was going to make into sloppy joes for Farmer, but he decided Cheese Quesadillas sounded better. I think I'll have to put them in the freezer for the next time I make something with ground beef.
I finally reorganized my chest freezer!! We had lost the contents during Hurricane Laura in 2020 due to a generator failure😩
Since then I have been replenishing as sales allowed but did not put in freezer in a organized fashion!! Unfortunately some things were freezer burned!! But, I did find a spiral cut ham in very bottom🙌🏻 That will be put in oven shortly and several meals made from it. Also this organization cut my grocery list into only bread, dairy, and some bean burritos for husband snack meals. I will make some from scratch soon. I will not need meat for a while!! You are so correct in writing about knowing what you have!! I would have shopped normal and not needed the items! This is also a tight money month due to 2 extra one time year bills. And while I do have money put aside I like to keep a cushion for unexpected situations outside of normal savings.
I am going back on your blog to beginning and catching up!! Thank you so much for writing this. So wonderful to find middle age normal couple living a “real” life. Not all the of what I call hype😄. Us baby boomers need blogs like yours🙌🏻👏🏻
Debra B Gunter
Kay, I have just taken a smaller meatloaf from the freezer and then came to publish comments and there you are talking of meatloaves! I had Isaac and Millie for a few hours today and my brain turns to jelly and doesn't think of meals until too late to really start anything. I was so happy to remember that I had that meatloaf that basically needs to thaw and heat.
Debra G., Thank you so much! I try to remain practical in my approach. Admittedly I am not as savvy as some of the younger thrifty moms but I do tend to keep things simpler in my approach. I have few appliances for instance though I feel I have more than enough.
How convenient for you to plunder the freezer and realize that you needed less than you'd supposed and could take them off your list especially when you've two annual fees due.
Rhonda how frustrating to me! I approved your comment and then it's lost! I know you mentioned the shelf stable milk. I'll definitely buy more of it because I found it tasty and very convenient to have milk on the shelf. I wish now I'd read the entire comment before I hit publish, as I wanted to comment on other aspects of it but I tend to publish and then comment. Alas I've lost out!
Terri, I have looked for your reply a couple of times and decided my comment just didn’t go through. And that didn’t really surprise me as blogger is just undependable for me.
And now, I’m not sure what I said but I do remember telling you all of my grands were skeptical when I poured their first sippy cup of boxed milk but they all decided it was the same the jug milk. Even very opinionated Elizabeth!
Rhonda, I told John it tasted 'rich' sort of like canned evaporated milk but the bonus for me is that it's carrageenan free where most all of the evaporated milks I might buy do contain it. The ones that don't are usually hispanic products and have a much shorter shelf life. The shelf stable milk is a good pantry staple in my opinion.
Debbie, I did take your suggestion and make a ravioli casserole this week. I like having frozen ravioli on hand and I can buy a 40 ounce bag for about $2 as a buy one get one free price from Publix. I'm looking for another sale now because I find this a great freezer staple meal and it's also a convenience item for us. A can of sauce and some frozen ravioli make a terrific quick supper.
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