Kitchen Stashbusting Update #1

I really haven't used a whole lot out of my kitchen yet. The night I made the first post about this (Tuesday), I made Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Soup, and served it with some homemade wheat toast I'd made in the bread machine.

Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Soup



1 small head broccoli, stems removed
2 cups water
1 medium potato (the size of an orange), peeled and diced
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup cubed Velveeta (yes, Velveeta - I use it all the time)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper (you can use black if you don't have the white)
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard powder

Cut the broccoli into small pieces, and bring to a boil in the water. Cook for 10 minutes, then mash with a potato masher. Do not drain. While the broccoli is cooking, sauté the potato and onion in the oil until potato is tender. It doesn't need to brown much. Add to broccoli and water. Put Velveeta, flour and milk in a blender, and pulse until the cheese is in small bits. Add to broccoli-potato mixture, along with the pepper and mustard powder. Simmer over low heat until cheese has melted and soup has thickened. Serves 4.

On Wednesday, breakfast was a leftover Spinach-Artichoke Bread Soufflé, and lunch was leftover soup. My afternoon snack was a slice of the Breakfast Bundt Bread. I had a Rep Council meeting in the afternoon, and we had some fried chicken and vegetables - so that was dinner.

This morning was more of the Breakfast Bundt Bread, and lunch will be a canned pasta from my lunch stash here at the office. I haven't decided what to fix for dinner - I need to use up some lettuce, so there will be a salad, but I will decide on the main course later.

I took a little time yesterday to take an inventory, and I'm embarrassed about how much food I really do have. With the exception of milk, eggs, lettuce and tomatoes, I could probably feed us for 2 months. No kidding. Right now it's ridiculously easy since there's so much in the pantry, the fridge, and the freezer, but I know that eventually it will get a little more challenging. But stick with me.

Here are a few rules I've had to give myself for my challenge:
1. I can buy milk, eggs, and butter/margarine when I run out.
2. I can buy the significant condiments (ketchup, mustard, etc.) when I run out, unless it's something I can make from scratch. And no, I'm not going to make ketchup from scratch. : )
3. I can buy lettuce, tomatoes, and other salad-related produce when needed. But I need to use up a lot of frozen and canned veggies, so no immediate purchases of other vegetables.
4. When the side dishes get very slim, I can purchase FRESH vegetables only.
5. I get to make up my own rules as I go along, since this is my challenge.
6. I will try to make healthy foods. TRY.