The Homemaker Plans Meals: Expired Pantry Items, Week 3

I'm not posting a full breakfast or lunch menus, but I am sharing a couple.  We'll eat other things, too but I wanted to be sure to include these items since they will be using expired items. 

Breakfasts:

Carrot Cake Muffins, Sausage.  It occurred to me I could drain and mash the canned carrots and use them to bake with.  I don't put a heavy frosting on my carrot cake muffins.  I do use raisins and then just drizzle with a bit of glaze, so they are just sweet enough without tasting like a dessert.

Pumpkin Pancakes, Bacon.  I'll serve my pancake (just 1 small one) with yogurt and chopped walnuts or pecans (for added protein) and a drizzle of maple syrup.  John can load his with syrup if he likes.

Lunches:  

Tuna Salad.  I've been posting several times now that we'll be having tuna salad, but we haven't.  With more than 30 cans of tuna on hand, I think we need to start eating some!  Thankfully the dates go out beyond 2026.

Tomato Bisque, Cucumber Cream Cheese Sandwiches.  Sounds fancy...I'll use expired UHF milk to make expired canned soup.  That doesn't sound appetizing, does it?  The milk is a deeper color than usual, but it tastes just like evaporated milk, sort of condensed.  I've actually been using it in my coffee rather than opening a new container of half and half. I have some Alouette cheese I'd bought on sale that I thought would make a nice sandwich with the cucumber, sort of an herby cream cheese spread.  I need to use it anyway.

Supper:

Fried Chicken, Squash and Onions, Beans and Taters, Sliced Tomatoes.  I'd give much to eat some of Granny's homemade fried chicken.  I failed on the last I tried to fry.  Perhaps I'll try again, though you know I'm tempted to buy it ready made.  Making it myself gives me the option of making just enough for two. 

 I'll use the last can of potatoes to cook with the beans. 

I bought chicken to put away for Taylor's visit next weekend.  I'd bought two packages.  What we need is 12 pieces, but it's cheaper to buy two of the 8-piece boxes.  I set four pieces aside for us to eat for supper.

Buffalo Chicken Salads.  I'll use frozen chicken tenders and sauce them myself.  I'll keep this meal in my pocket for one of those nights when I've worked too hard, since it's a fairly easy to prepare meal.  We actually ate this Saturday night for supper.

Lasagna, salad.  I don't have the cottage cheese and I need lasagna noodles. John has now mentioned lasagna about three times.  That means he's ready to have some.  Oh!  I think I have a 2-person portion in the freezer so maybe I should thaw and heat that.  If my memory is faulty, I'll make a full recipe and divide it into freezer portions just like I did the last one I made.

Corn Moussaka, Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Pita Bread, Pistachio Pudding.  Since I'm buying cottage cheese anyway...and I do have a can of expired whole kernel corn, I think this would be a good way to use up a second item.  This is an old recipe from BH&G that I've been making for the past 45 years.  This year I do plan to halve the recipe.  The Pistachio pudding is also expired.  Let's use it!

Ham, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Peas, Corn Muffins.  The Sweet Potatoes and the corn muffin mix, expired.  I'm telling you I'm determined to use all this stuff up!  Leftover Ham will make sandwiches and salad for lunches this week.  I'm going to use 1/3 of the muffin batter to make just enough muffins for this meal.

Corn Dog Casserole, Slaw, Chips.  I have a 28 ounce can of baked beans that are...you guessed it!...expired.  I'll take four hot dogs, make baked beans with hot dog slices, and top with dollops of the corn muffin mixture.  I don't think I'll use all the baked beans in this particular dish, but I can use them in another meal, so I'll freeze what's left.

Leftovers.  I've taxed my brain trying to think how I can use as much of the expired goods as possible this week.  I'm sure, almost sure, that we'll have leftovers to use as lunches or even a supper.  If not, I'll take a frozen entree from the freezer and make the simplest meal I can.

Baking and Desserts:

Peach Dump Cake.  I don't have cake mix but I've been thinking this out.  What the heck is cake mix anyway, but flour and sugar and a bit of leavening?  I thought perhaps I might add in the last box of expired Vanilla pudding, too.  I've got peaches that I know I need to use.  Some will likely go in the freezer as well.  I thought I'd make a simple pie filling from the peaches, then put on the mixed dry ingredients and top with melted butter.  I'll let you know how this one turns out.  This was really good.  I should have made a peach pie filling, as I think this does indeed need the additional liquid/moisture of the thickened pie filling BUT my version turned out quite all right.  As John said, "It's good!  But it's rich!"  Well dump cakes tend to be rich for sure and had this had a sweet pie filling on the bottom I think it might have been far too sweet for us.  

Whipped Cream.  It occurred to me as I was thinking of the dump cake that I can make a whipped cream from dry powdered milk.  Guess what I have on the expired foods shelf?  

Bread.

Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread.  The Pumpkin pancakes will use half a can.  This particular banana nut bread also calls for half a can.  We can toast the Pumpkin bread as part of our breakfast or have it for snacking, or I can freeze it and save for later. Done

Carrot Cake Muffins.  Note to self...do all this baking early in the week as the latter part will begin to heat up again.  And also note to self: buy a six-cup muffin pan that will fit the toaster oven so I can bake muffins without heating the big oven.  I'll check the Dollar store in town.  Done

Expired Items I plan to use this week: 12.  I'll still have powdered milk and probably some baked beans (we'll see) left of those 12 items, but all the rest will hopefully be EMPTY!  Sorry to say I've got a way to go yet to use up the rest but that's next week's problem.

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