I succeeded in getting rid of some more meat: pork chops, chicken breasts, and ground beef. On Saturday, we had one of my favorite "comfort food" meals - pork chops and scalloped potatoes. From scratch, the way my mother taught me. I've tried those dehydrated-nasty-boxed scalloped potatoes, and they are just awful. I also do not like any onion flavor in mine. So here's how Mother says you must make these - for two people.
Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes
Preheat oven to 350˚.
Peel and slice 2-3 large potatoes - about 1/4" thick.
Slice your boneless pork chops about 1/2" thick. I use ONE of the thick boneless chops you get at Costco, and I slice it into 4 pieces.
Put a layer of the potatoes in the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish (I use Corningware - the one with the glass lid). Sprinkle the potatoes with about a tablespoon of flour, some salt and pepper, and then dot with about a tablespoon of butter (cut in small pieces).
Repeat with another layer of potatoes.
Use the chops for the next layer, and finish with a layer of potatoes - each time sprinkling with flour and dotting with small pieces of butter. You should have 3 layers of potatoes with the chops underneath the top layer.
Pour in about 1/2 cup milk - you should be able to see it down in the layers of potatoes, but it shouldn't be as high as the chops. (How do I know this? Major mess in the oven from overflowing, burning milk!)
Bake, covered, for an hour and a half. I've tried it for an hour, but the potatoes don't get tender.
I used to try to eat ALL of this. But I would have potato overload, and I just don't need this any more. So we have leftover potatoes, which are wonderful fried up for breakfast the next day.
On Sunday, I tried a new chicken recipe, which I won't be sharing because it was AWFUL. I took about 3 bites, and the rest went into the trash. A bowl of cereal filled me up.
Tonight we had hamburgers - Don had his with a bun, and I ate mine without. I was just craving some beef.
I'm trying to decide how long I want to go with this. What's my goal? To use up some of the excess, I think. But as I've been doing these posts, I'm now wondering if it's a bad thing - to have the excess. So, I've decided to stop, and go back to just doing what I've been doing for years. This has been fun, but now it's over.
Showing posts with label Stashbusting in my Kitchen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stashbusting in my Kitchen. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Kitchen Stashbusting Days 4 and 5
Yesterday Don went fishing, and I wanted to spend most of my day sewing, so I put dinner in the crockpot. I made Hearty Italian Sausages - and we enjoyed the leftovers for lunch today. I'm going to add a note in my recipe to use the thicker slice setting on my mandoline. I used the really thin setting, and the bell peppers almost disappeared into the meat mixture.
Yesterday's breakfast was my big sister's recipe - a quiche made with sausage, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Since cream cheese is mixed in with the eggs and milk, the texture is creamy, and the taste is delicious.
My daughter came up to do her laundry today, and stayed for dinner. Now, what does a 30-year old request for dinner? Her favorite - with the fancy name Rice-a-Roni Stroganoff. I take a box of Beef-flavored Rice-a-Roni, and add ground beef, mushrooms, and sour cream. Sure, I know it's high in sodium - but I eat a small amount, and she and her father eat pretty hefty portions. We had this with some of those little soft rolls you buy by the bag at Costco.
I enjoyed my swimming and water aerobics today - though the knot in my back started hurting at the beginning of the water aerobics class. It was really painful - and the instructor recommended a massage and the hot tub. I tried the hot tub - and 15 minutes of a hot jet blasting that knot really helped. I was told that it means that there isn't a muscle tear - that if it was torn, the heat would not have helped. But it really made it feel better. I told Don when I got home that I wanted him to massage that knot with the heel of his hand - we'll give it a try later. But right now there's no pain.
I had my blood work done this morning, too - so I'm curious to find out next week how the swimming and water aerobics have affected my blood sugar.
Yesterday's breakfast was my big sister's recipe - a quiche made with sausage, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Since cream cheese is mixed in with the eggs and milk, the texture is creamy, and the taste is delicious.
My daughter came up to do her laundry today, and stayed for dinner. Now, what does a 30-year old request for dinner? Her favorite - with the fancy name Rice-a-Roni Stroganoff. I take a box of Beef-flavored Rice-a-Roni, and add ground beef, mushrooms, and sour cream. Sure, I know it's high in sodium - but I eat a small amount, and she and her father eat pretty hefty portions. We had this with some of those little soft rolls you buy by the bag at Costco.
I enjoyed my swimming and water aerobics today - though the knot in my back started hurting at the beginning of the water aerobics class. It was really painful - and the instructor recommended a massage and the hot tub. I tried the hot tub - and 15 minutes of a hot jet blasting that knot really helped. I was told that it means that there isn't a muscle tear - that if it was torn, the heat would not have helped. But it really made it feel better. I told Don when I got home that I wanted him to massage that knot with the heel of his hand - we'll give it a try later. But right now there's no pain.
I had my blood work done this morning, too - so I'm curious to find out next week how the swimming and water aerobics have affected my blood sugar.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Kitchen Stashbusting Day 3
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and most Fridays (when I don't have my monthly quilt guild meeting) I go to the Drayson Center at Loma Linda University for a water aerobics class. I show up 45 minutes early, and with a classmate named Tony, "swim" laps. What we actually do is tread water while slowly moving. We do it in the deep water lanes, as both of us enjoy what it does to our backs. The extra swimming before class has really helped - my back is stronger and my blood sugar is slowly lowering.
On swimming days Don and I eat bagels with cream cheese or Nutrigrain Eggos with cream cheese and a small bit of jam.
Lunch was some chile con queso and chips. I had a craving to satisfy and it worked.
Dinner was going to be Chicken Piccata Potato Salad - but the green beans I'd gotten at the commissary had turned bad more quickly that I'd expected and I had to toss them. So I cooked the chicken in strips, breaded with corn flakes crumbs, and I roasted the potatoes. I had a new basket of cherry tomatoes, so I used half of them in a tomato salad.
For dessert, we finished up the cherry cobbler.
On swimming days Don and I eat bagels with cream cheese or Nutrigrain Eggos with cream cheese and a small bit of jam.
Lunch was some chile con queso and chips. I had a craving to satisfy and it worked.
Dinner was going to be Chicken Piccata Potato Salad - but the green beans I'd gotten at the commissary had turned bad more quickly that I'd expected and I had to toss them. So I cooked the chicken in strips, breaded with corn flakes crumbs, and I roasted the potatoes. I had a new basket of cherry tomatoes, so I used half of them in a tomato salad.
For dessert, we finished up the cherry cobbler.
Monday, January 09, 2012
Kitchen Stashbusting Challenge revisited
Hello, my name is Cyndi, and I'm a food hoarder.
I think. I wonder if any of you are like me: I have way too much food in my refrigerator, my freezer, and my cabinets. I am challenging myself to use what I have on hand for two full months
We came back from a 3-week trip in our RV to New Mexico and Arizona, and I did what I always do: I went to the commissary and spent $200. I went to Costco and spent $100 - mostly on meat. Then I ordered produce from Washington Produce (a local wholesaler that recently opened a retail outlet) for $30. Then, I "took inventory." I keep a notebook - a list of all the meats and vegetables on hand, from which I make a master list of all meals, meatless as well, that can be made from what I have. I realized that I could probably cook wholesome meals for 3 months - 3 MONTHS - with everything I have, replenishing only a few items of produce.
Exactly a year ago I did this, but only posted 3 times about it. I don't recall why I stopped. I'll try to do better.
Now that I've made that statement, I need to decide the rules for my personal challenge. Here are my rules from last year:
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.
To those rules, I'm going to add coffee and creamer. Gotta have coffee and creamer.
I have a lot of items that have been in the freezer for months that need to be used before I buy more of them: mixed berries, cherries, peas, blueberries, spinach. Speaking of spinach - since I'm thinking out loud here - I picked up a bag of spinach balls at a Wal-Mart in Whitehorse, Yukon, this summer. One of those balls is the perfect size for mixing in 5 scrambled eggs for Don and me. I looked for spinach balls here in the states, but can't find them. Does anyone know where I can find them? It's not a big deal - I can use little slices from boxed frozen spinach - but those little balls are perfect.
I have nearly 10 pounds of flour on hand, my sugar canister is full, and there's plenty of butter in the fridge. So I have basics. I was going through my recipes the other day and realized that there are hundreds of dessert items that can be made just from basics - I call them "pantry desserts." One excellent example is Chocolate Cobbler. I always have flour, sugar, butter, and cocoa powder. (As a matter of fact, I bought a large bag of cocoa powder at a bulk food store last month. I'm set!) I also have a box of 10 Pilsbury pie crusts in the freezer - got them at Costco - and not only can I make pies, I can use some of them for quiche!
Breakfast: We currently have 3 dozen Panera bagels in the freezer downstairs, two boxes of Nutrigrain Waffles (I like to make a sandwich with cream cheese and some jam), and lots of breads and rolls. I'll replenish the eggs when they run out. As for breakfast meats - I have TONS. Bacon, sausage links, bulk sausage, little smokies, Spam, Canadian bacon - enough for what we call "big breakfast" for several months. (I make "big breakfast" about twice a week. The rest of the time we eat the bagels or have small breakfasts like egg sandwiches with some kind of meat.)
Lunch: I think I need to get creative here. I get tired of lunchmeat and cheese sandwiches, and we're not always in the mood for soup. Yes, we eat leftovers, since many of my favorite recipes are for 4-6 people, but I bet I have quite a supply of fixings for some different lunches. I recently subscribed to Eating Well and Family Circle magazines to assist a friend's daughter in a fundraiser, and I bet I can find great ideas there. Well, those and Google searches!
I will try to post every day or every two days with what we've been eating and how I'm doing on my personal challenge.
I think. I wonder if any of you are like me: I have way too much food in my refrigerator, my freezer, and my cabinets. I am challenging myself to use what I have on hand for two full months
We came back from a 3-week trip in our RV to New Mexico and Arizona, and I did what I always do: I went to the commissary and spent $200. I went to Costco and spent $100 - mostly on meat. Then I ordered produce from Washington Produce (a local wholesaler that recently opened a retail outlet) for $30. Then, I "took inventory." I keep a notebook - a list of all the meats and vegetables on hand, from which I make a master list of all meals, meatless as well, that can be made from what I have. I realized that I could probably cook wholesome meals for 3 months - 3 MONTHS - with everything I have, replenishing only a few items of produce.
Exactly a year ago I did this, but only posted 3 times about it. I don't recall why I stopped. I'll try to do better.
Now that I've made that statement, I need to decide the rules for my personal challenge. Here are my rules from last year:
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.
To those rules, I'm going to add coffee and creamer. Gotta have coffee and creamer.
I have a lot of items that have been in the freezer for months that need to be used before I buy more of them: mixed berries, cherries, peas, blueberries, spinach. Speaking of spinach - since I'm thinking out loud here - I picked up a bag of spinach balls at a Wal-Mart in Whitehorse, Yukon, this summer. One of those balls is the perfect size for mixing in 5 scrambled eggs for Don and me. I looked for spinach balls here in the states, but can't find them. Does anyone know where I can find them? It's not a big deal - I can use little slices from boxed frozen spinach - but those little balls are perfect.
I have nearly 10 pounds of flour on hand, my sugar canister is full, and there's plenty of butter in the fridge. So I have basics. I was going through my recipes the other day and realized that there are hundreds of dessert items that can be made just from basics - I call them "pantry desserts." One excellent example is Chocolate Cobbler. I always have flour, sugar, butter, and cocoa powder. (As a matter of fact, I bought a large bag of cocoa powder at a bulk food store last month. I'm set!) I also have a box of 10 Pilsbury pie crusts in the freezer - got them at Costco - and not only can I make pies, I can use some of them for quiche!
Breakfast: We currently have 3 dozen Panera bagels in the freezer downstairs, two boxes of Nutrigrain Waffles (I like to make a sandwich with cream cheese and some jam), and lots of breads and rolls. I'll replenish the eggs when they run out. As for breakfast meats - I have TONS. Bacon, sausage links, bulk sausage, little smokies, Spam, Canadian bacon - enough for what we call "big breakfast" for several months. (I make "big breakfast" about twice a week. The rest of the time we eat the bagels or have small breakfasts like egg sandwiches with some kind of meat.)
Lunch: I think I need to get creative here. I get tired of lunchmeat and cheese sandwiches, and we're not always in the mood for soup. Yes, we eat leftovers, since many of my favorite recipes are for 4-6 people, but I bet I have quite a supply of fixings for some different lunches. I recently subscribed to Eating Well and Family Circle magazines to assist a friend's daughter in a fundraiser, and I bet I can find great ideas there. Well, those and Google searches!
I will try to post every day or every two days with what we've been eating and how I'm doing on my personal challenge.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Kitchen Stashbusting Update #2
I've been able to make good use of leftovers - there was more fried chicken left from Wednesday, so we had that as our main course Thursday night. I pulled a bag of cooked brown rice from the freezer, and spiced it up: I added a couple tablespoons of orange juice concentrate, a little water, a handful of raisins, and a teaspoon of curry powder. I heated that up, threw together a salad, and there was a nice dinner.
Friday night we had the next-to-last bag of calico bass that Don caught in September. I made Crispy Oven-Fried Fish, along with a few fried potatoes (yeah, I know, I shouldn't - but it was just a few).
Last night, Theresa was here for dinner, and requested pasta and salad. I was glad to oblige -- I had the ingredients for Spaghetti with Ham, Peas, and Swiss Cheese, using Dreamfields spaghetti. There went the last of the frozen peas.
I've made breakfast and lunch this weekend out of the freezer, since it's so full I can't really find anything or put anything else in it! I have a lot of what I call "condiments" in it - list below - and they take up a lot of room.
Here are what I call "condiments" that are in my freezer:
1. bag of chopped bell peppers
2. 4 bags of chopped celery
3. bag of chopped onion
4. 5 chipotle chilies, each in separate small bags
5. 5 lumps of tomato past, each in separate small bags
6. walnuts
7. almonds
8. pecans
9. pistachios
10. pine nuts
11. orange juice concentrate
12. lemon juice ice cubes
13. orange zest
14. lemon zest
15. basil cubes (from Trader Joe's)
16. flour tortillas
17. corn tortillas
18. discos (for making empanadas)
19. shredded cheddar
20. shredded pepper jack
21. shredded mozzarella
22. almond flour
23. mixed vegetables
24. blueberries
25. rhubarb
26. strawberries
27. raspberries
28. Cool Whip
And that's just the upstairs freezer, which is part of the refrigerator. The downstairs freezer is full of beef, chicken, pork, sausage, bacon, fish, bread, rolls, corn dogs, and Don's Klondike bars (they were on sale).
Now for an update on my Ten in 10 challenge. So far I've done fairly well on the eating front - with the exception of the fried potatoes Friday night. It's continuing to be a challenge to eat both low-carb and low-calorie at the same time - usually my low-carb go-to foods are high in fat. Take the almonds I got last weekend, for example. They're a great snack, but high-calorie. They do have the good kind of fat in them, so I'll continue to eat those when I want something savory (there are no potato chips in the house any more!).
Friday night we had the next-to-last bag of calico bass that Don caught in September. I made Crispy Oven-Fried Fish, along with a few fried potatoes (yeah, I know, I shouldn't - but it was just a few).
Last night, Theresa was here for dinner, and requested pasta and salad. I was glad to oblige -- I had the ingredients for Spaghetti with Ham, Peas, and Swiss Cheese, using Dreamfields spaghetti. There went the last of the frozen peas.
I've made breakfast and lunch this weekend out of the freezer, since it's so full I can't really find anything or put anything else in it! I have a lot of what I call "condiments" in it - list below - and they take up a lot of room.
Here are what I call "condiments" that are in my freezer:
1. bag of chopped bell peppers
2. 4 bags of chopped celery
3. bag of chopped onion
4. 5 chipotle chilies, each in separate small bags
5. 5 lumps of tomato past, each in separate small bags
6. walnuts
7. almonds
8. pecans
9. pistachios
10. pine nuts
11. orange juice concentrate
12. lemon juice ice cubes
13. orange zest
14. lemon zest
15. basil cubes (from Trader Joe's)
16. flour tortillas
17. corn tortillas
18. discos (for making empanadas)
19. shredded cheddar
20. shredded pepper jack
21. shredded mozzarella
22. almond flour
23. mixed vegetables
24. blueberries
25. rhubarb
26. strawberries
27. raspberries
28. Cool Whip
And that's just the upstairs freezer, which is part of the refrigerator. The downstairs freezer is full of beef, chicken, pork, sausage, bacon, fish, bread, rolls, corn dogs, and Don's Klondike bars (they were on sale).
Now for an update on my Ten in 10 challenge. So far I've done fairly well on the eating front - with the exception of the fried potatoes Friday night. It's continuing to be a challenge to eat both low-carb and low-calorie at the same time - usually my low-carb go-to foods are high in fat. Take the almonds I got last weekend, for example. They're a great snack, but high-calorie. They do have the good kind of fat in them, so I'll continue to eat those when I want something savory (there are no potato chips in the house any more!).
Thursday, January 07, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
A Challenge: Stashbusting in my Kitchen
As many of my friends and family know, I'm a quilter, who used to be a cross-stitcher, who used to scrapbook and rubber stamp. In those crafty worlds, "stash" means all the supplies you have in order to create whatever it is you create. I often find "stashbusting" challenges going on in the quilting world, but have had no desire to participate since I like obtaining new fabric whenever I can.
But this evening I saw a piece on the local news about impulse shopping, and it focused on a mom who was challenged to go a whole week without ever going to the grocery store. I told Don that I'd often thought about doing something like that, because, honestly, I have an overstuffed pantry and freezer. He said, "So why don't you do it? You've got plenty already."
So here goes. I'm going to see how long it will take me to feed the two of us with only what I have in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. I think if I have to "cheat" at all, it will be next week, and I'll be wanting some fresh produce. But until then, I have a LOT, as my post below shows.
Anyone want to join me?
But this evening I saw a piece on the local news about impulse shopping, and it focused on a mom who was challenged to go a whole week without ever going to the grocery store. I told Don that I'd often thought about doing something like that, because, honestly, I have an overstuffed pantry and freezer. He said, "So why don't you do it? You've got plenty already."
So here goes. I'm going to see how long it will take me to feed the two of us with only what I have in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. I think if I have to "cheat" at all, it will be next week, and I'll be wanting some fresh produce. But until then, I have a LOT, as my post below shows.
Anyone want to join me?
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