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Fall 2018 Freezer/Pantry Challenge

13 Thursday Sep 2018

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So last year I did both freezer and pantry challenges and updated you throughout the year on how both were going.  Thankfully, I have many fewer items this year that need using up (although some readers will notice a few things on the list again) so I’m putting the lists together.  Also, since I have next to no proteins on the list, I’m hoping/planning to move through these things faster.

Most everything this year is in the freezer so the pantry list is really short:

  • Coconut oil: I bought this originally to make granola which I haven’t made in the last year so we’ll see where this goes.
  • Veggie straws: I have one bag left over from summer when we take these to the pool.  I opened it today to send some into school for snacks.  Only two kids eat them.  Sticking to Thursdays (which are they best day to send these as snacks so they don’t get crushed), it will take me a few weeks to finish off the bag.
  • Bag of mixed nuts:  I think I’m just going to have to open this and break out the nutcrackers come holiday season.  They have not expired.

That’s it there!

The freezer list is a little longer, though not nearly as bad as last year.  Clearly not everything in the above pictures is on the list (see my free pint of ice cream in there).  These two freezer compartments are the most loaded with listed items though.  The other two are rather neat.  So, here’s what we have:

  • Beef bones: for stock
  • Hamburger and hot dog buns – one package each: Probably going to thaw these and use them for sandwiches as BBQ season is largely over.
  • Pre-made hamburgers: We weren’t fans of these and we have about 10 lbs left from what we purchased for our big summer BBQ.  I’m going to try cooking them up and draining them (80% vs our usual 90%) to use as regular ground beef.
  • Twelve (8 + 4) egg whites: There are a couple of options here, add-ins for sous vide eggs or macaroons being the most likely.
  • Nine cubes of cilantro in chicken broth: This goes with a specific recipe which obviously I haven’t made enough of recently.
  • Eleven servings of butternut squash ravioli: Clearly I could eat these faster, but they feel more right in the fall than the summer.  I will get to them all eventually.
  • One serving of mushroom ravioli: I need to sell this to someone as its not my thing.
  • One gingerbread loaf: Clearly I need to thaw this when we have a shortage of desert options.
  • Four bagels: We’re working through these.  They’re all sliced for easy toasting.
  • Three blocks of cream cheese: I can’t think of anything to do with these besides cream cheese frosting, ie carrot cake.  My kids aren’t super interested in this though so I have to time it right.
  • Chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, and chopped pecans:  These are odds and ends that could be used up.  The walnuts and pecans I do use from time to time.  The almonds are left over from granola making so either I’m back to that or I need to come up with some baked goods to use them up.
  • Some frozen celery sticks: These should go with the beef bones, and other things, for stock.  I just need to remember that!

Fall 2017 Pantry Challenge – June 2018 Update

29 Friday Jun 2018

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And this will be it.  I’ve used up enough that I’m declaring an end to both the freezer and pantry challenges.  Remember, my real goal was not to live exclusively from what I had, but to use up things that had been in our house for a LONG time before we switched over to the summer menu.  Hopefully that won’t happen again, but you never know.

I started last fall, with updates in January and March.  I wasn’t even sure I’d do a final pantry update as things were quite eaten down in March, but in the spirit of completeness here it is.

Recipes:

  • 1 jar of pesto, 1 package of sea salt, 1 package of sugar in the raw – No update here.
  • 1.5 boxes of graham crackers
  • 3 2 pecan pumpkin quick bread mixes – Would have preferred to remember these before it got unbearably hot.  So, definitely not this week.  I’ll have to try to remember these on cooler summer days as I don’t really want them sitting until NEXT fall.

I’ll eat them eventually:

  • 2 single serve packages of plain oatmeal
  • Dates, whole & chopped – Progress has been made, but some are still there.
  • 2 single serve brownie mixes

Kids snacks:

  • 6 pk chicken ramen
  • Whole almonds, whole cashews – Probably going to take these as pool snacks.
  • Coconut oil, dried apple rings – I had planned to make granola with these, but haven’t.  Maybe I will actually get around to that.

That’s it!  I almost made it (except for the pumpkin bread).  Really though, it is a short list.

Fall 2017 Pantry Challenge – March 2018 Update

22 Thursday Mar 2018

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I thought I should post a pantry update to go with last week’s freezer update.  To be clear, these things aren’t going bad, but they’ve been around for a while and I’d like to use them up before we switch over to summer foods.

As background, my goal is to eat down these things consciously so they don’t just sit there taking up space.

Recipes:

  • 1 jar of pesto, 1 package of sea salt, 1 package of sugar in the raw – These came in gift boxes.  We can use all of them, it just needs to be conscious planning.  I used about a third of the pesto with steak.  It’s still in the fridge.
  • 0.5 bag of marshmallows, 1.5 boxes of graham crackers – Probably waiting for next summer’s smores season.
  • 3 pecan pumpkin quick bread mixes – We like this.  I just need to remember to make them.
  • 2 single serve cups of pineapple tid-bits  I made two pineapple upside down cakes.

I’ll eat them eventually:

  • 5 2 single serve packages of plain oatmeal – I need to finish them off.
  • Dates, whole & chopped – Progress has been made, but some are still there.
  • 2 single serve brownie mixes – These came from a Friday Freebie coupon.  There were four in the box and I had one.  It was ok.  I will eventually eat the rest, but they’re not tasty enough to actually spend money on.

Kids snacks:

  • Ritz crackers – Sent these in as school snacks.
  • 6 pk chicken ramen – I bought these as snacks for the oldest.  I need to introduce them to him, but he hasn’t been snacking as much as one might think for his size/age.
  • Whole almonds, whole cashews – The boys used to snack on these, but they haven’t recently.  I cook with cashews occasionally so I’ll just need to plan to use these up.  Not sure yet what to do with the almonds.
  • Coconut oil, dried apple rings – I had planned to make granola with these, but haven’t.  Maybe I will actually get around to that.

I don’t feel like I need to add more to the list at this point.  There are a few perishables that we need to consciously eat through:

  • 1.5 packages 1 package of English muffins – I rarely buy these.  But, did bite when it was buy 1, get 2 free.  I realize I could freeze them if necessary.
  • 50 lbs of Russet potatoes – These were under 20¢/pound last week plus I had a few on hand already.  Again, I know they can be stored for a long time, but I don’t have a properly temperature-controlled space for long-term.  That being said, we usually eat 3-4 pounds of potatoes with a meal so it should not be a problem to use them.  Mindfulness really.
  • 6 lbs of yellow onions – I was almost out and these were buy 1 get one free.  So, more that I would normally buy, but its winter and lots of soups/stews/etc. call for onions so we should be able to use them up too.

On the one hand I didn’t make as much progress as on the freezers.  On the other hand, we don’t actually need to.  I may touch on the pantry in the final freezer post, but I think we’ve made good progress here.

Pantry Update – Jan 2018

11 Thursday Jan 2018

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At the beginning of November I did a clean-up and reorganization of the pantry.  At the end I listed a number of items that I needed to purposely use.  Now, to be clear, none of these are really expiring.  But, they are not necessarily things that we use frequently and they’ve been around a while.

 

So, here’s the list with updates.

Recipes:

  • 1 jar of pesto, 1 package of sea salt, 1 package of sugar in the raw – These came in gift boxes.  We can use all of them, it just needs to be conscious planning.  I used about a third of the pesto with steak.  People did like it so we’ll do that again until its gone.  Now that its open I should get this used up.  We haven’t touched the other items.
  • 1 jar of clam juice – This was extra left over from the first time I tried a recipe.  This recipe has been requested again so I should make it and finish this off.  It would use up one of the boxes of puff pastry in the freezer (coming on that list) also. Made it again to use this up.
  • 1 0.5 bag of marshmallows, 2.5 1.5 boxes of graham crackers – Leftovers from summer s’mores.  Its going to be cold this weekend, but ideally we’ll make s’mores one more time.  That would use up the marshmallows and some of the graham crackers.  I need some of the graham crackers for a key lime pie at Thanksgiving.  After that we’ll have to see.  Neither will keep well until next summer. We had smores on the last cold but possible night.  The marshmallows I’ll use up in hot chocolate because it is definitely winter now.  I also used a few graham crackers to make a crust for key lime pie.  We were not fans of the crust recipe though so I’m not sure I’ll make it again.
  • 4 3 pecan pumpkin quick bread mixes – We like this.  I just need to remember to make them.
  • 1 bag of Cape Cod potato chips – I found these on sale at Target over the summer so they should be eaten soon.  I’ve been thinking of meatball subs to use up the provolone in the fridge and I think these would go nicely. Yes, did this.
  • 2 single serve cups of pineapple tid-bits – I purchased a box of fruit cups that were half pineapple/half tropical fruit.  Tropical fruit flies, but nobody wants to eat pineapple unless I put it in pineapple upside down cake.  That will probably have to wait until after the holidays as there are so many fun holiday desserts to make.

I’ll eat them eventually:

  • 10 5 single serve packages of plain oatmeal – These are leftover from when I needed pregnancy snacks.  I need to finish them off, maybe some light lunches.
  • Dates, whole & chopped – I just need to remember they’re there.
  • 3 2 single serve brownie mixes – These came from a Friday Freebie coupon.  There were four in the box and I had one.  It was ok.  I will eventually eat the rest, but they’re not tasty enough to actually spend money on.

Kids snacks:

  • Ritz crackers, veggie straws, Ruffles potato chips – These are leftover summer pool snacks.  These are all open and therefore need to be eaten soon.  I will probably just send them to school as part of lunch/snack. Still need to remember the Ritz crackers.
  • 6 pk chicken ramen – I bought these as snacks for the oldest.  I need to introduce them to him, but he hasn’t been snacking as much as one might think for his size/age.
  • Whole almonds, whole cashews – The boys used to snack on these, but they haven’t recently.  I cook with cashews occasionally so I’ll just need to plan to use these up.  Not sure yet what to do with the almonds.
  • Coconut oil, dried apple rings – I had planned to make granola with these, but haven’t.  Maybe I will actually get around to that.
  • 2 packages of plain, microwave popcorn – Sounds like a snack for the kids, maybe with a movie on a cold winter day (like the holiday tomorrow which is supposed to be awfully cold relative to recent weather). Used for a movie one on of last week’s bitterly cold snow days.

I don’t feel like I need to add more to the list at this point.  There are a few perishables that we need to consciously eat through:

  • 1.5 packages of English muffins – I rarely buy these.  But, did bite when it was buy 1, get 2 free.  I realize I could freeze them if necessary.
  • 50 lbs of Russet potatoes – These were under 20¢/pound last week plus I had a few on hand already.  Again, I know they can be stored for a long time, but I don’t have a properly temperature-controlled space for long-term.  That being said, we usually eat 3-4 pounds of potatoes with a meal so it should not be a problem to use them.  Mindfulness really.
  • 6 lbs of yellow onions – I was almost out and these were buy 1 get one free.  So, more that I would normally buy, but its winter and lots of soups/stews/etc. call for onions so we should be able to use them up too.

Tomorrow I’ll update the current freezer situation.  I’ll plan for a final update on both again in March before the catch as catch can meals of the summer sports season begin.