I’m working on cleaning out my chest freezer this summer, one basket/compartment at a time so that I don’t get overwhelmed and give up on it entirely.
Last week’s Use It Up list
Let’s talk about last week’s stuff first!
beef ravioli(Sonia and Zoe ate this for dinner one night)- shredded mozzarella (Nope, still have it)
bread heel(used to make bread crumbs; used bread crumbs in crab cake)
panko(used almost all of these crumbs up on the chicken katsu)
2.5 bags of cranberries
I made two loaves of cranberry bread, a pan of cranberry bars, and a small batch of cranberry sauce. Go, me!
I’m so happy that my cranberries are all used up.
- mystery tomato product
This was a fail. I thawed it and then it got shoved to the back of the fridge where I forgot about it for a week. So I’m going to dump that out.
This week’s Use It Up list
Let’s go from left to right.
- two bags of frozen quinoa
Lisey loves quinoa, so I think she’ll use this up if I remind her that it’s there.
- a small container of frosting
The frosting is Sonia’s, from her cupcake decorating, so maybe I need to tell her to make more cupcakes.
- almond flour
Not sure what I want to do with this. I think maybe Sonia uses this for macarons?
(Conclusion I am drawing here: Sonia needs to bake this week.)
- butternut squash soup
It’s hot weather for soup. I wonder if this is good cold. Hmm. I might try that.
- chicken broth
I have some sausage in the freezer too, so perhaps I should make the orzo/sausage dish and kill two birds with one stone (it requires chicken broth).
(next row)
- two bags of flank steak
I don’t really feel too pressed about using this up. Flank steak is easy to use, it hasn’t been there that long, and since it’s kind of expensive, I want to stretch it out and eat it no more than once a week.
- sauce for Aussie chicken
Well, I could make Aussie chicken!
- a jar of cardamom
This can stay in here. I rarely use cardamom, and it keeps better in the freezer.
- coffee creamer
I only use this to make hot chocolate mix. Which I am totally not going to make at the end of June. I don’t feel like coffee creamer is exactly a healthy food, so I’m loathe to come up with ways to use it!
- tortillas
These will be easy. Tacos! Quesadillas! Scrambled egg burritos!
- more butternut squash soup
Whee. Again, I’m going to see how I feel about cold soup.
Alllrighty! I have my assignments for this week now. Wish me luck.
If you’ve been cleaning out your freezer with me, I’d love to hear how it’s going.
Tiffany
Thursday 28th of June 2018
https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/low-carb-meatballs-alla-parmigiana/
This is maybe my favorite way to use almond flour. We are not eating low carb right now, but these meatballs are still delicious! I usually serve them with marinara and cheese melted on top along with roasted broccoli with garlic and olive oil. They are also pretty versatile. I have pan fried them, baked them on a sheet pan, dropped them raw in sauce and baked them, or even cooked them in sauce in the crockpot. Crockpot option is great for hot summer night.
KimN
Monday 25th of June 2018
I'm trying to empty my deep freezer too so I can defrost it before peach and applesauce season (so end of summer/fall. My goal is to use up at least one thing from the freezer each day. This week I used up:
12 (yes 12!!) frozen overripe bananas by making muffins Black Beans, 1lb smoked sausage, chicken stock in black beans, rice, and sausage for dinner Assorted meats (chicken thighs and steaks) that we grilled 2 packages of ground beef, pinto beans, and chicken stock for tacos with homemade refried beans 1 Quart of sliced frozen peach and 1 Quart of applesauce
I have so many bags of strawberries I sliced and froze when they were on sale for $0.98 a quart. I bought them to make a years worth of jam but didn't have time to make it when the sale was happening. I need a good block of time to make about 6 batches of jam......well, and the motivation to do it too. I also have several chicken carcasses and a few ham bones I need to turn into stock.
Unrelated but I got my first Hungry Harvest box on Saturday and I LOVED it. Thank you so much for recommending it!
smh
Monday 25th of June 2018
Almond flour can be substituted for a portion of the regular flour in many baked goods: https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2017/03/20/baking-with-almond-flour/
Mrs. Picky Pincher
Monday 25th of June 2018
Thanks for doing this! I'm in the thick of meal-planning for July and need to make it a point to use up our (full!) freezer to use up what's on hand. Why is being aware of your pantry and freezer so hard???
Katy (France)
Monday 25th of June 2018
Why don't you thicken the squash soup up with a little cream and cut up some veggies for dipping. I bet it would make a great dip (a little like hummus).